Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[jekylljuice]

This may seem like a strange question, but I'm genuinely curious to know people's feelings on this matter. It may also strike you as a rather childish fear for someone to still be feeling the effects of in their mid-20s, but I know that we're all above taunting one another for being "childish" on this forum, and I would have to say that yes, I am. Or at least, periodically I am. It has a tendency to come and go, but every so often, I find myself locked in this state of mind in which I can't allow myself to settle down and sleep if there isn't some source of light nearby. This state of mind can go on for weeks and weeks before it subside. The most obvious solution would be to sleep with my beside lamp on, but in today's economic and environmental climate that's hardly ideal, and besides, I feel mighty silly having to do that anyway. An alternative coping technique is to sleep whilst playing a DVD on my laptop - I find that the light from the laptop helps, as do the noises, and, unlike the lamp, the laptop will run out of power within less a couple of hours and shut itself down, by which stage I should hopefully already have drifted off. The only problem is that I do not know how good this actually is for the laptop, and I certainly don't want to put it through this night after night. A better alternative must be found.

Thus, I am curious to know if anyone on Never Forgotten has experienced the same problem and, if so, how they are able cope with it. Additionally what would you say that your fear of the dark (or lack of) might be rooted in? For the record, this fear is usually referred to as "Nyctophobia", which translates to Fear of Night, though it is not so much night per se that I dislike as it is the perceived voidness of darkness. I feel a lot more vulnerable when I cannot see what's around me. Total silence I do not particularly like at the best of times, but at night I find that it just hammers home that voidness all the more - a reason why the sounds of those DVDs often help; additionally, they give me something to focus upon and help take my mind off whatever haunting or irrational thoughts it might otherwise be contemplating. And yes, I'm well aware that it's an irrational fear, and that I'm probably no more at risk where I am at night than I would be during daylight hours, but in practice that doesn't really help me much. I still find night time a disconcerting experience.

Anyhow, thanks for hearing me out, and in advance to anyone who takes the time out to add their thoughts on this.

[Cassini90125]

I had that problem when I was a child but it wasn't darkness itself that made me nervous; it was the thought of what it might be concealing. Large animals, people with ill intent, supernatural horrors, things like that. Mostly it was a problem when I was outdoors and alone. I can't say that I really did anything in particular to get over it, although I do think that an increased ability to defend myself was part of it. In truth, these days I prefer to go out at night; I have excellent night vision and feel quite at home in the dark, plus I've never cared much for overly bright lights anyway. As for the silence, I know what you mean; if it's quiet enough that I can hear myself breathe, I'm not happy. I don't know what to tell you as far as solutions go, other than perhaps a nightlight with a low-wattage bulb and a cheap noisemaker that creates a soothing sound, such as that of falling rain. Neither costs much to run, which is certainly a consideration, as you noted, and undoubtably better for the laptop.

[pitbulllady]

As a child I was, and I guess most young children for the reasons that Cassinni stated; it's not so much the dark, but what it might be hiding, that is the REAL fear. By the time I got to Jr. High, though, I'd gotten to the point where I can't sleep UNLESS the room is almost totally pitch-black dark, and I'm still the same way. I found it rather amusing that both my brother and my father, when they had to move in with me, both habitually sleep with a night-light, if not the main overhead room light, on at night. Any light more intense or larger than the little green on on my keyboard will drive me nuts if I'm trying to sleep.

pitbulllady

[koosie]

Have you tried those little plug-lights? Basically it's a transparent plug with a little orange light in it you put straight in the socket and it gives a faint glow barely enough to illuminate anything but enough to know it's there. Good if you have guests in your house who don't know their way around in the dark. Hardly uses any energy. Like one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-NIGHT-LIGHT-...d=p3286.c0.m14 Actually that looks quite bright compared to the one I've got.

I used to be afraid of pitch darkness because I had this fear that I wouldn't know if I'd gone blind. It's hard to describe, maybe its just fear of the unknown but absolute darkness does sort of scream at you and sometimes its more reassuring to actually close your eyes in the face of it. Where I sleep every night, there's a streetlight just outside so I rarely experience darkness these days so I couldn't actually tell you how it affects me now I'm all old and mostly afraid of things that are inevitable.

I remember camping out in the sticks with a pal when we was 16 and it was the first time we'd really been outside at night out of the urban glow and we both admitted feeling a strange animal-like fear of the darkness under the canopy of the trees out there that would have been unbearable were it not for the reassurance of the other's company and the torches and the matches. There's a terrifying short-story called 'A walk in the dark' (by I can't remember who) that describes this feeling exactly. It's there for a reason and seriously, a huge chunk of the population experience it just like you do. Cetainly loads I've met of all genders and ages.

[Mac-a-lacka]

I'm not necessarily afraid of the dark, but I do dislike the inability to see. <_<

[Bloo4Ever]

I think Cassini put it in a perfect way for me when I was afraid night shrouded by the illusion of an abyss of darkness. At a very young age, I saw a lot of hugely scary movies plus saw some scary stuff in real life too, so I always thought somebody's gonna pop out of the darkness and kidnap me (or worse) so the way I was able to overcome it when I was younger was to always open my bedroom door, as my parent were not asleep yet, so lights were left on for them, thus comforting me when I slept as well.

But soon, and I'm not sure if this compelled to overcome the looming thoughts of darkness, I started imagining cartoon characters with me when I became scared. Sounds silly, but it genuinely helped a lot. I'd imagine Hercules being there (Disney version) Bloo and Mac, Aladdin, Mickey Mouse and Goofy, Dexter from DL, plus Ed, Edd, and Eddy. And they used to comfort me deeply, Plus, I had been playing the game 'Kingdom Hearts' and it told me not to be afraid of the darkness, and if you have a strong heart, it won't 'overtake you' and stuff. Slightly cheesy message, but find it to be true.

And even though it sound ridiculous as I'm rereading all of this, all of its the truth. And now days, I go for a run very late at night, without fearing a thing. And if the case comes to be when I ever get afraid again, not only do I imagine cartoons, but being a monotheist and all, I also say a prayer to God and it relaxes me to an extent where not being in the dark seems abnormal. (Like Koosie, I prefer to sleep in complete darkness too these days)

I hope my long rant helps in a way, and thanks for giving me a chance to talk about a subject like this (the topic had never been brought to me before)

[Major Abbey]

Originally Posted by Mac-a-lacka

I'm not necessarily afraid of the dark, but I do dislike the inability to see. <_<

Same here.

I had to say "yes" because I do prefer to sleep with a light on, particularly in strange places like hotel rooms. Not a really bright light, you understand; more like a lamp or, in the case of hotel rooms, leaving the bathroom light on.

[Lynnie]

I've never really been afraid of the dark, but I don't quite want to vote "No". When I was little I couldn't sleep without the hall light on and my room door cracked open a bit because I didn't like the dark. But by the time I was 10, I liked it pitch black and had a hard time sleeping if there was even the slightest bit of light. I still prefer the room as dark as possible, although that's mostly because I'm a light sleeper and any light tends to wake me up.

I don't like the dark when in an unfamiliar place because I just don't know what's out there, or what's coming. The scariest dark situation for me is probably in water, like when swimming in an unfamiliar lake or river, under cloud cover, and the bottom muck has been stirred up. Yikes, I hate that! The thought of a fish or snake attacking me, or me stepping onto something horrific because I can't see my feet, or walking into an aquatic plant bed where even more biting animals might be hiding. That's probably the worst situation I come across when darkness is concerned.

But then there are other times. I don't usually let them get to me, but I like ghost stories, and the more real they are the more I like them. But there are still times when my imagination will run wild with me and if it's dark enough I can swear I see a figure in the darkness. That can get really creepy.

I'm also reminded of the first time my parents left me home alone all night. I was worried someone "very bad" knew I was home alone, and would sneak in. So after dark, I ran throughout the house turning all the lights on hoping the lack of darkness would deter them. That was kind of creepy too, but also understandable being the first time I had been home alone all night.

So I've had (and still have) my share of fears of the dark. But when in a familiar place, and haven't seen any creepy ghost stories on TV in a while, I'm usually quite comfortable in the dark.

As far as noise goes while sleeping, like I said I'm a light sleeper, but a soft rythmatic sound actually helps me sleep better because it tends to drown out some other noises that might otherwise wake me up. I don't like it too quiet either. When worse comes to worse, I'll take to using ear plugs, but I don't like them too much because I can hear my own heart beat, and although rythmatic, it's too loud when wearing earplugs and I have a hard time sleeping.

I second what Koos suggested. Have you seen any LED night lights? They hardly use any energy at all, and give off a soft glow, usually in a variety of colors. I'm partial to blue, it's calming. I had one years ago that was just a flat disk with a plug on the back, and when you plugged it in it gave off a soft green glow with a smiley face in the middle of the disk. It was a rather friendly night light, I miss it. It must have gotten lost in one of the many moves I've been involved in over the years.

[Howard]

Not anymore - the only fear I have left is what most homeowners fear: invasion. It does not matter if you live in the uppercrust, or in the slums. It is everywhere out here. Our Sherriff's Dept does a good job patrolling (Sherriff Joe does live out here in Fountain Hills as I do). A dog is a good security system as well.

A lot of these invasions mostly have occurred at night, so it is hard to sleep when the dog suddenly gets antsy.