Like zoolander, I can't turn left. Except only while driving. How do I overcome this?

Seriously, I hate left turns. I experience massive amounts of anxiety when making left turns, especially when there is lots of traffic.

Sometimes when a car is behind me when I need to make a left out of a stop sign or a parking lot, I feel like I am taking so long to wait for an opening that I give up and make a right turn and then make a U-turn so I can get back on track. I just feel like I’m going to cause a car accident. I also get nervous that I am pissing off everyone behind me, adding to the pressure. When I do make left turns (either at a green light or exiting a parking lot into heavy city traffic) I feel like I’m hurling myself into traffic and am about to get T-boned.

So basically I sometimes go great lengths just to avoid left turns, and it makes me take longer to get to places. I suppose it is a little bit safer (or it feels safer) but it is entirely impractical.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you overcome it? And to all of the people who consider themselves good at left turns, how do you get the courage to do it? What kind of opening do you look for? Or do you just swing right in to it?