Fear and Phobias: The Top 10 Plus One
I had planned to begin a new series today on the 10 most common phobias, but in light of the news of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, I'm adding an extra.
Here are the 10 most common phobias, in the order listed:
Today, however, in this series on phobias, I am going to add one that is a serious phobia, but not in the top 10 list; gephyrophobia, an abnormal fear of crossing bridges.
The bridge in Minneapolis, MN, no doubt, has heightened this fear in those who never liked crossing bridges in the first place, and has probably created a definite fear of crossing bridges in others. In some there will be yet another anxiety disorder as the result of this tragedy and that is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This is a serious and often life-impairing disorder in terms of daily functioning. It will not be apparent immediately and it's important for those around people who were involved in the bridge collapse to help when needed. Often six months may pass before the more debiliatating form of PTSD makes itself apparent.
Immediately following the bridge collapse there will be stress-related traumatic disorder that may last up to three or four months when it will begin to subside.
While people with gephyrophobia know that their fear is unreasonable, it, nevertheless, grips them to the point that they may experience a panic attack when they approach a bridge. It is often associated with a fear of heights (acrophobia) because bridge have high spans over canyons, gorges and rivers. It is fairly common and is derived, as most phobias are, from combining the Greek words for bridge (gephyra) and fear (phobos).
How do we help those with the fear of crossing bridges? The most useful and successful techniques is a behavioral intervention where people are helped to learn relaxation techniques while envisioning going across a bridge and they are worked up with therapy to where they can, once again, cross a bridge. The term for this is systematic desensitization. It takes time, and sometimes a bit of medication, but it can be done and in parts of the world where bridge travel is an absolute necessity, is very helpful.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: minneapolis, bridge collapse, phobias, top 10, fear, panic, PTSD, anxiety
Here are the 10 most common phobias, in the order listed:
- Arachnophobia (spiders)
- Social phobia
- Aerophobia (flying)
- Agoraphobia
- Claustrophobia (enclosed or confined spaces)
- Acrophobia (heights)
- Emetophobia (vomit)
- Carcinophobia (cancer)
- Brontophobia (thunder)
- Necrophobia (death or dead things)
Today, however, in this series on phobias, I am going to add one that is a serious phobia, but not in the top 10 list; gephyrophobia, an abnormal fear of crossing bridges.
The bridge in Minneapolis, MN, no doubt, has heightened this fear in those who never liked crossing bridges in the first place, and has probably created a definite fear of crossing bridges in others. In some there will be yet another anxiety disorder as the result of this tragedy and that is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This is a serious and often life-impairing disorder in terms of daily functioning. It will not be apparent immediately and it's important for those around people who were involved in the bridge collapse to help when needed. Often six months may pass before the more debiliatating form of PTSD makes itself apparent.
Immediately following the bridge collapse there will be stress-related traumatic disorder that may last up to three or four months when it will begin to subside.
While people with gephyrophobia know that their fear is unreasonable, it, nevertheless, grips them to the point that they may experience a panic attack when they approach a bridge. It is often associated with a fear of heights (acrophobia) because bridge have high spans over canyons, gorges and rivers. It is fairly common and is derived, as most phobias are, from combining the Greek words for bridge (gephyra) and fear (phobos).
How do we help those with the fear of crossing bridges? The most useful and successful techniques is a behavioral intervention where people are helped to learn relaxation techniques while envisioning going across a bridge and they are worked up with therapy to where they can, once again, cross a bridge. The term for this is systematic desensitization. It takes time, and sometimes a bit of medication, but it can be done and in parts of the world where bridge travel is an absolute necessity, is very helpful.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: minneapolis, bridge collapse, phobias, top 10, fear, panic, PTSD, anxiety
26 Comments:
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
I live here in Mlps and yes anxiety and fear are all around. Time is the best healer and until then we need to have great compassion and understanding to get through this.
Hello Dr. Patrica Farrell,
There is a movie made on Gephyrophobia "Morning Raga" one of the characters in this movie has this phobia...
Info about the movie is here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Raga
I feel great empathy for those involved in the bridge collapse...i have always had a fear of crossing bridges and am so glad that i live in an area where there aren't any...the most traumatic experience i had was crossing the Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana...that was scary for me.
We certainly "view" phobias differently. Humans are born with two natural fears - being dropped and loud noises. All the remainder are learned behavior. One can just as quickly unlearn as it was learned. Relaxation techniques, desensitization and medication are LONG TERM COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL METHODOLOGIES WITH THE BELIEF THAT THE PATIENT IS 'BROKEN'. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioners can and will remove phobias in minutes. It also works the same for PTSD. We know that everyone has all the resources they need, however, they may be out of conscious awareness. Stress and anxiety are not the same issue. Two totally different issues.
I had an attack of some kind, 24 years ago while driving and passing a car on an overpass. I had reached alongside of the car and was on the inside lane when it suddenly struck. My sister was a passenger with me. I started shaking and felt very nervous and not in total control. I grabbed a cigarette and lit it. The feeling started to subside once I had driven about 10 minutes more. But I couldn't shake the feeling. From then on I would get panicky, cold and trembling feelings when I would approach an overpass. For awhile I made myself confront the overpasses and drive where I had to go. But as time went on I feared them too much to continue driving over them. I don't drive over them and basically have to have a fmily member or other people drive, because there are so many overpasses if going anywhere out of town. I can and do drive around town but mostly try to stay in the outside lane as I feel cramped if I am in the left or middle lane of traffic. I won't drive on an interstate either. Seems like driving, to me became more and more nervewracking since the panic episode on the overpass. As for bridges it is the same feeling, I can't drive them either. I was 27 and am now 52. Where is help available for this if any?
Without awaring that one is prone to panic attack, if he or she is so stressed. I experienced a panic attack while driving at 120km/hr on a long flyover in my town. I almost killed myself if an accident should occurr. Fortunately, it was descending when the panic attacked and before my last light, I managed to park my car before passed out. I could not dirve for a week and since then I could not drive cross any bridge or flyover or express way for so long. I had to visit a psychaitrist and took some medication, SSRI, and its relieved. Until now I still have to take those pills or alike to keep me from avoiding a bridge or flyover while driving. Will it ever go away for good? Can anybody who has the same experience like me and be cured, can please give me some advice to overcome this? I have been having this for 4 years already. thank you.
Suggestion for those with panic about driving: I too have that. Anxiety and panic disorder, the medicated kind. At night, I have nightmares about driving off a bridge (my dad narrowly missed the one in Webber Falls, OK, back in 02) or about getting into a crash. I took the long, winding roads for years because I so feared the interstate. I'm still terrified, but I realized that if I made myself do it, and distracted myself (anyone with driving anxiety knows that no amount of distraction is going to loosen your death grip on the wheel or peel your eyes from the road) I could cope better. Now, when I'm going through a tunnel or over one of the nasty bridges around my mountainous area, I just tune my iPod to some song I love and sing along as loud as I can; I play car games with the kids; I start a fight with my husband. Anything to keep my mind off the dangers of the road. Oh, another thing, I also have a control issue and refuse to ride if someone else is driving. Pair that with a panic attack on the road, and trust me, I've had my share of near misses. But with my distraction techniques, I have gotten a lot better. And distracting a phobic driver isn't necessarily a bad thing, since we're hyper-attentive anyway. A small distraction actually helps keep me from freezing up, which is what I did in the past.
I recall a time period several years ago, when I seemed afraid of almost EVERYTHING. It was getting in the way of enjoying a full life. The only way I could deal with it, was to simply accept the consequences of "what if..my fear came to reality?" The fact is, most times nothing happened, but often times my fear DID come to reality, but I lived through it. It's very liberating to allow something to happen and then get on with your life knowing that if it happens again, again you'll survive.
I found medical hypnosis to be very helpful in controlling several of the phobias on Dr. Farrell's top 10 list. The fear will never be gone but it will never control my life again. Has anyone else had success with this sort of treatment?
Where's the fear of snakes? That's a HUGE one for me!
I had a driving phobia, too scared to drive a car. It lasted for years, and though I tried to drive, I couldn't. I also tried some therapy for anxiety, and it didn't work. It wasn't until I was put on Paxil (which was actually prescribed for depression), that I was able to go out with a friend and start driving, slowly. Now I actually LIKE driving, and I stopped the Paxil 8 years ago.
Yeah, where is the fear of snakes? That's definately my top fear- I get chills and start shaking even it's a small one in a picture. Bridges and cockrochs, are my other top fears.
I have a fear of bees. I'm not sure what that's called. My other bigest fear is flying in an airplane. I saw that one listed.
I have a severe aversion to going over over-passes and particularly bridges. I live in St. Louis and it is impossible to go anywhere without doing both of these things. I have only had this problem for the past couple of years and I live on outer roads, etc. I know my fear is quite irrational. I used to work for Washington University School of Medicine in the School of Medicine. I had a weird experience crossing the Chain of Rocks bridge a couple of years ago and needed my husband and father in law come and pick me and my girls up because I was so dizzy crossing the bridge that I pulled off at the first exit past the bridge which was a hole in the wall and scary. I don't know what caused that uneasy feeling, but now I cannot drive over bridges and I am panicky while going over over-passes. I am just starting to go to therapy, I am looking for a job, and I cannot get a good one unless I can overcome my fear. My family does not understand. I feel like a freak.
Hello, my name is Lance Pfeifer, i have had anxiety since i was 5 years old
and now i am 18 soon off to college, my question to you is how can i
overcome my phobia of vommiting or having the stomach flu?....ive tried many
medications, but medications tend to only work for about 2 years for me, and
then i have to either increase dosage or change meds completely. I would
like to know how to harness the phobia and get rid of it. If someone near me
is ill i am sent into a panic attack, and cant calm down, until i know
theyre better and i havent caught the virus. would you reccomend any tips or
breathing techniques for me?...i am willing to try anything because anxiety
had take my life over and i would love to feel like i was in control again.
Thank you for your time.
Lance Pfeifer
Please go to www.mercola.com. Dr. Mercola has a technique on his website called EFT that may help with phobias.
I have a fear of dogs but ive read that other people are scared of animals such as frogs,butterflies,etc etc.
You never run into those things & you rarely see them unless you live near a swamp or in some grazing field.
Some people think my fear is lame but lol try having a lion(whatever your fear is) be in such high numbers as dogs & they always come towards you either barking or not barking.
I also am terrified of bees my family and friends laugh at me, but my fear is serious!!!!
anxiety, panic attacks, panic disorders, phobias, i have them and have had them since i was 18 and i am now 33. i have fears of driving, vomiting, closed in places, spiders, having another panic attack and avoid places where i have had them or i think that i going to have one. for a while there was a time in my life that i couldnt get in a bathtub and i had always told my husband that if i got to the point that i couldnt take a bath that i was in bad shape...LOL anyway these are just a few problems that i have to mention and they are always there along with the OCDS and there is treatment but the problems are still there...is there anything else i could try other than a psychiatrist or medication? the doc didnt help much he just diagnosed me and doped me up with sleep aids and anxiety meds.
I have a really weird phobia. A fear of taking showers because my balance is poor & I'm terrified of falling. - What nonsense, I've got to get with it.
You're not alone.
I'm afraid to drive. I'm 54and I've never gotten a license. That wasn't so bad when I worked in NYC - there was lots of public transportation available. In 1998 I was run over by a driver who didn't see me in the crosswalk, and that hasn't helped. I'm afraid that I will be behind the wheel and suddenly not be able to see anything. Maybe I should move back to the city!
PS I've never heard anyone else say they are/were afraid of driving til now. Thanks.
I have a really wierd fear of being strangled to death. I have no idea where it came from. Everyone thinks it is odd, I even do. So I don't know.
I went to a "phobia clinic" at White Plains Hospital in NY almost 20 years ago. It was a small group that met weekly. People with all kinds of phobias went. The technique used was desensitization at your own pace. My fear was public speaking and Toastmasters was too much for me to handle. The clinic worked so well for me that I have since given 30 minute seminars to groups of 100 with a power-point presentation! I still have a lot of anticipatory anxiety, but I do it anyway and it's OK. It's all about desensitization a little at a time, and tools (comfort distractions). It can be done. Check out your local hospitals for a similar type program.
Post a Comment