Construction phobias
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A phobia (from the Greek 'phobos') literally means fear of an object or a situation. As an anxiety disorder, it is usually irrational and excessive. People with phobias usually go to great lengths to avoid situations that might bring on the phobia. Phobias include melissophobia (fear of bees), claustrophobia (confined spaces) and agoraphobia (open spaces).
Specific phobias – such as cynophobia (dogs) and arachnophobia (spiders) – generally start in childhood and may be linked to an unpleasant event experienced by the sufferer. Some phobias may be treated with behavioural therapy.
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There is likely to be a phobia connected with almost every object and situation. Below is a list of some that may be encountered in the world of architecture, engineering and construction.
- Church - Ecclesiophobia
- Colour - Chromatophobia/chromophobia
- Colour black - Melanophobia
- Computers - Cyberphobia/computerphobia
- Crossing bridges - Gephyrophobia
- Crossing streets - Dromophobia
- Draughts - Anemophobia
- Dust - Amathophobia, koniphobia
- Confined spaces - Claustrophobia
- Damp/moisture/liquids - Hygrophobia
- Everything - Pantophobia
- Fire - Pyrophobia
- Glass - Hyalophobia
- Heat - Thermophobia
- Heights - Acrophobia, altophobia
- High ceilings/tall buildings - Altocelarophobia
- Home - Ecophobia
- Houses - Oikophobia, domatophobia
- Ice, frost - Cryophobia
- Ideas - Ideophobia
- Imperfection - Atelophobia
- Infinity - Apeirophobia
- Large objects - Macrophobia
- Leaves - Phyllophobia
- Lightning - Astraphobia
- Machinery - Mechanophobia
- Many things - Polyphobia
- Metals - Metallophobia
- Mirrors - Catotrophobia/eisoptrophobia
- Narrowness - Anginaphobia
- Noise - Phonophobia
- Open spaces - Agoraphobia
- Pointed instruments - Aichmophobia
- Responsibility - Hypegiaphobia
- Rust - Iophobia
- Shadows - Sciophobia
- Small objects - Microphobia
- Sound - Acousticophobia
- Stairs - Climacophobia
- String - Linonophobia
- Sun - Heliophobia
- Symbols - Symbolophobia
- Trees - Dendrophobia
- Vehicles - Amaxophobia
- Voids - Kenophobia
- Water - Hydrophobia/aquaphobia
- Wind - Ancraophobia
- Wood - Xylophobia/hylophobia
- Words - Logophobia
- Work - Ergophobia/ergasiophobia
- Wounds/injury -Traumatophobia
- Writing - Graphophobia
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