Despite taking 1,000 lessons over the last 30 years, a UK woman has struggled to obtain a driver's licence due to a severe fear of being behind the wheels.
Isabelle Stedman, from Bedfordshire, England, began taking driving lessons at the age of 17 but has struggled to make any progress. She is so terrified of getting behind the wheel that she passes out. The 47-year-old is taken aback by the experience and finds roundabouts particularly challenging. Her phobia, which she finds difficult to describe, caused her to sweat and shake before crying out.
Isabelle estimates she has spent more than £10,000 (Rs 10 lakh) on lessons over the years, but she has never come close to passing her test.
The supermarket employee has tried seven different instructors and even hypnotism but to no avail.
"I've been learning for 30 years, but every time I get in a car, it's as if I've never been in a car before, and it's terrible," she told a media outlet.
"I don't understand it but it's like I feel frightened and overwhelmed to the point where my brain shuts down and I lose consciousness for a few seconds. Roundabouts are the worst. When I wake up, we're at the side of the road because the instructor had to grab the wheel, and I'm so overwhelmed that I burst into tears and have to go home," she explained.
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Isabelle claims she is keen to get a license so she can drive her daughter to university and see distant relatives. “I'm very sure both of my kids will pass their tests before I do. I can't help but feel like I've been left out," she stated.
What's more perplexing is that she had never been in a car accident or had any terrible road experiences before starting training.
Her two children, Dominic who is 22, and Stella who is 17, are now taking lessons without any difficulty and Isabelle now fears she'll never manage to get her licence.
She has met with doctors, but they have been unable to provide an explanation for her phobia.
"Perhaps I died in a car accident in a previous life - it's the only explanation," she contends.