By Theresa Juva-Brown and Khurram Saeed, THE JOURNAL NEWS<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
For decades, when Renee Stala had to cross the Tappan Zee Bridge, she was hit with waves of nausea and an overwhelming feeling of dread.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would go across that bridge feeling like I would have a heart attack. … It was awful, awful, awful,\u201d recalled the 59-year-old from Nanuet, who finally overcame her fear several years ago with the help of a therapist.<\/p>\n
At 15,998-feet long and with narrow lanes, low railings and a sloping roadway, the Tappan Zee has been a longtime nemesis for people with a fear of bridges. For Stala, the Tappan Zee was the worst.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no shoulder, so if you think you are going to get sick or have a panic attack there is no place to move over,\u201d Stala said. \u201cAnd the way the span goes, it seems like it goes forever. You can\u2019t see the other end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its modern twin-span replacement \u2014 which will be completed in 2018 \u2014 will be the widest bridge in the world and include features such as emergency lanes that could quell the nerves of some skittish drivers. Many of them fear being trapped on the bridge or unable to pull over, so \u201cwith a breakdown lane and a pedestrian area it will be so much better,\u201d Stala said.<\/p>\n
But those features could heighten the anxiety of other nervous drivers, said Martin Seif, associate director of the Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center at White Plains Hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a significant number of people who get a thought in their mind like, \u2018What if I smash into the car next to me?\u2019 A larger, busier highway or bridge tends to trigger those thoughts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The first span is to open in 2016, but its opening will not dramatically alter the driving experience for people with anxiety. That\u2019s because the shoulders next to the travel lanes will be used for traffic until the second span opens in 2018.<\/p>\n
Experts say, however, that the core of people\u2019s fear is more about losing control than the actual structure.<\/p>\n
Christine Ziegler, director of the Hudson Valley Center for Cognitive Therapy in Upper Nyack, said the new bridge design could help some people, but won\u2019t alleviate their \u201cfear of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many, it is not the particular features of the bridge that cause the anxiety, but rather the thoughts, feelings and sensations they experience in anticipation of crossing the bridge,\u201d Ziegler said. \u201cThey worry that if they start to panic, they will be desperate to escape the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhobic people tend to have fantasies that they will drive off the bridge or lose control and wind up in the water,\u201d agreed Dr. Fred Newman, director of the phobia and anxiety center at White Plains Hospital. \u201cVery few are afraid that the bridge is going to fall down \u2014 they are afraid of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
One might assume that people terrified of crossing the Tappan Zee would want to drive across as quickly as possible, but that\u2019s not always the case, said Judy Biderman, a therapist from Mahwah, N.J., who has treated numerous people with a fear of the Tappan Zee. About a quarter of her patients would rather be caught in traffic on a bridge than drive across at highway speed, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people who want to be on a road or on a bridge where they are boxed in because that urge to run is so strong,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving so many people around is like a cushion. They feel safe.\u201d<\/p\n\n\n\n
Ziegler said she has not incorporated the new bridge into her treatment since the full bridge isn\u2019t expected to open for five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am hopeful that our patients will overcome their bridge phobia long before the new bridge is built,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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