Claustrophobia
fear of confined spaces
Claustrophobia is a fear or anxiety of confined spaces. It is triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, small cars, and tight-necked clothing can induce a response in those with claustrophobia. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.
One study indicates that anywhere from five to ten percent of the world population is affected by severe claustrophobia, but only a small percentage of these people receive some kind of treatment for the disorder.
Etymology
The term claustrophobia comes from Latin claustrum "a shut in place" and Greek φόβος, phóbos, "fear".
Signs and symptoms
Claustrophobia is classified as an anxiety disorder. Symptoms generally develop during childhood or adolescence. Claustrophobia is typically thought to have one key symptom: fear of suffocation.
“Claustrophobia” enters the record as fear of confined spaces. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Claustrophobia, fear and confined can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Claustrophobia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.