The most obvious symptom is an irrational fear of bridges and the situations associated with driving over bridges The tendency to avoid bridges and driving over them is also characteristic of this specific phobia. Anticipatory anxiety is often associated with gephyrophobia. In this case, you may become fearful of bridges even before passing over them. Panic attack is often associated with gephyrophobia. It entails a rapid heart rate, nausea or diarrhea, sweating, numbness, tingling, feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
Ask your doctor for a reference to a good psychiatrist or psychologist who has experience with phobias. Your doctor may refer you to a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional.
Combine exposure with cognitive behavioral therapy. Therapy involving a combination of gradual desensitization with cognitive behavioral therapy has been effective with middle and older age adults. Shorter exposure sessions combined with cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be effective for children and adolescents with specific phobias.
Half the battle of managing fear is letting go of our struggle to control it. Once we let go, we can willingly accept our discomfort, get grounded in the present moment, and put our energy into doing things that are in line with what matters to us.
Ask your doctor about beta blockers. These medications block the influence of adrenaline on the body. They can be taken before a scary event like crossing a bridge. They will reduce symptoms like pounding heart and elevated blood pressure. Ask your doctor about using antidepressants for gephyrophobia. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors influence your mood and can be used to help treat anxiety associated with specific phobias. Ask your doctor if any sedatives will help with your condition. These medications help you relax during scary situations.
In the 1995 Clint Eastwood film “Bridges of Madison County,” a national geographic photographer is shooting a story about the covered bridges of Madison county and falls in love with a woman who lives in the area. The 1957 film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” is a British-American war film that depicts the construction of a railway bridge to transport prisoners of war.
If crossing a small bridge is a little too scary at first, imagine yourself taking the first few steps to help you make you less anxious. If you are undergoing treatment for your condition, you should follow your therapist’s recommendation on this process.
Recite a list of baby names. Read license plate numbers backwards. Count to one hundred. If you finish, start over again and repeat until you have crossed the bridge.
Pay twenty five dollars for someone to drive you over the Chesapeake Bay bridge. Use the free driving service for the Mackinac Straits bridge in Michigan
Search a list of mental health support groups for groups that support specific phobias. Talk to people online who share your fear. They can help. Talk to ex-sufferers, who eventually found their way out of the terror. Take their advice, and listen with care and time. Tell someone about your fear. This can be a family member, relative, friend, or lover. They can all help. Without them, you might be stuck in the dark pit of gephyrophobia forever. They will give you all the strength needed to pull yourself together, and achieve the goal you have always longed to achieve.
