Fear of the Dark: How to Cope with Scotophobia

Scotophobia, Nictophobia, Achluophobia: What is it?

These three terms mean a pathological fear of the dark, which took root in childhood. 90% of children, starting from the age of 3, do not want to sleep with the lights off, are afraid to leave the room at night even to go to the toilet, and ask to go to bed with their parents. Such behavior is explained by:

• the impressionability of a child's nature;
• rich imagination;
• an immature psyche;
• the wrong behavior of adults in the family.

The child's brain draws scary pictures, endows them with emotions. It is not for nothing that they say: "Fear has big eyes." And a child who has once experienced horror in a dark room will no longer want to be left without a light source.

The first reason for scotophobia is the inability to resist children's fantasies and rich imagination. With the development of pathology in the human body, the production of the hormone melatonin, responsible for the stability of hormonal levels, stops.

Darkness and semi-darkness contribute to the build-up of negative emotions. A person remembers unpleasant, shocking moments, dormant "monsters" "crawl out" from the secluded corners of the brain. A tired body reacts more acutely to the slightest alarm. If a child is naturally excitable and does not have strong nerves, then anxiety increases even more due to irrational (unreasonable, illogical) fears.

Recently, scientists considered scotophobia a harmless pathology, like other unhealthy fears. But after a series of interesting studies, it turned out that the condition of patients who were afraid of the dark and were in it for a long time, deteriorated very quickly, turning into a serious mental disorder. This is due to the basic instinct of self-preservation.

To treat scotophobia in children, a dim light at night and a confidential conversation with parents will be enough. The baby should know that he can talk about all his fears, not keep them to himself. The role of mom and dad in this is great. The gravest mistake would be to push away a frightened child, not to believe his fantasies - this will lead to the rooting and development of a phobia.

It is absolutely forbidden to ridicule the fears of children, to consider them as pampering. By doing this, you add even more self-doubt to him. Sometimes in a family, older children deliberately scare the little one, having fun, looking at his reaction. If your child suddenly becomes afraid of the dark, analyze the latest significant events and leisure activities to find the reason for the change in behavior.

What provokes an increase in anxiety in children in the dark:

1. Scary stories, especially those read before bedtime.
2. Aggressive cartoons, games, TV shows, movies.
3. Tense atmosphere in the family (scandals between relatives, problems of any nature that the child is involved in).
4. Violence - physical and psychological.
5. Overprotection. For example, a caring mother sharply pulls up a child who has approached a body of water. Or often talks about the dangers that surround us, leaving a heavy mark on the perception of the world.
6. Childhood neurological disorders.
7. Extraordinary innate emotionality of a child's nature.

The sooner adults pay attention to the child's phobias, the faster a favorable result will be achieved. Some parents deliberately "educate" the baby with darkness. They lock him in a room with the lights off, threaten to leave him home alone. They say that the Babai, the brownie, and other fictional characters will come. Such "scares" bear fruit in adulthood as well.

Parents can treat children's scotophobia on their own if it is not too advanced. How can this be done?

1. Organize your daily routine:

• It is important for your baby to walk in the fresh air for at least four hours a day. Divide them into two full walks - in the morning and in the evening. Take with you attributes for active recreation according to the season. Do not tire the baby even more with boring pacing on clean paths, nervous shouts: “Don’t get your hands (clothes) dirty! Don’t sit on the ground!” etc.;
• Ensure daytime sleep as long as possible (ideally up to 6-8 years) - the child's nervous system gets too tired from excess information, emotions. As a result - aggressive behavior, uncontrollability, development of phobias;
• Determine the time for watching cartoons, playing games - it directly depends on the size of the gadget screen. The smaller the screen, the shorter the period: on a smartphone - up to 10 minutes, on a tablet - up to 20 minutes, on a computer, TV - up to half an hour.

2. Buy a night light for the child's room, do not close the door to it.

3. Tell your child more often about safety near parents. He should always feel supported.

4. Contact a child psychologist, neurologist. In advanced cases, you will need the help of both doctors.

Do not appeal to the child's logic - it is not yet developed. Do not ask him to turn on rational thinking. Such behavior of parents will lead to dangerous isolation of the offspring.

How to treat fear of the dark in adults

Not only children fall into the nets of scotophobia. It entangles adults too. Some people are afraid of the night shadows outside the window, others peer warily into the silhouettes of an unlit room, and others do not want to go outside after sunset. Such manifestations of anxiety complicate life. As a result, panic attacks develop, a person feels that he is being followed, that someone is watching him, that they want to harm him. During an exacerbation, the following symptoms are visible:

• increased breathing;
• hyperhidrosis;
• heart rhythm disturbances;
• inability to control emotions.

Sometimes adults do not even know that they are afraid of the dark, considering anxiety reasonable. A weak fear is replaced by a “tangible” feeling of discomfort in an unlit room (on a dark street), insomnia. A sudden panic attack dots the i's. It can even lead to hallucinations. In this case, a conversation with a psychotherapist is required, who will prescribe medication and psychological help.

Chinese scientists have put forward the following hypothesis: it is at night that a person's feelings become more acute, and unconscious, hidden fears appear. To confirm this hypothesis, they conducted an experiment involving one hundred and twenty representatives of the fairer sex. During the daytime experiment, women were shown scary pictures and given unexpectedly loud sounds to listen to while turning the lights on and off. A similar study was conducted at night. Special sensors monitored the participants' heartbeat and sweating. At the end, it was concluded that fears directly depend on the time of day, i.e. they correlate not with lighting, but with the biorhythms of the human body.

Don't delay going to the hospital! Some people are dominated by hostility towards doctors who deal with mental health and nerves. A sick person feels ashamed of his own thoughts, of his inability to control them, and is afraid of being given a serious diagnosis. If you are unable to tame your own "cockroaches" in your head on this matter, then try to overcome scotophobia on your own.

Recommendations for adults are not much different from those given to children:

1. Organize your daily routine, watch less TV, read stressful information. Walk in the fresh air more often.

2. Tune in to a positive attitude, look for positive emotions everywhere, diversify your leisure time with exciting hobbies.

3. Before going to bed, read an interesting, kind book.

4. Sleep with the lights dimmed. Take your favorite childhood toy to bed with you if you feel lonely.

5. Learn to tune in to the right wave, distract yourself with extraneous topics if anxiety overcomes you.

6. Enhance your diet with seafood, bright fruits. Make it a rule to eat four fruits of different colors every day.

7. Listen to cheerful rhythmic music. Dance.

Remember: scotophobia is treatable! Don't be embarrassed by panic fears. Seek help in time. Competent individual treatment will solve the problem in a short time and make life easier.