How to Overcome Fear of Bridges

There are many fears in life that people commonly share and a fear of bridges is one of those. It can stem from many things and can cause trouble especially when you need to drive over a bridge frequently or even unexpectedly. Here are some steps to help overcome your fear of bridges.

Instructions

• 1

  Identify the source of your fear. With bridges this can often be a fear of heights, hearing about a bridge collapse or having a past traumatic experience while on a bridge.

• 2

  Understand how a bridge is built and what type of safety measures are in place. When there is a certain bridge you know you must cross, look up information on when it was built and by who and what kind of maintenance is done to help relieve some tension.

• 3

  Recognize the symptoms associated with your fear as well as how intense they are so you know what it is you need to overcome. A quick pounding of the heart, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea and feelings of panic are the most common. Know that the phobia alone will not kill you although it can mentally and physically harm you. Test yourself by trying to walk over a bridge, have someone else drive over it or drive over it yourself.

• 4

  Overcome your fear by using graded exposure. This method involves gradually desensitizing you to bridges by placing yourself near and on them and gradually increasing your exposure as your comfort level increases. Fear of bridges can best be overcome by looking forward instead of around you so that you do not dwell on where you are or what's below.

• 5

  Use therapy to conquer the fear of bridges. This can be done by seeing a therapist, using hypnosis or learning on your own about how to overcome fears. Learn to associate more positive things with bridges and to block out the negative chatter in your head.