Afraid of the dark, sounds stupid?

Question

Hi,
This may sound really stupid but I'm afraid of the dark. I have to have a nightlight and if i hear a noise I have to switch my bedsidelight on to see what it is. Every morning I feel really tired,can anyone give me some tips on how you "battle" my fear of the dark.

Answer 1

If you're afraid of the dark, it means you have a good imagination. I wouldn't trust anyone who wasn't afraid of the dark. So, don't worry. It's good to be vigilant for threats.

The reason you feel tired is because the light stops you from going into the deeper, healing sleep you need. Your room needs to be in darkness for this to happen. Try it, it will work. Pleasant dreams.

Answer 2

No it is not stupid and any problem is a real one. The main thing is, are you afraid of the dark in say your bedroom or outdoors.

If outdoors then you must never go anywhere where there are no street lights for example.

If in the bedroom then buy yourself a small nightlight and put that in the room and have a glow. Anything more will keep you awake.

Now to fight it is hard. Try and turn out the light for five minutes, then six and so on until you are comfortable. you are in control so if the light needs to go back on again. YOU have not failed. Only it will take it a bit longer. I always have the hall light on all night.

Answer 3

Not daft at all - I suffered similarly. The things that are known to help that don't involve drugs are homoeopathy & hypnotherapy. If you are afraid that someone has broken in (you say you put the light on to check) you could try Arsenicum 30c one dose & see what it does. If it's not the right remedy, it won't do any harm but you should find that things will improve over a period of a week. If not, consult a local homoeopath (contact The Society of Homeopaths) or a hypnotherapist. Good luck - lack of sleep is not pleasant. Sweet dreams.

Answer 4

What you are saying is not at all stupid. It is not unusual to be afraid of the dark (although you don't say how old you are).

If your fear of the dark is bothersome and stopping you from having a good night's sleep, then really you need to seek help. This is not really a medical problem unless there is phobic anxiety which could be helped by means of medication. However, this will only treat the symptoms.

It would be best to seek help from a qualified psychologist, counsellor or hypnotherapist who can help you to find out what is causing your problem and then treating it appropriately. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Don't worry, many people have irrational fears or phobias. Just relax, tell yourself nothing is there, nothing can hurt you.
While laying in bed relax, start at your feet, then a leg, other foot, then leg go to thigh etc. Do each part till it's relaxed and almost feels like it's floating. Go all the way to your head giving that a little more time. And have a good, restful sleep.

Answer 6

My cousin's sheep will be lambing soon, so if you live in travelling distance of Buckinghamshire,come and spend a couple of nights with me. You won't get much sleep during the nights and there might be some bangs if I see any foxes going after lambs, but you'll soon get over your fear of the dark - I can even get one of my teenage daughters to come along if you're worried about being alone with a guy you don't know. It's a genuine offer - email me if you're interested.

Answer 7

You are probably in tune with another dimension and hear the noises from that dimension. The best way to keep beings from the other dimension away is to place a glass of water beside your bed each nite before you get in the bed. This will keep the spooks off of you.

Answer 8

No it does not sound stupid. Fear of the unkown is a natural response. Hearin a noise in the dark and not knowing what has caused it will make your mind run through every concievable scenario. I suffered as you did when I was younger. The way I learnt to overcome my fear was to walk around the house blindfolded with all the lights turned on so if I couldn't take it any more all I did was take off the blind fold. It also taught me to identify what was making the sounds. Like the sound of the fridge turning on or the heating switching off and the pipes contracting. It gave me the confidence to walk around in the dark after a while and not be afraid because I knew most of the sounds and what was causing them. ( It wasnt some nasty monster out to get me).
Perhaps you could try something similar and take it in stages. If you are deprived of one sense your other senses try to compensate. So if you lose your eye sight your hearing becomes more sensitive. Try to learn the sounds of your house as it settles at night. A loose floor board moving back after some one has stepped on it hours earlier can be very scary if you dont understand why it made that noise. Notice how in the morning everything seems to creak as you walk around but during the day it doesnt. If you can walk around with a blindfold on with the lights on. It makes it easier for you to identify the noises when you are lying in bed in the dark and it will put your mind at rest. It is best to do this when there is nothing on like the telly, radio, washing machine etc etc. These tend to hide the noises that you hear at night and makes it hard for you to know what they are. One thing to bear in mind is at night is it is cooler than the day so everything that is warm will cool down and contract. Making noises as it settles and moves as it cools down. Knowing thats just the radiator cooling down and shrinking is making that ticking/knocking noise helps (it isnt the bogey man creeping up on you). Once you learn these noise and know why they happen and when they are most likely to occur should help you sleep more soundly.

Even now I still wake up if I hear something new but as that happens very infrequently I get a good night sleep and if I do hear a new noise I can get up and find out what is making it with out jumping out of my skin or spending a sleepless night wishing for daylight like I used to. Also once I know what the new noise is (Its the next door nieghbours washing machine going onto spin cycles at half one in the morning) I can go back to sleep and not worry about it.

The blindfold helped me no end. At first i could only wear it for short periods like 2-3 mins but over several weeks I got could wear it longer and longer. And eventually I managed to walk around the house with out a single light on and although I was nervous I wasnt scared. Now I can get up in the middle of the night and walk around with out turning on the lights and Im not afraid of the dark (Well I control my fear it doesnt control me)

Hope that helps.

Answer 9

Have you always been afraid of the dark? try and think what the trigger was. Maybe try some herbal sleeping tablets for when you really need a good nights sleep.Why not try just one night without your light then when you know you can manage without it. try one day at a time and see how you go. Good luck

Answer 10

The reason you're always tired is because your body can't go into a deep sleep due to the lights, try one night sleeping in total darkness