Developing a Phobia Late in Life - Is this Normal??

Flying. I used to love it. Now I think of the mechanics who probably don't give a shite. Kick the tire, thumbs up. Taking off makes me nervous.

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I am knocking on 50; and never have I been afraid of heights, ever - not even a smidge. Lately, I find myself terrified of heights; especially bridges. I almost passed out last week crossing the Dolly Parton bridge in Bay Minette. There has been no precipitating, tragic event. I am simply suddenly afraid of heights.

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i wonder if it a vertigo issue. You may have been fine before but age gets to everyone and maybe it is something to do with vertigo.

ETA: Vertigo as the medical condition of vertigo- not the common but incorrect usage of vertigo to mean a fear of heights.

Bridge phobias are a real thing. I developed one in my late 20s. It was so stupid. My arms would go numb & I’d get dizzy. Mine was more like a fear of having a panic attack on the bridge & losing control. That fear was enough to make me panic. Super inconvenient, considering my fam lived across the river. I had to go way out of my way to take the ferry.

I ended up getting on Lexapro for anxiety, and then I was fine. A couple years of medicated bridge crossing got me over it, and now I’m fine on them without meds.

Link

This article says it can be related to the balance issue that people experience as they get older. Less balance means more fear of falling.

Also less adrenaline and the loss of the invincibility of youth can also affect you and cause a phobia later in life.

ETA: my late fiance was firefighter and yet had developed a fear of bridges and of driving. Yet no issues with walking into fire, lol. He preferred me to drive so he was free to scan the area and tell me where to go.

He explained that for him, it all came from a bad fire where he was trapped on the 3rd floor. He had no choice but to jump 3 floors to the ground. He was injured but but not too badly. The mental damage was far worse. Odd cause he was fearless in every other way. he said it all boiled down to him never wanting to be in a situation where he could get trapped again.

A lot of folks develop islamophobia in adulthood

Okay - that pretty much sums up my experience. I panic. The Africatown bridge in Mobile is a no go. I can't do it. Especially going east to west where the approach to the bridge is almost a left hand turn. It's not just bridges. I have a friend who has a 37th floor apt - at one time I would sit on the ledge and smoke - now I can't even walk out onto the terrace. I get legit dizzy and start to sweat.

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I am have always been a little claustrophobic, but it has gotten worse as I got older. If I suddenly find myself in a place where people are wall to wall, I have to get out..

Also, I hate spiders.. But I don't know if I really fear them.. if that makes sense... They didn't bother me as much as a kid. Anything else, I am good..

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My claustrophobia is mostly just a fear of being tightly trapped in a cave(like the guy who died in the Nutty Putty cave) or the guys who get trapped while cave diving. OMG frick that!!

I love caverns though. I used to love scuba diving in the caverns of the springs in Fla.

As kids my sis used to rolled me tightly up in a blanket and I would get that panicky claustrophobic feeling. I can;t imagine how it feels to be trapped and tightly wedged in a cave like that.

I personally know two top notch mechanics at MSY. Each man has over 35 years of working on all types of aircraft. I would never fear either of these gentlemen not doing their job.

Panhandlers give me anxiety. I feel like a throwdown is about to happen whenever they approach my car.

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Okay - that pretty much sums up my experience. I panic. The Africatown bridge in Mobile is a no go. I can't do it. Especially going east to west where the approach to the bridge is almost a left hand turn. It's not just bridges. I have a friend who has a 37th floor apt - at one time I would sit on the ledge and smoke - now I can't even walk out onto the terrace. I get legit dizzy and start to sweat.

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Bridges like you described with a turn are horrible. It feels like you’re going up a roller coaster & you can’t get off.

I developed a fear of heights around that time, too. Some friends wanted to go to the top of the Capitol in BR & I was like

Besides being medicated (which helped most), flooding/exposure therapy is supposed to help. I ended up doing my own version of that when I was forced to cross the bridge on a daily basis for months. It was after I’d gotten off of Lexapro. The more times I crossed without a panic attack, the more confident I became & stopped worrying.

It sounds so trivial, but it’s worth talking to your doctor about it. It can seriously interfere with your quality of life when you’re avoiding going places out of fear of encountering a bridge.