Non-Clinical Phenomenology

Non-clinical terminologies are used to describe the irrational fear or the dark, are Nyctophobia, Scotophobia, Lygophobia and Achluophobia. Nyctophobia is common in many children and adults because the brain imagines negative scenarios of ‘what would happen’ when in the dark. The word derives from the Greek roots, ‘nuktos’ and ‘phobos’ meaning night and fear. This paper will discuss the cause of the fear, physical and psychological symptoms, and statistics, ways to overcome the fear and the success rate.

A phobia is an irrational fear that isn’t like a general anxiety disorder because it is usually connected to something specific. About ninety percent of children and ten percent of adults have Nyctophobia. Nyctophobia usually generate from a traumatic experience from one’s past. For example, being left in the dark as a punishment or joke as a child to scare them, possibly making siblings and friends responsible for creating the fear. The film industry and

literature are also a major factor in associating horror, blood, gore, ghosts, and other paranormal activities with the darkness, responsible for conditioning the mind to correlate negative ideas with the dark. Or even events that have occurred at night. For example, domestic violence, sexual abuse car accidents or other events that leave a child confuse, scared and/or anxious. Most childhoods fear go away as one grows and mature, however, in some cases Nyctophobia can develop into adulthood. Especially when one recalls the past events.
Signs of Nyctophobia in a three to five years old child are thumb sucking or bed wetting.

They may become clingy, insisting to sleep with someone, and/or unable to sleep without a night light. In both adults and children, physical symptoms may be aches and pains, rapid shallow breathing, heart palpitations, shivering and trembling, chest pains, feeling like choking, nausea, other gastrointestinal distress, crying, screaming, and/or reduced appetite or conversely overeating or binge eating. Psychological symptoms will be thoughts of death, dying-often associated with Thanatophobia (an abnormal fear of death), fear of being attacked by mythical creatures that adults often created to teach their children by frightening them into have good behavior; checking and rechecking under the bed or in closets, refusing to sleep alone or refusing to step out of the house when dark, trying to stay up all night, waking up several times, feeling dread, and/or feeling like running away at the thought of facing the

darkness.
Having Nyctophobia can affect one’s sleep and connect to stress. Leading into mental and physical disorders, such a depression, which can lead to the way one’s quality of life. Even if one realizes their fear is irrational, they still feel like they can’t overcome it when nighttime arrives. There’s also the option of professionals to help, such as therapists. There are different techniques in therapy that can help a person. Such as talk therapy, exposure therapy, medication. Self-help methods, relaxation techniques, Nyctophobia treatment professionals, and MRI test if severe. However, only about twelve to thirty percent of people who have phobias seek help but a large majority recovers from their Nyctophobia.