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470658 tn?1210868219

Phobias???

Why, when I am almost 26, am I still scared of the dark? I always have been, since I was young, as well as a terrifying, horrifying fear of spiders, that really can cripple my life.
I've always had to sleep with a night light,-always. I would get the brightest one there is. Now, just recently, about 4 months ago, I have started sleeping with my tv and lamp on. I don't know what triggered this, I'm just so afraid something might get me...??
Any advice how to get over this fear? And my fear of spiders? I REALLY need help with my severe arachnaphobia as well as my severe Lygophobia.  I can't be in the dark ever, I'm too scared, and I avoid places where I think spiders might be. HELP
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Avatar universal
I was  frightened very bad when very  young by apeson dressed up as a monster, then was told it was up stairs it would get me, needless to say it dditn do me any  good, and i know how yuo feel i other evnets later tat made this worse, took  me alng time to out grow it, stiill battle it some. I never scare a child and i dont recomen any one else dp or te them teh boogoe man will get them.ect.
hey JR wil belive you !
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal

I am 34 years old and I need the bathroom door open for light next to my room. I am also scared of spiders and any bugs for that matter. When i was a kid my brother would lock me in dark closets and laugh, and run after me with bugs at the cabin. This is why i am conditioned to this phobia. Did something happen in your life that made this happen?
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366811 tn?1217422672
My psychiatrist once told me there are a certain number of things which scare the banana poo out of people regardless of which culture they come from. Guess what's on the A-List?

Spiders. Yep, spiders; right there with snakes and sharks and a road-side zoo of critters which keeps the scary movie folks in business.

Fear of the dark? You betcha! Plenty of people identify.

If you dug down far enough, you probably would find that there is some trigger event -or set of circumstances, which contributed to selecting for spiders and darkness as tokens for something else that really gives you the creeps. But you would only want to dig back that far if these issues are really, really getting in the way of living a reasonably happy life.  But, meanwhile, maybe you would like to "try this at home," as the saying goes.

You might have a 2 for 1 special going here: make progress in one area, and see progress in the other, too. A delight to bargain-hunters everywhere.

The darkness. ALL darkness? Or just the dark of night? You close your eyes and -its dark in "there," behind your eyelids. Does THAT scare you? A dark room or basement in the middle of the day? A theater? You get my drift. Is it universal, or are there OTHER conditions which must be met, or worsen it? You don't need to tell ME, but just do some analysis on your own, and see if you can find some pattern there.If you DO, then you may well move beyond the darkness itself to whatever it is presumed to signify.

I, too, can be afraid of the dark, but what I'm really afraid of is something I can't see. So I'm OK at night in bed, behind a locked door, in more -or-less familiar surroundings. But if I pursue a nasty animal into a dark recess, THEN I'm worried because I can't see the critter.

Don't pursue any of this on your own if it just makes a bad situation worse -call in some help; a therapist or shrink, maybe. And please keep us up-to-date on findings and progress. Thanks for the post.
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Avatar universal
It is not anyway odd at all. I know people older than you who sleep with a light on. Do you find your mind races more ( have a lot of thoughts ) if in the dark? You know, you lie there in a dark room. Great time for the mind to race with negative thoughts. There is no real answer that will make you happy. Except exposure. Face the fear of the dark. You can have a torch with you at first. Maybe 15 mins first night. Set yourself a target goal. The more you do it the easier it should become. As a phobia it won't be nice at first. That is why I suggest a short time first time out. Then you can expand on it. Maybe try 20 mins the next night. But the torch will always be there. What have you got to lose? Nothing. Just so much to gain. Good luck to you.
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