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Fear of the dark is a natural and transient part of childhood for many of us. However, when it does not pass with age and begins to impede the normal functioning of an adult, perhaps we are dealing with nyctophobia, i.e. a pathological fear of the dark. Like any phobia, nyctophobia can be treated. However, first of all, it is worth understanding it in order to fight it more effectively in everyday life.
Why are we afraid of the dark?
Nyctophobia, sometimes called scotophobia or achluophobia, is a panic fear of the dark that really influences the choices made by the sufferer. In this way, it can disrupt normal functioning, for example, causing sleep disturbances or the inability to leave the house after dark. Thus, this seemingly innocent phobia can seriously reduce the patient’s comfort of life.
Most young children show symptoms of nyctophobia and are not considered a sign of the disorder. There are at least two reasons for this state of affairs. First, it is very likely that we are genetically predisposed to fear the dark. The human brain evolves much slower than civilization, and therefore is still adapted to function in such conditions as primitive people, for whom darkness meant a real threat, e.g. from predators. The baby’s brain has yet to learn that it no longer needs to send a distress signal in the absence of light. It is certainly not made easier by the huge imagination of children. It can even be said that children are not so much afraid of the dark as they are afraid of the ghosts, monsters, etc., the existence of which they imagine.
Of course, an adult with noctophobia may also be able to justify their anxiety in a similar way. Instead of fantastic creatures, it may be afraid of the dark due to the fear of a robbery attack or even the lack of visibility of the terrain. Most adults, however, find it common to overcome these fears, unlike those who suffer from nyctophobia, who find the fear of the dark paralyzing.
There is no single reason for this, because everyone is conditioned differently. Nevertheless, experts point to the following most common reasons for the occurrence of nyctophobia:
- An improperly worked childhood fear of the dark. In this case, the adult in a sense never ceases to fear the dark, usually because his parents did not help him get used to it properly.
- Darkness-related traumatic experience. It can come both from childhood as a result of e.g. being locked in the dark by parents as a punishment, and it can arise in adulthood if someone, for example, was attacked in a dark alley.
How does nyctophobia affect a sick person?
As we’ve said, for a Nycophobic, the fear of the dark is a factor that he takes into account in many of his daily choices. Typical behavior of people with nyctophobia is sleeping with the light on, among other things. This habit may seem trivial, but it actually causes serious disturbances in the body’s circadian rhythm. This, in turn, causes a number of complications, including endocrine disruptions and depression.
A characteristic symptom of nyctophobia is anticipatory fear, i.e. feeling fear even when the very possibility of the occurrence of the factor that is felt is felt. Usually it is associated with piling up ideas about the upcoming situation. In this way, the functioning of the patient in society is disturbed, who, for example, refuses to visit the cinema or ride in an elevator for fear that it may suddenly fail.
Once it comes to a situation in which the Nyctophobic is in a dark place, a severe panic attack can occur. Psychosomatic symptoms appear then, such as increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, chills, nausea, and even loss of consciousness. In extreme cases, such symptoms are triggered already in the phase of anticipatory anxiety.
How to cure nyctophobia?
The symptoms of nyctophobia will certainly not be alleviated by actions on factors beyond the patient’s mind, such as putting many locks on the door or buying pepper spray. In the worst case, they can even reinforce the patient’s phobia, winding a spiral of obsession. The surest method of dealing with nyctophobia is psychotherapy. The most commonly used types are:
- Implosive therapy in which the patient is suddenly exposed to the source of their anxiety under controlled conditions. Forced to deal with an extreme situation, he is to learn that the dark does not have to be afraid.
- Desensitization is another form of implosive therapy in which the nyctophobic is habituated to the dark gradually.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, on the other hand, assumes that the fear of the dark is only a symptom of deeply entrenched internal conflicts. The therapist therefore works on the patient’s entire personality to jointly solve the problem that causes anxiety symptoms.