What is Nyctophobia (Fear of the Dark): Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Nyctophobia, or the fear of darkness, is one of the most common phobias and is mainly prevalent among children. However, this phobia can also be seen in grown-ups and people with other psychological complications. Like any other phobia, nyctophobia also has symptoms of extreme panic attacks such as anxiety, restlessness, disturbed sleep, etc. Scroll through this article to know more about this phobia, its causes, symptoms, treatments and other related facts.

The situations that people with nyctophobia may fear and tend to avoid are:

• Going to a dark place
• Turning off lights
• Preparing for bed
• Watching shows with nighttime scenes
• Phase after sunset
• Sleeping in the dark at night
• Anticipating being in the dark

Nyctophobia symptoms are associated with the usual symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. In addition, children who are afraid of darkness may refuse to stay or sleep alone in dark. The physical signs of nyctophobia include:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Dyspnea or shallow breath
• Sweating
• Rapid heart rate
• Cold flush
• Hot flush
• Chest pain
• Unconsciousness

On the other hand, the behavioural signs of nyctophobia are:

• Overwhelming anxious feelings
• Escaping from dark rooms
• Crying, screaming, being violent
• Losing control over body and mind

Nyctophobia can be caused for several reasons. These are as follows:

1. Fear of Unknown

For some people, nyctophobia can stem from the fear of the unknown. Generally, people get this feeling more in darkness and develop an uncontrollable fear. However, this feeling can sometimes be temporary and not happen in familiar places.

2. A Feeling of Threat

This is one of the most common causes of getting nyctophobia. Most of the time, people encounter crime or unwanted situations in darkness. Besides, they also see this in movies where night and darkness are related to harmful circumstances. So they grow a fear of night and darkness.

3. Sex Is a Factor

Studies show that women are more prone to nyctophobia than men. This is because women maximum time get exploited during nighttime which keeps them vulnerable to face the darkness. However, this is a societal cause that should be rectified with proper laws and regulations.

4. Past Traumatic Experience

Any past traumatic experiences in the nighttime can grow nyctophobia among people. This is a prevalent cause of nyctophobia among most patients. So, this can also be addressed as a post-traumatic stress disorder.

5. Environmental Factors

Sometimes environment plays a significant role in developing nyctophobia among children. For example, in different cultures, children are brought up in different environments with different care. As a result, some of them stay protected, while some of them are not. So, the children who have not faced darkness or stayed alone in darkness may grow a fear of it in the later stages.

The potential risk factors of nyctophobia are as follows:

• In children, the fear of ghosts, monsters, strange noises, or being alone
• Overprotective parenting
• A continuously stressful life
• Record of phobia in the bloodline
• Having anxious caregivers

Thus, these risk factors make people more vulnerable to this disease and may develop serious complications. These are discussed below.

Nyctophobia can lead to the following complications:

• Insomnia
• Extreme anxiety
• Extreme fatigue
• Relationship problem
• Behavioural disorder

Apart from these, one may get different co-occurring phobias, such as

• Thanatophobia or fear of dying
• Sominophobia or afraid of sleeping
• Oneirophobia or afraid of dreaming

Like most other phobias, nyctophobia is also diagnosed as per the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. As per these criteria, a doctor will check the following disorders in the patients:

• Whether they have trouble sleeping
• How intense is their fear of darkness
• Other underlying conditions of the patients

In severe cases, physicians give immediate care to the patients when people start having tremors and breathing troubles due to nyctophobia.

With the new invention of medical science, treatments for different phobias are pretty much available nowadays. However, the nyctophobia treatment is also similar to the treatment of other phobias. Therefore, this treatment is of 2 types: medicinal and behavioural. These are discussed below.

1. Medication

As nyctophobia is associated with restlessness and anxiety, doctors will prescribe calming medicines to control anxiety. Further, they will also prescribe some medicines for better sleep if the patient experiences frequent exhaustion. However, medicines are only for reducing the symptoms and immediate effects. Therefore, people will need effective behavioural therapies to come out from nyctophobia.

2. Behavioural Therapies

Several types of therapies are available to treat nyctophobia from its root. These are as follows:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: In this treatment, psychotherapists help people with behavioural disorders manage their emotions and actions during extreme anxiety. Thus, this treatment will guide people with nyctophobia on how to respond to the fear of darkness.
• Exposure Therapy: In exposure therapy, people gradually get exposed to the elements or environments they are afraid of. This therapy teaches people with nyctophobia to be familiar with darkness and get out from the fear of it.
• Psychotherapy: It is a talk therapy where psychotherapists try to bring out the real reason for fear with conversation. Further, they also suggest remedial measures to handle these fears.
• Virtual Reality Therapy: VR therapy is one of the most modern ways to help a patient become accustomed to the darkness. In this process, they gradually witness darkness with the help of a VR headset or computer.

Like many other phobias, nyctophobia can last upto several years and even decades if untreated. However, with proper therapies and care, one can easily get out from nyctophobia.

One can follow the below-mentioned tips to cope with nyctophobia:

• Facing the Fear: To get rid of nyctophobia, you should face the darkness on your own. This will grow tolerance and help you to fight the fear.
• Using Nightlight: A nightlight can help you to manage your fear of sleeping alone in darkness very effectively. This will give you a sense of comfort and help you cope with the anticipation of fear.
• Join a Group Therapy: By joining an anxiety support group, you can get support from your peers. Besides, group discussions can bring out effective solutions to manage the fear of darkness.
• Think Differently With Logic: One of the main reasons for nyctophobia is negative thoughts regarding it. So you need to reframe your thoughts and have a positive attitude towards dark places. Besides, you should reduce illogical thoughts with rational intervention.
• A Calm Bed-Time Ritual: You should be comfortable and reduce stress and anxiety when going to bed. To do so, you can take a nice warm bath, wear comfortable clothes, spray some light fume etc. Therefore, you can get a stress-free and sound sleep.

Apart from these, you should practice mindfulness and keep your body healthy to fight any kind of adversity regarding the anxiety disorder of nyctophobia.

If you experience the following conditions, you should consult a doctor immediately:

• Little to no sleep out of fear
• Depression
• Severe panic attacks
• Getting into substance use disorder
• Problem of OCD
• Coming of other phobias

Thus, hope you have got a comprehensive idea of nyctophobia and how to handle it. Like many other phobias, the fear of darkness is also treatable if identified at the right time. Generally, children are more prone to nyctophobia, so parents should be attentive to them and opt for treatment in case of severity. Further, adults should go for effective therapies and try to keep a positive approach towards solving this phobia.