Gephyrophobia

Gephyrophobia 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. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=To Gephyrophobiacs, Bridges Are a Terror. |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/nyregion/08bridge.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all |quote=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. |publisher=New York Times |date=January 8, 2008 |accessdate=2008-01-08 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Gephyrophobia: A Fear Of Crossing Bridges. Even Before The Minnesota Collapse, Many Have Severe Phobia About Bridges. |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/10/eveningnews/main3156354.shtml |quote=The monster she fears is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland. At four miles (6 km) long and convert|185|ft|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. |publisher=CBS News |date=August 10, 2007 |accessdate=2008-01-08 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Reasonable fear or bridge phobia? |url=http://www.mywire.com/pubs/USATODAY/2007/08/08/4184015?extID=10051 |quote=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. |publisher=USA Today |date=August 8, 2007 |accessdate=2008-01-08 ]

Dr. 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.".

The New York Thruway Authority will lead gephyrophobiacs over the Tappan Zee Bridge. A driver can call the authority in advance and arrange for someone to drive the car over the bridge for them. The authority performs the service about 6 times a year.

Popular Culture

Name of a [http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Gephyrophobia_(Level) map] in Halo PC; the two bases are connected only by a set of bridges.

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