For people with gephyrophobia, anxiety, the Baltimore bridge collapse may be triggering

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore on Tuesday resulted in a construction crew of eight being thrown into the water, six of whom are still missing.

If you panicked at the news – I never want to drive on a bridge again! What if that had been me? – you're not alone. Gephyrophobia is a real thing, and it's not uncommon.

What is gephyrophobia?

Gephyrophobia is the fear of traveling over bridges, usually in a car. While this fear can be limiting, there are things that can help, from basic mental health care to exposure therapy.

Abigail Marsh, psychologist and neuroscientist and professor at Georgetown University’s Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program talked with USA TODAY about overcoming fear.

"With any fear, the absolute only way to overcome it is through exposure to the thing you are afraid of," Marsh said. "Fear is a learned behavioral and physiological response to a cue that you have to actively train your body out of. But it's very possible to do."

How common is gephyrophobia?

The fear of bridges is common, according to experts.

Kevin Chapman, founder and director of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders told USA TODAY. You might be afraid of feeling trapped, or afraid of heights.

"It clusters together with both a fear of heights and agoraphobia, with agoraphobia being anxiety about being in any place, or situation where escape might be difficult or embarrassing in the event of having a panic attack," Chapman said.

How do I know if I have gephyrophobia?

It is common to be afraid of bridges or heights in the moment, but that is called a temporary trauma response.

"It's normal to feel it in your body when you are very high on a tall bridge – that's a natural reaction to heights," Marsh says. "And it's normal to feel worried thinking about what could happen if a bridge collapsed."

A phobia, however, will interfere with your life even when you're not on a bridge.

"A true phobia is a degree of fear that interferes with your ability to function and causes extreme distress at the very idea of going over a bridge," Marsh said. "People with gephyrophobia may drive hours out of their way to avoid going over a bridge, for example, because they are too distressed at the idea of driving over it."

How can I overcome a fear of bridges?

For patients experiencing phobias and other mental health conditions, therapists may opt for both cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy trains someone to relax on cue while progressively exposed to the fear with the help of a therapist. In this case, it might mean relaxing when looking at pictures of bridges, then imagine traveling over them, according to Marsh.

Exposure therapy can look different for every patient depending on the patient's specific fear, according to Chapman. Do they need to learn that they can stay on the bridge and not escape? That they can stay on the bridge and not have a panic attack? That they can cross it multiple times and their feared outcome doesn't occur?

I'm fearful after the Baltimore bridge collapse. Could I develop gephyrophobia?

For some, though, the bridge collapse "may also just trigger some temporary anxiety that will subside over time, in which case treatment may not be warranted," Martin Antony, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University told USA TODAY.

When in doubt, talk to someone about how you're feeling. Help is available no matter how severe your distress.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Did the Baltimore bridge collapse trigger gephyrophobia? What to know