Gephyrophobia

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Gephyrophobia
TappanZeeBridgeFromBelow.JPG
The old Tappan Zee Bridge (demolished in 2019 and replaced with a newer bridge) offered a service to help those with gephyrophobia cross the bridge without hesitation.
Specialty Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neurology

Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges and tunnels, especially those that are older. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges, or if they are a passenger, will act very apprehensively when passing over a bridge. [1] [2] [3] The term gephyrophobia comes from the Greek γέφυρα (gephura), meaning "bridge", [4] and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear". [5]

Contents

Some possible manifestations of gephyrophobia may be fear of driving off the bridge, fear of a gust of wind blowing one off the bridge, or fear that the bridge will collapse when crossing it (e.g., fear that the bridge lacks structural integrity). The fear overlaps with acrophobia (the fear of heights) as gephyrophobia tends to be exacerbated in taller bridges as compared to those closer to the water or ground beneath.

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] It is a situational phobia. [6]

As of 2008, the New York State Thruway Authority would lead gephyrophobiacs over the Tappan Zee Bridge. A driver could call the authority in advance and arrange for someone to drive their car over the bridge for them. The authority performed the service about six times a year. [1]

The Maryland Transportation Authority previously offered a similar service for crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, but that role is now filled by private companies. [7]

The Mackinac Bridge Authority, which oversees the Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas, will drive needy gephyrophobiacs' cars across the bridge for a nominal fee. [8] Some one thousand drivers take advantage of this program annually. [9] Leslie Ann Pluhar had her Yugo blown off the bridge in 1989. [10] Later investigation concluded she had stopped her car over the open steel grating on the bridge's span and that a gust of wind blowing through the grating pushed her vehicle off the bridge, [11] but this assertion is not supported by recorded wind speed measurements taken on and around the bridge at the time of the accident. [12] [13]

In media

Gephyrophobia is the main plot in "The Bridge" episode of The Middle . The character Brick is plagued by the phobia.

In 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas , Lucy references gephyrophobia (albeit with a slight mispronunciation) [14] when attempting to diagnose Charlie Brown's problems at her psychiatric help stand.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackinac Bridge</span> Suspension bridge in Michigan, US

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It spans the Straits of Mackinac, a body of water connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, two of the Great Lakes. Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot-long bridge is the world's 27th-longest main span and is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. The Mackinac Bridge is part of Interstate 75 (I-75) and the Lake Michigan and Huron components of the Great Lakes Circle Tour across the straits; it is also a segment of the U.S. North Country National Scenic Trail. The bridge connects the city of St. Ignace to the north with the village of Mackinaw City to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phobia</span> Anxiety disorder classified by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation

A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anxiety disorder</span> Cognitive disorder with an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations

Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause physical and cognitive symptoms, such as restlessness, irritability, easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, increased heart rate, chest pain, abdominal pain, and a variety of other symptoms that may vary based on the individual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claustrophobia</span> Fear of small spaces

Claustrophobia is a fear of confined spaces. It is triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, small cars, and tight-necked clothing can induce a response in those with claustrophobia. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.

Aquaphobia is an irrational fear of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panphobia</span> Vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil

Panphobia, omniphobia, pantophobia, or panophobia is a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil. Panphobia is not registered as a type of phobia in medical references.

Phonophobia, also called ligyrophobia or sonophobia, is a fear of or aversion to loud sounds —a type of specific phobia. It is a very rare phobia which is often the symptom of hyperacusis. Sonophobia can refer to the hypersensitivity of a patient to sound and can be part of the diagnosis of a migraine. Occasionally it is called acousticophobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear of the dark</span> Common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults

Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. When waking or sleeping, these fears may intertwine with sighting sleep paralysis demons. Some degree of fear of the dark is natural, especially as a phase of child development. Most observers report that fear of the dark rarely appears before the age of two years. When fear of the dark reaches a degree that is severe enough to be considered pathological, it is sometimes called scotophobia, or lygophobia.

Gerontophobia is the fear of age-related self-degeneration, or a hatred or fear of the elderly due to memento mori. The term comes from the Greek γέρων – gerōn, "old man" and φόβος – phobos, "fear". Gerontophobia has been linked to Thanatophobia as fear of old age can be a precursor to fear of death. Gerontophobia can be caused by harmful stereotypes of elderly people displayed in the media

Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. It is classified as a type of specific phobia, meaning it is evaluated and diagnosed based on the experience of high levels of fear and anxiety beyond what is reasonable when exposed to or in anticipation of exposure to stimuli related to the particular concept. William A. Hammond first coined the term in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taphophobia</span> Fear of being buried alive

Taphophobia is an abnormal (psychopathological) phobia of being buried alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead.

Phobophobia is a phobia defined as the fear of phobias, or the fear of fear, including intense anxiety and unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations and the feared phobia ensuing. Phobophobia can also be defined as the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. Phobophobia is related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks directly linked to other types of phobias, such as agoraphobia. When a patient has developed phobophobia, their condition must be diagnosed and treated as part of anxiety disorders.

Cynophobia is the fear of dogs and canines in general. Cynophobia is classified as a specific phobia, under the subtype "animal phobias". According to Timothy O. Rentz of the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders at the University of Texas, animal phobias are among the most common of the specific phobias and 36% of patients who seek treatment report being afraid of dogs or afraid of cats. Although ophidiophobia or arachnophobia are more common animal phobias, cynophobia is especially debilitating because of the high prevalence of dogs and the general ignorance of dog owners to the phobia. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) reports that only 12% to 30% of those with a specific phobia will seek treatment.

Ailurophobia is the persistent and excessive fear of cats. Like other specific phobias, the exact cause of ailurophobia is unknown, and potential treatment generally involves therapy. The name comes from the Greek words αἴλουρος, 'cat', and φόβος, 'fear'. Other names for ailurophobia include: felinophobia, elurophobia, gatophobia, and cat phobia. A person with this phobia is known as an ailurophobe.

Gymnophobia is a fear (phobia) of or prejudice against nudity.

Fear of fish or ichthyophobia ranges from cultural phenomena such as fear of eating fish, fear of touching raw fish, or fear of dead fish, up to irrational fear. Selachophobia, or galeophobia, is the specific fear of sharks.

According to the DSM-IV classification of mental disorders, the injury phobia is a specific phobia of blood/injection/injury type. It is an abnormal, pathological fear of having an injury.

Scopophobia, scoptophobia, or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen in public or stared at by others.

Ancraophobia, also known as anemophobia, is an extreme fear of wind or drafts. It is rather uncommon, and can be treated. It has many different effects on the human brain. It can cause panic attacks for those who have the fear, and can make people miss out on regular everyday activities such as going outside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear of crossing streets</span> Type of phobia

The fear of crossing streets, or its terms dromophobia and agyrophobia, is a specific phobia that affects a person's ability to cross a street or roadway where cars or vehicles may be present. The term dromophobia comes from the Greek dromos, meaning racetrack.

References

  1. 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.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ γέφυρα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. ↑ φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  6. ↑ Bragazzi1, Nicola Luigi; Del Puente, Giovanni (May 16, 2014). "A proposal for including nomophobia in the new DSM-V". Psychology Research and Behavior Management. 7. Dove Medical Press: 155–160. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S41386 . PMC   4036142 . PMID   24876797.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Miller, Susan. "Don't look down: How I crossed the Bay Bridge". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Transport Services". Mackinac Bridge Authority. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Tom Carr, Record-Eagle Archived 2013-02-16 at archive.today
  10. ↑ Zacharias, Pat (June 6, 2000). "The Breathtaking Mackinac Bridge". The Detroit News . Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  11. ↑ Propson, David (October 14, 2004). "How to Build a Better Bridge". New York Sun . Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  12. ↑ McGraw, Bill (July 8, 2007). "Mackinac Bridge Q&A". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Accident Report Claims Ms. Pluhar Was Speeding". The Argus-Press . Owosso, MI. Associated Press. November 8, 1989. p. 20. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  14. ↑ "It's Not Just You, Charlie Brown : Gephyrophobia". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
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