How I got my emotional confidence back

To the outside world you’re a switched on, capable adult, so why does it feel inside like you’ve lost your mojo and sense of self? Some thoughts and answers below...

What’s driving you to the brink?

Trish writes:

Have you ever experienced the feeling that you don’t know who you are any more? That you can act in ways that make you feel uncertain of yourself or even scared of what you are capable of? For me, the trigger was a moment of madness in the fast lane of the M40. I’m still ashamed when I think about it now, but in some ways the seed of fear that started to grow inside of me that afternoon seems like a lucky get out compared to what could have happened. 

I was on the way home from visiting a sick family member, making steady progress on the 80 mile journey, when a van driver roared up behind me and stayed glued to my back bumper. The heavy traffic on the inside lane meant I couldn’t move over to let him (yes, him) past and I didn’t want to speed up and get too close to the car in front of me. Each time I checked the rear view mirror I could feel my stress levels and anger rising, but instead of continuing to focus on the road ahead, my mind was diverted, thinking about what I could do to make this reckless tailgater realise that he needed to leave more space between our vehicles. In a split second, I did something that was even more reckless: I pressed my foot to the brake.