Fear of darkness - a phobia from which not only children suffer

A person is a vessel that is filled with different-differences.From the physical to the psychological component is the whole world in which the stages of formation, victories and failures, memories and dreams, experience and plans for the future live.We are multifaceted and unrepeatable.Our fears, fears, anxieties are also individual.

One of the most common fears among children and adults is the fear of the dark.What is the name phobia fear of the dark, what symptoms accompany it, how to get rid of it - these questions are the most urgent when it comes to this form of fear.

Content

1. Terminology
2. fear of the dark in children
3. reasons niktofobii
4. Symptoms of fear of darkness
5. Treatments fear of darkness

Terminology

term "niktofobiya" has ancient Greek origins and literally interpreted as «nyktos» - night, "Phobos" - fear.
Nobofobia is a panic fear of darkness, of the night.

A phobia is an obsessive, strong, uncontrollable fear that worsens in specific situations and does not lend itself to logic.In the presence of any phobia, a person begins to avoid some people, premises, phenomena, work, situations.

We will operate with words fear of the dark, phobia.

Fear of darkness in children

Fear is a natural, natural reaction of a person to the action of threatening factors.Therefore, fear itself always helped and helps a person to live, if this fear does not begin to pour through the "top".

Many believe that the fear of darkness is inherent in small children, but it is not.Simply adults with such a phobia do not advertise its availability, as they are uncomfortable to admit that they have "childish" fear.

So where do "feet" grow from the fear of darkness?

First about children.Adults themselves often form this fear in the child.In order that he obeys, he is told tales in which disobedient children are taken by a babai or some other unpleasant being.Where it comes from, where it lives or hides the child is not clear, and no one explains it, parents, grandparents, educators can only let in more fog.

Note that darkness is the ideal place for "breeding" of the unknown and the unknown.A child's imagination can quickly and accurately "draw", where exactly live and create their dark business babikes - in the dark, i.e.There, where it is not visible.

Remember yourself as a child.When you need to quickly jump into bed, so that the Baba did not have time to grab his leg.Or tightly tuck in a blanket, what would a gray top do not get to your barrel.Or here it is: "Mom, sit next to me until I fall asleep", "Do not turn off the light".Remember how you searched for a light switch in a hurry, until the Babai grabbed you by the hand / foot and how your heart was beating wildly.

Important!Do not play these non-children's games with your children, do not keep them in fear, give the chance to grow up mentally healthy people.

A stressful situation can cause fear of darkness.For example, suddenly the light went out, and next to the child there was no one.The child is disoriented, panicking and while adults groped for it, managed to get very frightened.After that, refuses to stay in the room alone, even if it's not dark.

If the child is a witness to the constant shredding of parents or people close to him.He is afraid to remain alone, and darkness only strengthens the subconscious fear of being abandoned by mom and dad.

Important!Adults and children are afraid of different darkness.There is no point in constantly repeating that it is only darkness, it is not dangerous and uncontrollable.The child experiences fear, relying on his inner world and, if you discard his fear, then leave him alone with the night monsters, with whom he can not cope.

How to help your child:

• sincerely love your child and honestly try to help him, do not dismiss that he tells that someone lives under his bed
• pay much attention to the child
• try to lower the degree of your ownAnxiety
• if possible, use igroterapiyu to overcome fear
• if you see that you can not cope on your own, contact a child psychologist.

Causes of no-one's phobia

First you need to share panic fear and discomfort from being in a dark room / street, especially when you are in an unfamiliar place or with strangers.No-phobia is manifested by uncontrollable fear, even panic attack, a person begins to move randomly in search of a source of light.

This mental illness has its own reasons.There are common features, but there are purely individual.Consider the most common catalysts of the fear of the night.

Genetics

The primitive fear of darkness arose with a person even before the "domestication" of the fire.Twilight brought the danger of being killed, so before dark it was necessary to safely hide.It was a matter of survival.(Layfak: look at the m / f "Family of Krups", this point will become illustrative for you).

Fear of loneliness

When a person remains alone, he can feel his uselessness, insecurity.The external world is filled with incomprehensible, terrible events, and the darkness becomes a symbol of despair.

Undefined children's fears

There can be many, each of them "chooses" their "favorite" fear.

Stormy fantasy( imagination)

You can be afraid not of the darkness itself, but what you ascribe to it, draw, nafantaziruete.For example, they did not see an object / silhouette in the dark and rushed. .. from extraterrestrials to mother-in-law, mother-in-law can exemplify.

Hidden people, with a high anxiety threshold, can perceive darkness as a symbol of uncertainty and avoid it.Yes, this is not always logical.But we recall that fear is often illogical.

Living in conditions of constant stress

Can instill you with no-phobia "by default".

The most constant fear, which is always with us and which we do not always realize is the fear of death.It is he who can catalyze the appearance of fear of darkness.

Because the human being associates an array of "darkness is death", "while it is light - I live."(Layfak: read the books of the psychotherapist Irvine Yalom, in order to deal with questions of fear of death).Perhaps the cause may be a failure in the development of microelements and neurohormones, which are responsible for the emotional state of a person.

Symptoms of fear of darkness

How to determine if you develop nitropobia?There are a number of classic psychological, physical and social symptoms.
You have panic, avalanche-like fear in dark or dark places, especially if you are there for the first time.
You try to rationalize your fear( after an attack).Those.Find him a rational explanation, but getting into a similar situation, again a tornado of fear sucks you into its funnel.The situation is repeated in a circle.

Compulsive behavior may occur.This is when a person tries to perform some kind of action in order to get rid of fear, anxiety, moral suffering.This method shortens the fear, anxiety, but then you return to the real state of things, which threatens to aggravate fear.

On the physical side of the body the heart rate increases, breathing is broken, pressure can jump, the voice may drop, tremor, headaches, stammering, upset of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition, connects the social factor, namely: you are afraid to spend the night alone.If you have already been alone, the light must shine everywhere, or at least a night light, and work as a TV.

You clearly know "all dangerous places" in the radius of your dwelling, moving.You clearly label them and do not approach them without an urgent need.

You not once in a day / evening check whether you closed the front doors.

Kinds of treatment of fear of darkness

There are two traditional ways of treatment of a nobody's phobia: psychotherapeutic and medicamentous.Everything depends on the stage of the disease, from the condition in which the person comes, from the desire to get rid of fear.Because fear can be a screen that hides something global.

Psychotherapeutic forms of treatment are effective with the active participation of the patient and his desire to get rid of phobia.Psychoanalysis is a method of treating psychological disorders, in which you convict your thoughts, fantasies, dreams, and the psychoanalyst on their basis makes up a picture of the unconscious conflicts that underlie your problems in order to find ways out of this situation.

This method is very effective, but very long.Time can take from six months to several years.Here everything is purely individual and depends on your mental state, desire and opportunity to reveal yourself, the professionalism of the therapist.
A rather modern method of treating no-phobia is emotional-shaped therapy.

The key point of this method is that the emotional state can be expressed through the sound, visual, kinesthetic image, and the subsequent internal work with this image will enable to change the initial emotional state.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help change the way you think and as a result behavior and mood can change.

Gestalt therapy helps develop the patient's self-awareness and the therapist actively participates in this.

Hypnosuggestive therapy is basically hypnosis, which is used for medicinal purposes.

Therapy in the form of a game for children.For example, you can ask the child to draw his own fear.Look at what he puts on this fear( shape, color, size).Then let the child tear or cut a leaf with this pattern.This exercise should be repeated periodically to see in dynamics how changes and changes in children's fears generally occur.

Play with the child in the "magic" house.Cover yourself with a blanket( leave openings for air), think up a fairy tale about a wizard who protects your house and speak them together with a baby.Or come up with a code phrase that seals the house from babaek until the morning.

Play hide and seek.Only people are not hiding, but toys.Hide the toys in a lighted room and in a room where only the night light burns.Think of a reward system for found toys.If the child has found a toy in the semi-dark room, the bonus should be higher than if he found it in a bright room.First give in to the kid: in a dark room leave toys in prominent places.

Drug treatment of no-one can not cure you, but can kill vivid symptoms that worsen the quality of your life.

Important!It is strictly forbidden to prescribe psychotropic drugs without the doctor's recommendation.Because, by ignorance, you can drive yourself into a deep depression, from which it is difficult to get out without the help of a psychotherapist / psychiatrist.

The doctor may recommend that you take:

• antidepressants
• sleeping pills
• sedatives( with a keen sense of anxiety).

We note that a lasting positive result can be achieved if we approach the problem in a comprehensive way: psychotherapy and drug treatment.

With time, only the psychological component of your treatment will remain.

Important!Without your desire and active participation, no psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist can help you.Only cooperation will give a result.

Read more about why people are afraid of the dark - on the video: