Afraid of the dark

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I'm 17 and yet, I have a fear of falling asleep in the dark. Whenever I go to bed, I always end up turning on the light at my desk (I used to leave my TV on, but I don't like to do that nowadays'). Is this odd for a teenager to be afraid of the dark?

I used to be scared of the dark, sometimes still am if I'm in a place I don't know.

Do you know what you are scared of?

I'm 25 by the way, so don't beat yourself up by being the age you are and being afraid!

I'm afraid of the dark, and my imagination can be rather brutal...

Luckily the street lamp gives some light in the room I am in now so I don't have to use the TV light.

I used to really scared of the dark, not so much anymore though. It's not really odd everyone has their phobias like I've got friends who are scared of taking public transport, rain, cats and some other weird things.

Humans are biologically programmed to dislike the night. Our eyes are not well suited for night vision, and our other senses can't raise up to make up for the loss of vision. Before we had homes, animals could attack in the night.

It's normal to dislike the dark. I can sleep in the dark, but I prefer to leave my tv on.

I used to be more afraid of the dark. It's more me then what could possibly be in the dark. The day I started feeling better about it is the day that I had to walk 3 miles home in the pitch black dark on the country side where I used to live. No street lamps, nothing. At first I was freaking out and thought I was going to have a heart attack, I started running as fast as I could towards my house but I eventually got tired and I was only like half way there.

By the time I stopped running I was so tired but still scared, eventually I had to calm down, I was so afraid I could feel my pulse in my head, arms, legs, eyes, etc. By the time I finally reached my driveway I was so burnt out I was basically walking like a zombie. Ever since then I have no problem walking through the dark but I still have a bit of trouble in dark rooms still.

For instance, when I'm in a dark room my hearing will get so paranoid and sensitive that I get freaked out by hearing myself breathe. Or I'll try closing my eyes and my mind will think of some f****d up visual image like a creepy woman staring at me in the eyes eventually forcing me to open them. or I might confuse a sound with a voice, something like that.

I'm 23 and we all have our demons. All we can hope to do is to take small strides in facing them when we can help it. It's normal to be afraid of SOMETHING as far as I've read.

Thanks, I'm glad to hear that there are people out there with the same fear, makes me feel better. I'm afraid of sleeping in a dark room and there be some creepy entity in the room with me. I read stories online of people who have woken up and seen ghosts looking over them as they slept. Despite the fact that those stories are most likely not true, they still freak me out.

I also had a fear of ghosts at night from early childhood until well into my teens. It disappeared, but I still dislike total darkness and always have one of those little nightlights on.

I like to watch shows like Celebrity Ghost Stories, so it could be because of them. In one episode, a lady told a story of a ghost of a man who fell onto her bed in the middle of the night.

I'm 37 and I sleep with the light on.

I'm not afraid of the dark and usually I need total dark to sleep. However, many people are afraid of the dark.

I have a friend who is NT, an ex air force officer who was in Desert Storm and in the middle east a lot and in dangerous situations, and she won't sleep in the dark unless she has to.

When she came to stay with me for a week or so last year (granted, she had just been through a horrible experience, but that didn't effect her aversion to dark) she would sleep with the light on, the bedroom door closed and the closet doors open. No curtains or blankets could hang on the floor. I do not know why. That's just her thing. She was like that when we were kids and it was always hard spending the night with her because she would insist on a light. After the crisis she had gone through and while staying with me, she didn't want to sleep alone so she asked me to sleep with her. No problem, I went to spend the night at her house or her at mine a lot when we were in school. Girls aren't usually as funny about sleeping in the same bed as boys are. I didn't mind sleeping with her because she's a good sleeper and doesn't kick or steal covers or snore, but the damn light drove me nuts.

A few months later when I went to visit her at her house, she still slept with the light on. Her bf (she had got back with her high school bf) hated it, but he dealt with it by buying a sleep mask. She had a guest room that I slept in so it was dark in there. Except for the one night we sat up late talking and listening to old music and she slept in there with me. We had a "retro school days night" because her guest room was furnished with the white canopy bed with pink canopy and white bedroom furniture she had when she was growing up, so it was sort of cool to "go back in time".

It's normal. I wouldn't worry about being afraid of the dark unless you truly believe that something specific is actually there in the dark to get you. Not that it might be or that it could be, everybody thinks that from time to time, but a real belief in some sort of boogyman that you are sure is there when it's dark. If that's the case, I'd suggest talking to a therapist who can help you realize that there isn't one.

as a middle-aged adult i have to sleep with a light on, usually a soft blue bulb aimed at the ceiling to make soft blue illumination, nice and calming. also have to sleep with a HEPA filter whirring in the background as total silence spooks me. as a child, i was afraid of the giant brain monster hiding at the foot of the bed ready to eat me feet-first, so i slept under the covers with just a little blanket tunnel for me to breathe through.

I'm 23 and I do things that other 23 years old wouldn't be catch doing and I think that okay.

Plus I have a horrible fear of heights and I bet your thinking that isn't So bad, and it isn't as long as I'm not near anything that I think is a height. Walking down some type of stairs scary me, I can't go down ever and can only go up sometimes esclalator. And if I'm going up, I can't look up or be touched. Actually if I'm near anything that I think is high I can't be touched. The list go on.
See we all have fears.

If I have baddream or something I will to slee with the t.v.on. And ghost freak me out too.


P.s. have you thought of putting up Christmas light up in your room. They look cool and don't give off too much light.

How stupid is this? I am terrified of the dark, yet any light source whatsoever and I will never be able to sleep. It has to be pure darkness or I will go nuts.

Thank GOD for my Sonic the Hedgehog doll and my toy Lions. They protect me.