Understanding and Overcoming Your Fear of Bridges

For a long time, I had a terrible fear of bridges.  Driving over them was almost impossible, I’d do anything to avoid them, sometimes even driving miles and miles out of my way just to not have to go over one.  Bridges that were over water were even worse, the thought of having to driving over a bridge spanning water was enough to give me a panic attack that would screw me up for hours afterward.

Walking over them wasn’t much better, but at least less frequent.  On a vacation a group I was with wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it and felt humiliated.  On another trip I had to pull over and have my wife drive across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It hard to feel like a strong husband when you can’t summon the courage to drive across a bridge that probably takes just a few minutes to cross.  I found out a wasn’t alone and that many large bridges even have special services and procedures to accommodate the many people with a fear or anxiety of being on bridges, you can read about it by clicking here.

I finally got fed up living with this phobia and decided to do some research into my fear, and what could be done about it.  I couldn’t believe that I could barely find ANYTHING.  Was I so strange that nobody else had this same fear?  All I found were a bunch of crummy hypnosis programs that promised cures within minutes, which we all know is bunk.

After several years of research, trial and error, and thousands of dollars spent on therapists and programs for anxiety, I overcame my fear and now I can drive over bridges without any fear at all.  To be honest I barely even realize when I’m on one now.

But I was still frustrated and a little bit angry, because conquering my fear didn’t need to be so hard, or take as long as it did.  There were only a few simple things I had to do to overcome my fear and anxiety, and once I learned them, life got a LOT better FAST.  The problem was the years I had to spend weeding through all the garbage to get to the nuggets of information that helped me!

I decided this was unacceptable to me…I knew how many others there was still struggling with driving anxiety and a fear of bridges, highways, and countless other driving situations, so I decided to share what took me years to learn.  I  developed the Driving Fear Program which has grown to be the one of the leading driving anxiety treatment program available anywhere.

The Program has helped literally thousands of people all over the world work to overcome their fears, take back control over their life, and regain their freedom.  Your satisfaction is completely guaranteed, it contains both written, audio, and even video material, and  includes my trademarked S.A.F.E. Series driving anxiety recovery tool, all for less than you probably spent on fancy coffee last month!

You don’t have to live with your fear of bridges, or learn to “cope” with your anxiety – I believe you can CONQUER it and put it behind you – in your past – where it belongs.

Click below to learn more about the Driving Fear Program and to watch a free video that explains more about how it works:

Continue Reading About What Can Help You Overcome Your Anxiety While Driving

Fear of Driving Review

Thus is where we have  reviews of products that are designed or advertised to help you overcome your driving anxiety. Some are great, some are lousy, so check out what we thought BEFORE you buy.
Feel free to click the links to the programs and check them out and to tell us what YOU thought of any programs you tried.
Click on the program name to visit their site (opens in new window)

The Driving Fear Program

Here at Fear of Driving we’re huge fans of this program because quite simply, it eclipses every other program available for specialization, value, support, and authority . Designed by Rich Presta (who operates this website as well so maybe we’re a little biased!) after conquering his own fear of driving, it’s available as either a downloadable e-book, audiobook, or printed and CD course. Both courses are identical, we have only reviewed the e-book for simplicity. Its’ author is one of the pioneers in the treatment of driving phobia, and likely the most respected authority on the topic today.
The program consists of a series of exercises and information to help you understand and defeat your fear, which are primarily based in CBT and NLP. Many of the techniques used in the program that we found most beneficial we have not been able to find anywhere else. The program also offers support to its’ clients, so if you have any questions or problems along the way, you can rest assured that you’ll have someone knowledgeable to turn to.
The program boats incredible audio testimonials from their home page, along with support and accolades from Clinical Psychologists and other professionals in the industry. It is also used in clinical settings.
A 100% money back guarantee is offered with the purchase of the program, which makes trying it a no-brainer to us.
There are usually bonuses offered with the program as well, which we’ve always found to be of high quality and great companions to the program itself. Most recently, an audio bonus was added consisting of the author conducting a series of interviews with professionals and industry leaders about the fear of driving and their respective areas of expertise including hypnosis, biofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy, and more.
The only negative we’ve found with the program is that we’d love to have the audio version available on CD’s, but I guess we could always burn the mp3′s to disk if we really wanted. I have them on my iPod and it works really well.
The program is $67.00, which considering the support, bonuses, and guarantee, is an incredible value. They also use the most trusted third party payment processor to handle their transactions, which is a secure way to accept payments so you don’t need to be concerned about the safety of buying online.
To learn more about the program, click the link below:

The Driving Fear Program

Panic attack a slowly creeping mental disorder

Panic attack is a slowly creeping mental disorder that Americans or any other nationality for that matter are falling victims to, according to the January 19, 2013, issue of The New York Times weekend supplement in the Manila Bulletin.

In a somewhat weird coincidence, some of the 35 Filipinos who survived a recent terrorist attack on an Algerian desert oil plant are suffering from a traumatic panic attack, said a lady official of OWWA who interviewed the OFWs upon arrival.
The oil plant workers may be given psycho-social rehabilitation of sort, it was explained briefly on TV by officials.

The Filipinos arrived last Sunday, January 20. Some of them may be psychologically disturbed by their near-death experience.
How competent are our health authorities in handling local patients diagnosed to be suffering from such mental disorder as anxiety or panic attack?

For one, the Philippine Mental Health Association or any other government instrumentality that is tasked to manage the problem, seldom makes known its developmental strides through the media. To the public, what it knows about mental disorder is what people read about it in, say, newspapers.
Many of us are only superficially informed about the ailment. It is a rare occasion that these professional groups are in media explaining their goals and related activities.
To the general public, Filipinos appear to be the least bothered by mental health updates like panic attack. We are kept in the dark by these agencies on how they combat the ailment and in tackling the problem like restoring patients back to health, and so forth.

So when the public is not informed adequately on mental health developments, and the traumatic causes and treatment of the ailment, we may be immersed in ignorance of something which is vital to family and society, experts claimed.

There were two inter-related news articles in the "Times" weekend supplement in the "Bulletin." They dealt with mental cases in the US and the potential of such illnesses in striking anywhere in the world.
A feature story, "Anxious in a World of Dangers," recounted the experience of a celebrated American golfer, in the middle of a championship round, who thought he was having a heart attack and asked that he be sent to a hospital.

There was nothing physically wrong with him, doctors who examined him noted. And back at the fairways, he felt in top shape and improved his swing to win the championship.
Says the article, in part: "In a world where danger does truly lurk and tragedy does strike, a runaway fear of a panic attack - a neuro-chemical event that causes a flight response without immediate cause - is especially disorienting."

While anxiety occurs when a kind of fear - rational or irrational - interferes with our daily life. Widespread anxiety is a leading mental disorder in most developed nations.
The article also mentions the fact that some 40 million American adults experience some form of anxiety. Thus, it is the most prevalent mental health condition in the US.

Another news feature titled, "A Movie in Which Murder and Pills Collide," analyzes the substance of a current movie, "Side Effects." It zeroes in on "a world of psychiatric medicines that have become deeply familiar to the tens of millions of individuals who use commonly prescribed mood-altering drugs."
Why are these drugs so popular? "We live in a world where everybody wants a quick fix for their problems," says Dr. Sasha Bardey of New York University's Langone Medical Center. That is why these drugs are increasing in number, as well as their side effects.

In the first place, many of the patients were not sick enough to need them, the journal declared.
So, go easy with those antidepressants. You may not need them, to begin with.

Fear behind the wheel By LeighAnn Wolle

Sophomore year is the most awkward of the high school grades.
You don’t get picked on like the freshman, yet you’re not an upperclassman. You can’t go to prom on your own and you’re most likely not yet a varsity athlete.

There’s at least one good thing about the second year of high school — for most people, anyway. Most of us are eligible to get our driver’s licenses during sophomore year.
Though most of my friends can’t wait, I am scared to get my license.

I keep watching as more of my classmates find themselves behind the wheel without an instructor.
Brandon Clark, a sophomore at Pleasant Plains High School got his license a few weeks ago.
“I was excited because I would finally be able to drive on my own. Because of my license, I don’t have to rely on parents or other people to drive me where I need to go,” Brandon said.
Brandon said he “personally (can’t see) a downside to having a license. The only problem I can think of is that some parents make their kids pay for gas, but luckily this problem doesn’t affect me.”

I’m not all that eager to join Brandon and get a license. For me, the only thing that seems exciting is the ability to take myself places.
I don’t like driving. I get nervous around other drivers and forget the rules, and I am scared my mind will completely blank during the test.

I am a very unsure driver, and one of my many driving fears is that the test director will sense that and try to freak me out. I have no confidence behind the wheel.
Some teens say getting a license is pointless because they don’t have cars. I can’t use this excuse. I have a 2010 red Volkswagen Beetle and I love it.
I just don’t love driving it.

Although I am nervous and dislike driving now, I hope I’ll be ready to drive by my birthday, which is coming soon.
Brandon provided some encouragement.
“The best part of having my license is the freedom. I can finally go where I want, when I want,” he said.
I hope that feeling will soon outweigh my fear.

LeighAnn Wolle is a sophomore at Pleasant Plains High School.

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