Reply to "call of the void" phenomenon/sudden fear of driving over bridges

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

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[quote=Anonymous]I had a really unpleasant experience over the weekend. I was driving over a long, tall bridge - and suddenly felt this horrible anxiety that I was going to drive over the edge. Like I could not get the image out of my head. And not even a fear that it was going to happen accidentally, but that I was going to drive over the edge, on purpose.

I am not suicidal. I do get anxiety. Obviously when it was time to drive over the bridge AGAIN on my way home I was a little more mentally prepared this might happen, and basically chanted to myself the whole time: you're fine, you're fine, just drive straight, nothing to worry about.

Googling around afterwards, I learned that apparently this is quite a common thing. (W T F brains?) It's called "call of the void" and is related to intrusive thoughts. The explanation seems to be that it's your brain's way of processing risk - like, your brain is telling you that you love life and falling off a bridge would be really bad, but the messages get jumbled into this very disturbing and unpleasant and quite scary loop in your head. (It manifests in other ways, too, apparently - a sudden, but unacted on, impulse to slap someone, or to take all your clothes off in a public place, or to do other self-and-other destructive things.)

https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2018/06/29/the-call-of-the-void

Good stuff, brain.

Anyway, yes, I will be looking for a therapist. Because I really do not want to end up with some horrible anxiety that leaves me not able to drive over bridges. But in the meantime...

Anyone else experienced this? And how have you talked yourself down from the thoughts, or dealt with it?[/quote]

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