Gefirophobia (fear of bridges): symptoms, causes and treatment

Gefirophobia is the irrational or excessive fear of bridges.. It is a phobia that has been described and studied in relation to other types of phobia (not as a particular clinical picture). As it is a fear of structures that are especially everyday in large cities, gefirophobia can represent a significant discomfort experience for those who present it.

Next we will see what gefirophobia is, what are some of its manifestations and possible causes, as well as strategies that could counteract this fear of bridges.

• Related article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

Gefirophobia: the fear of bridges

In Greek, the word gefura (γέφῡρᾰ) means “bridge” and “phobos” (φόβος) means fear. Hence the term "gefirophobia" is used to designate the fear of bridges. As it happens with the phobias that are described from psychopathology, to be considered in such a way, it must be a fear that is considered irrational, because causes clinically significant discomfort that cannot be justified by the cultural codes where it is presented.

In other words, gefirophobia is the irrational fear of bridges, which is irrational because it occurs in contexts where bridges are objects of daily use and do not have by themselves a quality that potentially means some kind of risk. For this reason, they are architectural structures that do not usually cause fear to those who cross them daily.

main symptoms

Being a fear that causes clinically significant discomfort, phobias can represent a significant obstacle to carrying out the most daily and seemingly simple activities. In the case of gefirophobia, It can happen that the person avoids at all costs the routes that involve crossing bridges, especially when it comes to large bridges that need to be crossed by car.

Otherwise, that is, when being exposed to a situation in which it is necessary to cross a bridge, the person may experience the typical manifestations of specific phobias. Such manifestations include the spectrum of physiological responses characteristic of anxiety: dizziness, agitation, hyperventilation, rapid heart rate, and even panic attacks.

Possible causes

Gephyrophobia is characterized by ideas or thoughts about different scenarios associated with the fall of or from the bridges, which generates fear.

Such thoughts may be due to a previous experience of danger associated with a bridge; or may be related to having witnessed a high risk incident related to the same, either in person or indirectly through the press, the cinema or other media communication. But not necessarily, in fact, it may be a fear that is apparently not related to any previous experience in the subject's life.

In general, the fear of bridges is explained through elements such as the following:

• Fear that a part of the bridge will come unstuck.
• Fear that a gust of wind will break through the bridge and move cars intensively.
• Doubt about the structural integrity of the bridge.
• Fear that the bridge will collapse easily.

Relationship between gefirophobia, agoraphobia and acrophobia

According to Foderaro (2008), Dr. Michael R. Liebowitz, a professor at the Columbia University Psychiatric Clinic and founder of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York Institute of Psychiatry, has explained that while the fear of flying has intensified and been recognized as a trigger for anxiety, especially in the United States after 9/11, September; the fear of crossing bridges is much less well known and in general continues to mean a stigma for those who have it.

For the same reason there are no exact numbers on the people who experience it, but the same psychiatrist says that "it is not an isolated or isolated phobia, but a part of a large group." It is rather a type of phobia related to the fear of large or wide-open spaces.

In other words, gefirophobia is closely linked to acrophobia (fear of heights) and agoraphobia (fear of open spaces where help is lacking). In the same sense, the other side of gefirophobia is the fear that some drivers have when passing through tunnels, an issue that is closely linked to claustrophobia (fear of open spaces). narrow).

In fact, gefirophobia it is usually experienced with greater force when it comes to high bridges, compared to those that are a short distance from the ground or water.

Treatment

As with other phobias, clinical psychology has different tools to work with gefirophobia. There are different strategies that vary according to the theoretical approach. For example, such strategies may be focused on favor a modification of the thoughts that generate anxiety.

On the other hand, they could favor an approach to the bridge that is gradual and that allows the person to experience them in a different way. Likewise, intervention strategies can focus on exploring the meanings associated with risk that represent the bridges and try to reinforce or modify emotional coping schemes to said risk. But not only psychology can intervene in the treatment of gefirophobia experiences.

• You may be interested in: "Intervention in phobias: the exposure technique"

Driver assistance teams

Mohney (2013) tells us that the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, United States (one of the largest suspension bridges in the world), has turned out to be both a tourist attraction and an imposing urban structure, which easily causes fear in many drivers.

As of 2013, between 1,200 and 1,400 calls were received each day by the Michigan Driver Assistance Program, which sends an assistance team accompanying drivers as they cross the bridge. Such calls and assistance teams often intensify their activity after news of bridge-related accidents is released. A similar program exists on the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, which is located more than 150 feet from the Hudson River and often inspires panic among many drivers.

Bibliographic references:

• Mohney, G. (2013). Motorists Can't Face Fears, Get a Lift Across Bridge. ABC News. Retrieved August 21, 2018. Available in https://abcnews.go.com/Health/terrified-motorists-lift-bridge/story? id=19250164
• Stein, D., Hollander, E., Rothbaum, B. (2009). Textbook of Anxiety Disorders. American Psychiatric Publishing: Washington, D.C.
• Foderaro, L. (2008). To Gephyrophobia, Bridge Are a Terror. New York City. Retrieved August 21, 2018. Available in https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/nyregion/08bridge.html