Wellness with Anand

How would you feel if each time you got behind the wheel of a car to switch the engine on, you experienced feelings of such intense fear and anxiety that you envisioned your death by driving in a hundred different ways?

Would you drive the car?

Or picture this: You are slowly driving around a deserted car park at the slowest speed possible. As each minute passes, your breathing grows more jagged, it’s getting harder to think, and the panic is rising until it grows into a full-blown panic attack.

Would you drive the car?

Now add this: You have dyspraxia, which affects movement and coordination. In your case, you struggle with judging distances, taking corners correctly, and you confuse your left hand with your right hand.

Would you drive the car?

I’m Anand Quinn, an emotional wellness and embodiment coach based in Tuamgraney, Co Clare, Ireland. This is the story of how I met one of my deepest fears and transformed it—not by making it disappear, but by learning to move forward despite it.

The Moment Everything Changed

Now picture this. You are at a driving test centre. This is your fourth attempt and you are seated at a table looking at the driving tester. They are completing a form. You barely breath because you know you did not instantly fail but you are unsure if you did enough to pass. Then, they look up and say those words “Congratulations, you’ve passed your driving test.”

You stare and say nothing for a beat because you know finally after everything, you not only passed your driving test, you:

• Have overcome one of your biggest fears in your life. 
• Have navigated this with a disability that makes learning to drive a car harder. 
• Have overcome countless, insensitive driving instructors over the decades who told you that you will never make a driver, you’re giving them a heart attack, or they shout that you’re doing it wrong again.
• Have overcome your inner critic who says you’re a useless driver, that you will never make a driver, let alone pass the test. 

What Transformation Actually Looks Like

Now, after one year of driving, picture this:

Or how about this.  You are on a roundabout and cars are honking and going crazy. There are three lanes and you slowly edge your way into your position. Your breath is steady.  You are observant, careful, and take nothing for granted. You are enjoying this tetra game of cars moving through traffic. 

Having overcome all that you went through, would you believe that something like this is possible for a learner driver who could not navigate an empty car park?

What Made the Difference

What do you think caused this transformation in this driver? A miracle? A brain transplant? Motivation? Persistence? Or something else?

It was not a miracle but sometimes it feels that way and I still have the same brain.

What supported me in meeting one of my deepest fears and overcoming decades of difficult driver learning experiences was a mix of grit, persistence, reframing how I spoke to myself, and patience. I am very grateful to myself that I never gave up and that I received some wonderful support from others along the way too.

Passing my driving test last July (2023) is one of the greatest achievements of my life.

What I Learned About Fear

What I learned from this experience applies to so much more than driving:

Deep motivation matters. My need to drive a car became more important than my fear of it. When the “why” is strong enough, we find a way through the fear.

Disability doesn’t mean inability. I accepted that having dyspraxia slows me down in learning to drive but it does not prevent me from becoming a driver. So what if it takes me 50 times longer than the average driver to pass the test? The end result is still the same.

Failure is part of the process. I kept going despite repeated failures. I won in the end and learned a lot along the way. Each failure taught me something I needed to know.

Anxiety doesn’t have to stop you. I accept I have ongoing anxiety around driving and I apply my meditation practice to keep myself connected with my breath and body while driving. I do this by noticing when my breath changes or if my body gets tight. When that happens I exhale first so the anxiety goes out on the outbreath. I then have more space to breathe in and feel connected. Try it, it works wonders.

The inner voice can change. I replaced my inner critic with an inner voice that was encouraging and supportive. This didn’t happen overnight, but it much kinder now.

Working With Fear in Your Life

If anxiety and fear is holding you back in your life or stopping you from achieving a specific goal and you are ready to meet them, I can support you.

Through emotional wellness coaching, we can work together to help you shift your mindset from fear and anxiety to one that gently moves you into a place of “Yes! I can do this.”

We won’t eliminate fear, instead we learn to be with it, to understand it, to move forward despite it. We work with your body’s responses, your thought patterns, and your inner voice. We build practices that support you in the moments when fear shows up.

I work with clients throughout Ireland (Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick) and internationally who are ready to meet their fears with compassion and courage.

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Reflection Questions

• What fear is currently holding you back from something you deeply want?
• If you removed the pressure to succeed on the first try, what would you attempt?
• What would your encouraging inner voice say to you right now if you let it speak?

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Resources & Related Content

If you found this helpful, you might also enjoy:

• Emotional Wellness Coaching – Work with anxiety, fear, perfectionism, and harsh self-criticism through personalised coaching
• Meditation – Learn breath-based and somatic practices for managing anxiety and staying present
• Free Resources – Access guided meditations and tools for working with overwhelm

Ready to meet your fear?

If this story resonates with you and you’re ready to work with what’s holding you back, book a free 60-minute Insight Call to explore how we might work together.

Through coaching, we can help you shift your relationship with fear—not by making it disappear, but by building the inner resources to move forward anyway.

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What’s your relationship with fear like? What’s one thing you would do if fear wasn’t holding you back? I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or reach out at info@wellnesswithanand.com