I, like, you avoid traffic as much as possible. I, like you, am able to. I rely more on others driving. That is how I manage. But well, I'd rather rely on me, instead. I don't really have fear of bridges, per se, but I cross one everday, and I know I am more tense when I do..nothing above the bridge like you speak of. I think what makes me tense, is it is only two lanes, and unlike a two lane road, there really IS no where to go..except into the oncoming traffic, OR the bridge. Besides, being educated has really nothing to do with panic, or phobias. Being educated, would be to me, to know when I needed help. I'm not saying you do, but the fact that you're here posting, leads me to believe that it bothers you. I grew up and learned to drive in a rural town, no freeways...that is part of it...the other part, is being frightened by a drunken Father driving once in some steep hills in Calif, when I was maybe 5 yrs old and being TERRIFIED by that experience. Anyway, welcome! The other posts are interesting and may help you decide what you want to do next... :)

dCheryl, No, I haven't seen a doctor about this. I keep telling myself that since I don't have to encounter these things on a daily basis, I can just let it go. I don't know why I am so reluctant. Maybe I'm embarassed. I feel that being an educated woman, I should be able to rationalize what is in my head and work it out for myself...'undo' whatever is misfiring up there. I checked out some of the bridge postings. I am going to search more for traffic postings.

Hi Design. Its very familiar to alot of us. If you use the SEARCH option in here and type in BRIDGES or TRAFFIC you will find plenty of discussions about both of these problems. Have you seen a doctor at all about any of this? You may also want to check out the panic program thats offered in here. You are not alone and there are some very helpful suggestions in here. Cheryl

Hi all. I am new here. I'm hoping maybe I can get some suggestions here. My husband (who has gone through wonderful group therapy for some problems he has) thinks I should seek medical advice on this. I have an irrational fear of bridges with 'stuff' over them. Plain bridges for the most part seem to be fine. Any sort of suspension bridge or those bridges with the high metal rounded sides (hopefully you all can picture what I'm talking about) sends a fear straight to the core of me that I can't explain. I can't even look at them without feeling like my breath is being cut off. In my day to day life, I don't have to deal with this sort of bridge, but several places my husband and I go have these sorts of bridges. My husband almost always drives. If I know they are coming up, I'll close my eyes a few miles ahead of time and try deep breathing. Sometimes that is enough to minimize the effect, but many times I have had to roll the windows down (winter time-midwest..brrr) just to feel like I was getting air. When I think about the bridge all I can see is the huge metal around it, it feels like it will close in on me and i want to curl up in a ball to get away from it (it is actually very uncomfortable for me to talk about it now). My breathing gets very shallow and quick. After we cross the bridge I feel sick to my stomach and ashamed for the next half hour or so. Another thing that scared me (only one experience with this) was this huge field of windmills for windpower (the big white ones with three propellers). My husband was marvelling at them all when all I could do was focus on the irrational fear I had of them. They were very tall and I felt inferior to them, like I was so very small. It is difficult for me to explain. Finally, I am scared to death of traffic. I live in a fairly rural area and am not used to traffic. Anytime I go somewhere where the traffic is heavier I get an overwhelming feeling of terror. Every car I see seems like it is on a collision course with our car. I tried to explain to my husband that for me, I can't focus on the area we are driving, it's like too much stimulus gets through my head. All sounds and visuals seem to bombard me. I see the cars going in the opposited direction as us (even in divided highways),