"call of the void" phenomenon/sudden fear of driving over bridges - how do you talk yourself down?

[Anonymous]

Omg yes!!!! Are you on Wellbutrin? This was my side effect. It was incredibly debilitating and I never could figure it out. It stopped when I stopped the Wellbutrin. I heard someone else say they had this side effect too.

[Anonymous]

Are most of the posters replying in here women?

Because this happens to me too and not my DH.

I wonder if it is more common for women and why that would be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I usually just pep talk myself. "Eyes on the road, find the yellow line, eyes on the road, just follow the lines".

Something like that. Or I focus on the car in front of me. "Just follow that car, eyes on the car"

Bridges scare me but most are over pretty quickly. I am usually scanning for other people making mistakes that would push me off, not worried about me doing it. But still.

NP. I do this too. I doubt I'll be able to drive over the Bay Bridge ever again. The last time, I kept my eyes locked on the car ahead of me.

I get a feeling of vertigo, that the car will just veer off the bridge. Rationally I know it won't. And wide or low bridges are no problem at all. But high bridges, bridges with no shoulder, it's a tilting vertigo feeling.

This is OP - and mine came with a weird disorienting vertigo sensation, too. I wonder if this might be sinus related? Or inner ear? Like our bodies are responding to the change in altitude with this weird and super disturbing mental imagery, but really it's responding to a change in pressure or something?

[Anonymous]

OP, I've been there! My commute took me over the SF Bay Bridge for years. During a period of high stress, I began to worry that I'd somehow swerve over the edge. The anxiety ramped up so much that I began to take BART into the city instead.

Eventually I found a driving school that focused on people with phobias. I drove the bridge several times with that instructor, whose calming presence helped. I also did phobia-focused hypnosis with a therapist, and that really helped me relax too.

I still don't like driving bridges but I can do it.

[Anonymous]

I have this fear, which I discovered when I was living in San Francisco when I had to commute daily over the Bay Bridge, including the famous S curve that trucks fly off of. I rarely cross bridges and if I do, I try to let someone else drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are most of the posters replying in here women?

Because this happens to me too and not my DH.

I wonder if it is more common for women and why that would be?

No, I am a guy who posted here. It isn't delibilating for me though, it would never stop me from doing something like driving over the bay bridge, much as i might dislike it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I usually just pep talk myself. "Eyes on the road, find the yellow line, eyes on the road, just follow the lines".

Something like that. Or I focus on the car in front of me. "Just follow that car, eyes on the car"

Bridges scare me but most are over pretty quickly. I am usually scanning for other people making mistakes that would push me off, not worried about me doing it. But still.

NP. I do this too. I doubt I'll be able to drive over the Bay Bridge ever again. The last time, I kept my eyes locked on the car ahead of me.

I get a feeling of vertigo, that the car will just veer off the bridge. Rationally I know it won't. And wide or low bridges are no problem at all. But high bridges, bridges with no shoulder, it's a tilting vertigo feeling.

This is OP - and mine came with a weird disorienting vertigo sensation, too. I wonder if this might be sinus related? Or inner ear? Like our bodies are responding to the change in altitude with this weird and super disturbing mental imagery, but really it's responding to a change in pressure or something?

PP here. I mentioned this to DH and he said that he's had the intrusive thoughts while driving, the call of the void. I've never had that. But I do get a sort of vertigo while driving over some bridges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have had this happen traveling over the Susquehanna River in PA to visit family. I've been driving the same route for decades and never had an issue. It's a wide bridge, two lanes each way and huge shoulders. A couple of years ago, I had a feeling that I was going to be pulled over the side of the bridge as I was driving across -- not due to wind or anything-- just a weird internal feeling. It was very unsettling. On the return trip, I put on a song and sang it the entire way over. I have to say that the next few trips, I took a different route that involved shorter/different bridges. No issue there or with Potomac River ones. Last few pre-covid trips were fine. No explanation.

Same thing happened to me on this bridge and I also took the alternate root several times. I had to force myself to get back on the road eventually so it didn’t become a problem. Listening to music and chewing gum or something crunchy helped.

[Anonymous]

This happened to me on a ski lift! My mind just kept thinking about jumping. It was a terrifying feeling and came with that sense of vertigo others have mentioned. I'd been on ski lifts so many times in my 20s and never had that happen. This happened in my 40s and I haven't been on one since (not b/c of this, just b/c there hasn't been an opportunity). So weird!

[Anonymous]

This happens to me too! I hate driving the Bay Bridge and usually make my DH do it. I'm generally afraid of heights as well, and anxious about a lot.

My dad had the bridges / heights thing as well.

[Anonymous]

This is OP - I can't believe so many of us are walking around with these terrible thoughts! I wish we could sit our brains down and have a good talking to them about HOW THIS IS NOT HELPFUL.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting, OP, I had no idea that there was a name!

I sing loudly when crossing bridges. Helps to fuzz my brain until it’s over.

[Anonymous]

I get this, and always have since I was a child. I also get vertigo and am afraid of heights, but going over bridges is a whole other level of fear. I didn't realize there was a name for it. I do a couple things to help. I drive in the left hand lane if there is one, so that I am farthest from the edge (though if the traffic is moving fast I don't - driving fast makes me even more panicky). I keep my eyes on the road ahead, not the sky or bridge. If my DH is with me he puts his hand on my leg, just comfortingly being there. And then I just tell my brain to behave itself and stop feeding me bullsh&t. Because it IS BS. I don't have a death wish, and I am not going to drive off the bridge. But chanting "I'm not going to drive off the bridge" just reinforces the idea of it, so I tell myself ONCE to quit thinking about it, and then I think about something else - the line in the road, the song on the radio, etc. I focus very intentionally on that. I still am very nervous and hate it, but I get through it.

I also hate ski lifts, roller coasters, and cliffs.

[Anonymous]

Wow, I've had this happen before but didn't realize it was a thing...this is like the time I realized lots of people had the same academic anxiety dreams about things like not realizing they were registered for a class, and then having to take a final exam.

For me it's not specifically about crossing bridges, but I'll just be driving down the road and think, what would happen if I jerked the wheel and swerved to the side. And then a kind of fear of doing it on purpose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get this, and always have since I was a child. I also get vertigo and am afraid of heights, but going over bridges is a whole other level of fear. I didn't realize there was a name for it. I do a couple things to help. I drive in the left hand lane if there is one, so that I am farthest from the edge (though if the traffic is moving fast I don't - driving fast makes me even more panicky). I keep my eyes on the road ahead, not the sky or bridge. If my DH is with me he puts his hand on my leg, just comfortingly being there. And then I just tell my brain to behave itself and stop feeding me bullsh&t. Because it IS BS. I don't have a death wish, and I am not going to drive off the bridge. But chanting "I'm not going to drive off the bridge" just reinforces the idea of it, so I tell myself ONCE to quit thinking about it, and then I think about something else - the line in the road, the song on the radio, etc. I focus very intentionally on that. I still am very nervous and hate it, but I get through it.

I also hate ski lifts, roller coasters, and cliffs.

+1 to all of this. For me, it really amped up during childhood when my mom was having serious mental health issues and I was afraid she would decide to take us both out. It has lessened somewhat since I had my own child. I try to focus on whatever is on npr during bridge crossings.