Being afraid of the dark is considered normal human nature and to a large extent, it is true. But when this fear becomes the cause of mental or physical pain, then it is not at all right to ignore it. Like other mental problems, 'fear of darkness' has also been largely ignored in our country. Even children are made to calm down by using this fear. In such a situation, out of ignorance, many people themselves promote this mental illness of 'fear of darkness' in their children, which proves fatal in the future.
Yes, let us tell you that 'fear of darkness' is a kind of serious mental problem, which is known as 'Nyctophobia' in the world of psychology. In this article, we are trying to give you correct information about this mental problem. We talked to Agra's senior psychiatrist Dr. Bhupendra Singh about this and are sharing the information received from him with you here.
What is 'Nyctophobia'?
DrBhupendra Singh explains that when the fear arising from any particular thing, place or situation becomes the cause of mental or physical trouble, then it is a condition of phobia. For example, fear of night or darkness is called Nyctophobia. Talking about reason, according to DrBhupendra Singh, the main reason for this is the mental confusion that a person feels when he is unable to see in the dark.
In such a situation, a person is afraid of going into the dark, which is largely a common human nature. But when due to this fear, a person starts having difficulty sleeping or his nervousness increases so much after seeing darkness that physical problems start appearing, then it can be a symptom of Nyctophobia. Due to Nyctophobia, a person may have difficulty breathing, excessive sweating, a sudden increase in heart rate and trembling or dizziness in the body.
If a person faces such problems in the dark, he should contact a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists will first try to find out the real reason why a person has such a fear of darkness.
Why does the problem of 'Nyctophobia' occur?
Now let's talk about why the fear of darkness is so deeply ingrained in people's minds, then the biggest reason behind this is the fear instilled in them by the elders in childhood. Most people scare their children with the dark to make them quiet or calm. Many times, this warning becomes deeply ingrained in the minds of children and whenever they see darkness, they start feeling afraid. At the same time, many children are not able to get out of this fear even after growing up and the fear of darkness continues to haunt them throughout their life.
Apart from this, any accident occurring in the dark can also be the cause of 'Nyctophobia'. For example, if a person has seen or heard some untoward incident at night, he may start feeling afraid as soon as night falls or darkness falls. At the same time, fear in the dark of night also indicates an unknown danger, which can scare many people.
How to prevent 'Nyctophobia'
Talking about the prevention of 'Nyctophobia', psychiatrists, after knowing the real reason behind it, suggest meditation or some healing therapy for its treatment. Such as exposure therapy and cognitive therapy are considered helpful to face and overcome the fear of darkness.
Apart from this, you can also implement some things yourself to protect yourself from 'Nyctophobia'. For this, try to make yourself mentally strong. Apart from this, if any unpleasant incident related to darkness has happened in your life which scares you, then first of all you should try to get rid of the memories of that past. For this, you can tell a friend or someone close to your problem. However, it would be best that in such a situation, you should consult a professional psychiatrist and take treatment as per his advice.
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