Are you afraid of the dark? Here’s what the experts say

For many people, the dark is associated with fear, terror and death. But why is it so? Here are the experts’ answers:

“I would say that being afraid of the dark is what we call a prepared fear,” says Martin Antony, professor of psychology.

Horror movies and ghost stories are often associated with the darkness of the evening or night, and for many, that very association can actually lead to a real fear – especially in children. 

– I would say that being afraid of the dark is what we call a prepared fear. That means we are prepared, or pre-set, to develop fears of some things more than others,“ Martin Antony, a professor of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University and author of the book ”Anti-Anxiety Program,” told Huffpost.

Normal part of childhood

Preconceived fears, according to the experts, originally stem from our ancestors and things they feared. Everything from high heights, furry spiders and slithering snakes – to darkness. Dangerous animals in the dark are as hard to see today as they were for our ancestors thousands of years ago. 

Krystal Lewis, a psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health, emphasizes that fear of the dark is very common among children. It is, as he puts it, “a normal part of childhood development, but that most children outgrow it over time.”

“Beyond our control”

But even adults, well into adulthood, can feel uneasy about the dark hours of the night:

– Most of the things that make us feel uncomfortable are things we see as unpredictable and beyond our control. When it comes to darkness, there is an uncertainty: we don’t know what is there,” says Krystal Lewis.

Whenever we find ourselves in a dark room or under a pitch-black night sky, sequences of images – filled with horror and dread – can suddenly spring to mind. ‘Children who are afraid of the dark often see images of monsters in front of them,’ explains Krystal Lewis.

An insecurity

A person who dislikes the night hours and darkness, whether an adult or a child, does not like the kind of uncertainty that darkness brings.

– There are also some adults who fear the dark because of a negative experience that happened at night. Whether it’s a robbery or another form of attack, they may associate that experience with night and darkness,” Krystal Lewis told Huffpost.

CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, can help

The tip if you feel bad and are afraid of the dark at night is, according to the experts, to find out if you need treatment – like cognitive behavioral therapy.

CBT works with a person’s problematic thoughts, feelings and actions in relation to their environment. The treatment involves training yourself to behave in a new way in a certain situation – or to deal with negative thought patterns through various exercises and homework.