Most children are afraid J. P. Espada, M. Orgilés, Méndez Xavier. Assessment instruments of darkness phobia in children and adolescents: A descriptive review / International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology of darkness. Experts believe T. Zacchilli, J. Levos. Nyctophobia: From imagined to realistic fears of the dark / Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research that this fear is natural and affects almost everyone. It appears in childhood, at the age of 3–6 years, and usually goes away over the years. But they are susceptible to it. Kopcso, A. Lang. Nighttime fears of adolescents and young adults / Anxiety Disorders for both adolescents and adults.
For some, this fear causes slight discomfort, but for others it becomes real torment. We tell you how the fear of the dark arises and whether it is possible to cope with it.
What is fear of the dark and how does it manifest itself?
This is a feeling of anxiety and restlessness that occurs in a person when he finds himself without light. Both the darkness itself and what it hides: real or imagined dangers can be frightening.
ManifestsWhat is nyctophobia and how is it treated? / Healthline this fear is just like any other:
- it becomes difficult to breathe;
- heart rate increases;
- compresses the chest;
- tremors in the hands and tremors in the legs occur;
- goosebumps run through the body;
- dizziness begins;
- nausea, “twists” in the stomach;
- throws you into hot or cold;
- sweating increases;
- I want to quickly remove what causes anxiety - turn on the light, run away from a dark place;
- what is happening does not seem entirely real;
- It becomes difficult to think, thoughts are confused.
Why is there a fear of the dark?
First, it appears. What is nyctophobia and how is it treated? / Healthline due to lack of visual stimuli. A person in the dark does not distinguish the objects around him, because of this he is anxious, and his imagination draws not the most harmless pictures.
Secondly, the fear of darkness is associated with the fear of the unknown: a person sees nothing and does not know what awaits him - and this is scary. There is a hypothesis that fear of the unknown relates to R. N. Carleton. Fear of the unknown: One fear to rule them all? / Journal of Anxiety Disorders to the basic and most ancient ones, and from it all other fears and phobias grow.
Thirdly, the fear of the dark may have been inherited by C. Packer, A. Swanson, et al. Fear of darkness, the full moon and the nocturnal ecology of African lions / PLoS ONE to us from our distant ancestors. For primitive man, the night was a difficult time; many dangerous predators attacked people in the dark. Those who were afraid and exercised caution had a greater chance of survival. Now no one attacks us, but the instinctive fear of the dark remains.
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