Fear of the dark, or nytophobia, most often occurs in children, in some people it persists into adulthood. To get rid of this phobia, you need to find out what caused it and consistently deal with specific causes.
What Causes Fear?
Before you fight your fear of the dark, try to find out what exactly scares you, what caused your fear? Perhaps you hear some sounds at night, or you often watch horror movies. Remember that one of the main ways a person perceives the world around him is vision. When you are in a dark place, the brain loses signals from the visual organs and starts to panic. Hearing in the dark is greatly exacerbated, so any rustle in the fear of the dark leads to the appearance of negative visual images in the person's imagination, which in turn exacerbates the feeling of fear.
Be rational
Once you figure out what exactly makes you afraid of the dark, try to find a logical, rational explanation. Many people tend to fantasize. The slightest unusual event for them can cause panic. For example, if you are afraid that someone will break into your house at night, lock all doors and windows and remember that even if something happens, it will not do without a lot of noise. If your child is afraid of the dark, play with him before bed. Ask him to check his room, look under the bed, in the closet, behind the curtains, etc. This approach works quite often in childhood.
Get distracted
If a fear of the dark appears in bed when you are trying to sleep, try to distract yourself by thinking of something good. For example, think about what you are going to do the next day. If you are planning to go on vacation, consider where and how you will spend it, even if there are several months before the vacation itself. Your task is to rid your brain of negative thoughts. To distract yourself, you can also listen to music, read a book, watch a humorous TV show, or watch a comedy movie.
Surrounding objects
Often the reason for fear is not the darkness itself, but the objects that surround you. In the dark, with no phobia, some things can look quite scary, although in fact, they usually do not cause any fear. Try to take these things out of the room for a while and see how you react. If your fears disappear, look more often at the objects that caused them. Tell yourself over and over again that this is just furniture and there is nothing scary about it, gradually return them to their place and get used to their presence.
