Domatophobia

Domatophobia (oikophobia or eicophobia) is the fear of or being in a house. Sufferers may perceive homes to be unsafe or repressive, especially after hearing people got robbed or even murdered in their home, either in real life or in movies. Some sufferers who believe in ghosts may fear that the house is haunted. The less sinister fear symptom of domatophobia are the fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia) and fear of being trapped (cleithrophobia). Even hearing creaking or crunching sound is enough to cause anxiety and can also be worsened by a wild imagination. More severe sufferers may worry that the house could start fire, collapse, explode, or get hit by a tornado, potentially causing severe injuries or deaths.

Elderly may hate to be in a house, because they often be alone especially when most kids have moved out and have their own families, thus they feel depressed and sad being at home. Another reason is they don’t like being at home because they might have lost the ability to move around the house with the same energy they once did.

Symptoms may include an aversion to entering a house, and dreading a house that is in a bad condition. Sounds such as creaking or undersized rooms may cause nervousness for those suffering from this phobia.

Treatment includes therapy to help the phobic try to identify the root cause of the fear and can include, or.