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Gephydrophobia, also known as Gephyrophobia or Gephysrophobia is the Fear of Crossing Bridges. The word finds its orgins in the Greek gephyra (bridge) and phobos (fear).

Fear of Bridges falls into the psychiatric classification of a Specific (or "simple") Phobia, and is a relatively one. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Illness) categorizes the Specific Phobias as Anxiety Disorders. While sharing some symptomology with the other Anxiety Disorders, such as Panic Disorder, the reaction is specific to and dependent on the phobic trigger.

SYMPTOMS: Sufferers may otherwise be free of any other mental health problems, but when exposed to the phobic trigger (crossing a bridge, in this instance), the amount of distress felt by the person is significant enough to warrant diagnosis of a phobia.
Some gephydrophobics may experience panic attacks.

Like with other the Specific Phobias, sufferers often recognize that the fear is unwarranted, but still avoid bridges and/or experience high levels of anxiety and distress when forced to endure them.

TREATMENT: Treatment for specific phobias may include systematic desensitization. This involves exposure to increasing levels of anxiety provoking stimuli over time. In the case of gephydrophobia, one might start out by imagining crossing a bridge and, only after several sessions, graduating to the point of actually physically attempting to cross a bridge.

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