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
Specifying rendered external wall insulation for fire safety
How to interrogate the evidence provided to the specifier.
The benefits of writing articles for your organisation
How to create a profile for your organisation and publish for free.
No Falls Week. The importance of safe working at height
What to expect and what is on offer to avoid accidents.
Scottish Government action to reach net-zero targets
Retrofit expert group highlight critical actions needed.
A forward thinking, inclusive global community of members.
From engineered product life-spans, to their extension.
Circular economy in the built environment
A brief description from 2021. Where are we now?
Mental Health Awareness Week with ABS
Architects Benevolent Society programme of activity.
CLC publishes domestic retrofit competency framework
Roadmap of Skills for net zero.
May 13-19: Moving more for our mental health.
Understanding is key to conservation.
Open industry engagement survey seeks responses
Institutions and the importance of engagement.
National Retrofit Hub unveils new guide
Digital Building Logbooks and Retrofit: An Introduction.
Enhancing construction site reporting efficiency
Through digitisation and the digital revolution.