Re: fear of driving
I can totally relate. I learned to drive in my early twenties (which is late by most standards). I took a drivers ed class for beginners and was the second oldest person there. I’m not sure about the UK, but Canada has AMA which offers some pretty good courses. Plus you get insurance rebates if you take certain courses. If you have a good instructor, it makes your life super easy. I tried to learn form my dad at first, but it just ended up in fights because he would get stressed out (understandable because I was quite a poor driver at first), which would stress me out and I would make more mistakes. My advice would be to definitely learn from a professional and once you feel semi-confident, start practicing with someone you trust. Start off in an empty parking lot, practise your turns and get an idea of your driving space. My instructor would have me drive back and forth in the snow so I could see the tire tracks, and be able to tell where the tires were in relation to the dashboard. Same with parking; give yourself lots of room to practise and just be patient with yourself. I know it can get pretty frustrating. Good luck!