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] Construction-related phobias

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.