Fear of the dark

In a pitch-black city there is a pitch-black house, in this pitch-black house there is a pitch-black room… And the chilling: “give me my heart back.” Remember the horror story from your childhood? For some, it’s a funny childish joke, but for others, such scary stories remain for life. Fear of the dark is the most common phobia. Does any noise make you shudder, are you sure that an evil creature is lurking in a dark corner? Believe me, you are not alone in your horror. Almost every second person experiences similar fears.

Fear of darkness is embedded in us from birth, it is a kind of instinct for self-preservation. But panic fear, which has grown into persecution mania, interferes with normal human life. This phobia has been given several names, among which nyctophobia is the most common. There are also: achluophobia, scotophobia or ekluophobia.

Causes of fear of the dark

Fear of the dark, the reasons that disturb our consciousness, can be divided into:

• physiological aspects – the production of the hormone melatonin (responsible for the stability of the emotional state) stops at night;
• psychological moments - before going to bed, a person replays the events of the current day with its stresses, worries, failures, and relives them (here sleep passes, and fears come to life, and mental disorders will not keep you waiting);
• subconscious fear since the time of primitive mankind;

Fear in the dark is caused by the fear of loneliness or death, difficult experiences experienced in childhood (even if an adult does not remember them). Very often, phobias are inherited from parents to children. Or maybe you just have a wild imagination, which is perfectly helped to develop by a horror movie watched before going to bed. Some doctors believe that fears arise due to a lack of minerals in the body that maintain emotional balance. Be that as it may, a person needs to learn to cope with the fear of the dark himself and be able to correctly avoid such situations in children.

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Fear of the dark in children

The rich imagination of children gives birth to many phobias. Fear of the dark in children also arises due to the fault of the parents themselves, who at every opportunity frighten them with Baba Yaga or an evil gnome hiding in the dark. A child cannot always distinguish reality from fantasy, and darkness is perceived by them as evil. So monsters settle in closets, under beds, etc.

Parents need to help their children overcome their fear of the dark. You should remember the following:

• Be sure to listen to the frightened child and help him understand the reason for his fears;
• don't throw a frightened baby out of your room, he needs to be calmed down and encouraged;
• Stay in the nursery longer until the child falls asleep. Your presence will give him courage, a sense of security and help him cope with this phobia;
• Explain how to overcome fear. To do this, the child must talk to an imaginary monster and eventually declare that he is not afraid of it.

There is no need to assure children that there are no monsters. In such a situation, the child will feel misunderstood, rejected, humiliated. Parents who shame their children for being afraid of the dark, call them cowards, risk aggravating the situation with additional stress. Such an attitude can only drive the fear deeper. Children will keep silent about their experiences that traumatize the soul, which will lead to the development of inferiority complexes and new phobias. Leave a night light, dim light at night, so that the child feels relaxed and confident. Do not turn off the light source after the baby has fallen asleep. Do not save on electricity, because the child may wake up from another nightmare.

The psycho-emotional health of the baby depends only on the warm, calm, reasonable, attentive, caring attitude of the parents.

Psychologists offer several tricks to ensure that your child no longer suffers from fear of the dark:

• if the child is afraid of evil spirits, evil spirits, or some kind of monsters, then select an object in the room that supposedly scares them away;
• instill in your child the feeling: your home is your protection.

Fear of the dark in children can be prevented by:

• don't scare your child with scary stories;
• at the slightest mischief, do not suggest that an evil uncle will come and take him away;
• limit watching horror films and playing games that involve monsters;
• Don't read or tell scary stories, especially at night.

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Fear of the dark in adults

It is believed that it is much easier to overcome childhood fears than to solve similar problems in adulthood. Consciousness is capable of transforming the fear of darkness in adults and we will talk about the feeling of a potential threat that lies in wait in a dark alley or on an unlit street.

The signs of this phobia are: physical and psychological discomfort, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, profuse sweating, freezing extremities. It can lead to hallucinations, mental disorders.

Fear of the dark in adults is associated with increased anxiety. The brain constantly receives signals about possible threats from the outside. Over time, these experiences turn into nyctophobia. It should be noted that in adulthood, such experiences at first remain unnoticed. But an exacerbation occurs unexpectedly! Fear of the dark can increase the body's reflex reactions.

Adults with this phobia are advised to:

• take regular walks;
• go out into nature more often;
• active, mobile sports help (it is desirable that they are enjoyed);
• use herbal infusions and teas recommended by your doctor;
• seek the help of a psychotherapist if you are unable to overcome your fear on your own.

Don't try to fool yourself by falling asleep with the lights on. It won't help, experts say. It's better to convince yourself that there is no threat in the dark. Remember the outline of your room and imagine it with your eyes closed before going to bed. If you are afraid of dark streets, take a travel companion with you, choose illuminated routes. This will help you cope with your fear of the dark.

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How to get rid of the fear of the dark?

How to get rid of the fear of the dark if you do not associate the fear with a specific situation? Be patient. If necessary, seek help from a psychotherapist. Try to apply the following template, which can rid you of oppressive fear.

It is known that most fears come from childhood. We are taught that being a coward is shameful, that fear is abnormal and that we must get rid of it at any cost. This is how shame, anger, and dissatisfaction with ourselves appear. First of all, formulate your attitude to the phobia. What attitudes pop up in your head? Then you should determine what exactly scares you in the dark. You may get a collective image of insecurity, uncertainty, threat of attack, etc. Most often, we are talking about a physical threat to health and a feeling of uncertainty, which entails new fears and experiences. And the more of these “skeletons in the closet” you find, the better.

Your personal, negative qualities that you do not want to accept in yourself are transferred to the object of fear. Suppressed anger and aggression are transformed into various phobias. Give darkness several qualities and try them on yourself. If joy, excitement, embarrassment, shame appear, you need to damage this mechanism. Realize yourself as darkness. Think about what you are intended for, how do you treat yourself, what needs do you have? Then return to your body and analyze:

• what feelings and emotions appear;
• how do you feel about darkness;
• what you would like to express to her or do.

Change places until some kind of dialogue is established that can reconcile you with the object of fear.

Work on your fears, understand your experiences, come up with new effective methods to combat the phobia, and it will certainly retreat.

Treatment for fear of the dark

Fear of the dark in children goes away when they feel completely safe. To achieve this, inspect the entire room with the things in it by the light of the chandelier before going to bed. Distract the child with a calm, kind book without witches and bloodthirsty monsters. Monitor the quality of the TV broadcast.

If you can't eradicate the causes of fear on your own, consult a specialist. Experienced psychotherapists have techniques that teach you to face your fears face to face without experiencing tormenting experiences.

Pleasant, relaxing music has a healing effect on adults with this phobia. Read something interesting, remember pleasant, soul-warming moments of life. At night, you can drink a soothing herbal decoction, warm milk with honey. Teach yourself not to analyze the past day.

It is generally not recommended to watch TV, eat, play active games with children, fool around, laugh excessively, swear, etc. two hours before bed. The evening should be devoted to rest, relaxation, and positive emotions.

Fears, including fear of the dark, are embedded in us by nature for the purpose of self-preservation. Without this, we would have died out long ago. Change your attitude to fears, make friends with them. Imagine the object of your phobia as something cute and pleasant.