the.com/claustrophobia
A sudden, overwhelming fear that an enclosed space is too small to breathe or escape from.
means An intense, often irrational fear of small or enclosed spaces.
from Built in the 19th century from Latin 'claustrum' (a bolt, bar, or enclosed place — the same root that gives us 'cloister') plus Greek 'phobos' (fear). Doctors coined it as medical terms were increasingly built by stitching Latin bodies to Greek fears, giving panic a clinical-sounding passport.
- not about space
- it is fear of restricted escape, not tight rooms
- MRI machine
- the single most common trigger in modern life
- evolutionary theory
- may be ancient anti-ambush instinct misfiring indoors
- quick fix
- staring at an exit sign calms the amygdala fast