Gephyrophobia (from Greek γέφυρα – gephura, “bridge”[1] and φόβος – phobos, “fear”[2]) is an anxiety disorder brought about by the fear of bridges. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges. 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.”
As some of you may know, I had a quick trip to New Orleans last week for a work related convention. I had a monitor here at the house needed for the show and figured it would be easy for me to make the 6 hour drive to The Big Easy. I’ve done the drive before and with the exception of maybe one bridge along the way, I figured I’d be fine. Although when I last went (Pre-Katrina), I was somewhat enammered with friend Tracey from Australia and the great memories we share from that trip. I suspect any bridge fears would have been suppressed. She was my Moon Queen! But I digress. We all have some sort of recurring bad dream, right? Mine is a rather long bridge I get on, not seeing there is a second part, taller and scarier than the first part. Imagine my surprise, when approaching Lake Pontchartrain to find the new replacement built after the storm. It (named the Twin Span) was (and is, will always be) the bridge from the dream. Good Grief. So with sweaty palms and a few deep breathes, it was over the bridge. After spending the next two days trying to figure out how I was getting home (that’s right, I am not driving that bridge again), a local lady working the show suggested I do the Causeway across the lake. It’s low to the water and “You’ll be fine”. Obviously, she had not read the description above, but I took her advise, a did the 23 mile drive, holding the same steering wheel, with those same sweaty palms. Next trip to New Orleans, it’s the plane or train for me. Then there was the time I saw a large bridge, decided I’d drive up the river for a better crossing, only to find yet another tall, narrow, scarey one. That’s a story for another day.
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on May 29, 2013. View the original page.
