Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis Rouses Fears and Phobias About Personal Safety

In an Aug. 3 news release, a University of Buffalo anxiety expert shed some light on what affect Wednesday's bridge collapse in Minneapolis will no doubt have on some individuals, especially those who have suffered past traumatic events or who currently suffer from ongoing phobias about their personal safety.

The tragedy occurred during the evening commute on Wednesday. According to all news accounts, the Minneapolis Police Department estimates that 50 to 60 vehicles were on the 35W bridge, including a school bus carrying 52 children and nine adults, when it unexpectedly collapsed. Some 25 to 30 vehicles dropped into the Mississippi River, which is very deep at that location. Although final numbers were not available as of Friday, the victims included 5 killed, 98 injured (5 critically), and several still missing, with several vehicles still submerged in the river and yet to be searched for victims.

Nancy J. Smyth is Dean of the University of Buffalo School of Social Work. She believes the most significant factor that generally affects uninvolved people in tragedies such as the bridge collapse, the 2001 attack on the twin towers in New York, or the bombing of the Murrah building in Oklahoma City in 1995 is how closely their individual lives resemble the lives of one or more of the victims. For example, if a particular victim's age, marital status, family make-up, or social and professional status is similar to an uninvolved person who is repeatedly exposed to news and video clips of a tragedy or disaster, the affect can be profound.

Regarding the bridge tragedy in Minneapolis, Smyth said that "certainly, for people with bridge phobia, this will activate them like crazy and make them worse. A lot of how people react depends on how closely they identify with the people who were hurt or killed; if there is someone your age or who has a life similar to yours, you are likely to identify with them, with someone who is like you."

Not only will some people relate to some of the victims, but this was a tragedy that occurred during a normal daily commute, which thousands of people can relate to and/or do themselves every day. That fact alone may also tend to heighten the fear, or at least an uneasy level of awareness, for many each time they start their own commute or drive on bridges or any raised roadway that could potentially collapse.

As Smyth described it in the press release, "This will raise all people's feelings about lack of safety in our everyday lives. As people begin to hear who is involved and affected by this, their belief - that we go through day-to-day life thinking that we are safe and won't be hurt - will be disrupted." Even people who have suffered traumas in their own lives that had nothing to do with bridges or collapsing roadways "will be upset," said Smyth. "Those who traveled that bridge, obviously they are going to be struggling, thinking that there but for the grace of God go I."

Some who live a thousand miles away will be as deeply affected by this incident as those who live within view of the bridge itself. Smyth explained that how a person is affected has more to do with "psychological distance than physical distance. People who regularly travel bridges might start feeling nervous. It really depends on how closely they connect with the people in the story."

Some people will put a lot of energy into searching for the reasons a particular tragedy happened, and whether it could happen to them. Smyth said "people will be searching for ways to make sense out of this and for ways to make it more predictable, but these things are not predictable. Otherwise they would be preventing them."

In terms of what to do to minimize or address the anxious feelings one may have upon learning of and repeatedly hearing about a disaster or tragedy, Smyth recommends limiting the amount of news coverage they watch and limiting the amount of conversation they engage in about the incident and those involved. She also recommends "good self-caring and coping techniques, such as avoiding things like alcohol and caffeine, getting enough rest and talking about it if that feels it would be helpful. People make themselves worse by watching the news over and over."

Source:

News release, Bridge Collapse Will Raise Fears and Phobias, Expert Says; http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/532175/