Construction phobias
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.
[edit]
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
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Are we doing the right thing? Shaping well-being into the future of our urban communities.
- Assessing health and wellbeing in buildings.
- BRE wellbeing research paper competition.
- Building related illness.
- Changing attitudes towards the mental wellbeing of early career Architectural Technology professionals.
- Engineering hoaxes.
- Human comfort in buildings.
- Overcoming imposter syndrome.
- Sick building syndrome.
- Tackling mental health in the workplace.
- Tackling mental health issues in construction.
- TG10 2016 At a glance, wellbeing.
- Thermal comfort and wellbeing.
- Wellbeing considerations for property managers.
- WELL and BREEAM align.
- WELL Building Standard.
- What we know about wellbeing.
Featured articles and news
For the World Autism Awareness Month of April.
70+ experts appointed to public sector fire safety framework
The Fire Safety (FS2) Framework from LHC Procurement.
Project and programme management codes of practice
CIOB publications for built environment professionals.
Sustainable development concepts decade by decade.
The regenerative structural engineer
A call for design that will repair the natural world.
Buildings that mimic the restorative aspects found in nature.
CIAT publishes Principal Designer Competency Framework
For those considering applying for registration as a PD.
BSRIA Building Reg's guidance: The second staircase
An overview focusing on aspects which most affect the building services industry.
Design codes and pattern books
Harmonious proportions and golden sections.
Introducing or next Guest Editor Arun Baybars
Practising architect and design panel review member.
Quick summary by size, shape, test, material, use or bonding.
Types of rapidly renewable content
From forestry to agricultural crops and their by-products.
Terraced houses and the public realm
The discernible difference between the public realm of detached housing and of terraced housing.