Do You Have Gephyrophobia, A Phobia Of Bridges?

Dear Dr. LeCrone:

The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis has really stirred a lot of smoldering anxiety that I have about driving across bridges.
For many years I have gone to extremes to avoided bridges and have experienced emotional discomfort when crossing a bridge. Since viewing the catastrophe in Minneapolis, I have had panic attacks just thinking about having to cross a bridge.

Before the bridge collapse, I made it over bridges by reminding myself over and over that millions of people cross bridges everyday without mishap. My heart did race and my breathing accelerated, but I was able to make the trip.
Now I feel intense fear because I know that eventually I must cross a bridge or suffer consequences that are equally unacceptable. Please help.

-A reader in California

Dear Reader:

People who have irrational bridge fears are fearful of being trapped on the bridge once their journey of crossing it begins. They fear a loss of control while on the bridge, which they believe may result in their freezing up or driving off the side of the bridge.

This phobia, sometimes referred to as gephyrophobia, has certainly been exacerbated in gephyrophobia sufferers since the tragedy in Minneapolis.
Other people who did not suffer from that specific phobia before the tragedy may now have anxiety about bridged collapsing under them, and this fear could lead to bridge phobia.

Also, bridge phobias may coexist with fears of being trapped in enclosed places or a fear of heights.

Fortunately, fears and phobias can be very successfully treated. One treatment approach, called exposure therapy, can gradually reduce the fear and anxiety to a specific situation or thing, such as a bridge. This is accomplished by introducing the sufferer to the feared object or situation in small, graduated doses.

The exposure starts with low arousal situations and gradually moves on to higher arousal situations as the person’s tolerance for the feared situation increases. Exposures to a picture of a bridge, followed by a short walk on one, and then followed later by a trip across the bridge with low traffic volume are abbreviated examples of this approach. Swift professional assistance would seem to be indicated for you at this time.