Gephyrophobia
Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges.[1][2][3]
Some possible explanations of gephyrophobia may be the fear of the structural integrity of the bridges itself, or the fear that the bridge will collapse if they try to cross it.
Dr. Michael Liebowitz, founder of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, says, "It's not an isolated phobia, but usually part of a larger constellation ... It's people who get panic attacks. You get light-headed, dizzy; your heart races. You become afraid that you'll feel trapped.".[1]
The New York Thruway Authority will lead gephyrophobiacs over the Tappan Zee Bridge. A driver can call the authority in advance and arrange for someone to drive the car over the bridge for them. The authority performs the service about six times a year.[1]
The Maryland Transportation Authority offers a similar service for crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
The Mackinac Bridge Authority, which oversees the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, will drive one's car across its span for any needy gephyrophobiacs. Some thousand drivers take advantage of this free program each year.[4]
The term gephyrophobia comes from Greek γέφυρα - gephura, meaning "bridge"[5] and φόβος - phobos, "fear".[6]
Other uses
- Gephyrophobia is also the name of a map in the video game Halo; the two bases are connected only by a bridge flanked by snipers' outposts. The name most likely comes from the fact that the players are frequently killed on the bridge.[7]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Foderaro, Lisa W. (January 8, 2008). "To Gephyrophobiacs, Bridges Are a Terror.". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
Mrs. Steers, 47, suffered from a little-known disorder called gephyrophobia, a fear of bridges. And she had the misfortune of living in a region with 26 major bridges, whose heights and spans could turn an afternoon car ride into a rolling trip through a haunted house.
- ↑ "Gephyrophobia: A Fear Of Crossing Bridges. Even Before The Minnesota Collapse, Many Have Severe Phobia About Bridges.". CBS News. August 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
The monster she fears is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland. At four miles (6 km) long and 185 feet (56 m) high, Ayers says the thought of driving the bridge - with the way it rises straight in the air - raises a sense of panic in her.
- ↑ "Reasonable fear or bridge phobia?". USA Today. August 8, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
Jerilyn Ross, a psychotherapist and president of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America, notes that phobias are more than just being afraid of a certain object; they are marked by panic. Someone with gephyrophobia is afraid of panicking on a bridge, not necessarily the bridge itself, she says.
- ↑ Tom Carr, Record-Eagle
- ↑ γέφυρα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ↑ φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ↑ Gephyrophobia_(Level) on Halopedia: The Halo Wiki