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Feb 15, 2016 · Being afraid of the dark is, in essence, a fear of the unknown. We can't see what's out there and it freaks us out because our imagination fills in the worst possible thing. For ancient humans, it was lions and other predators, and in today's big, predator-free cities, it's monsters. We create monsters because they fill that predator void.
Oct 26, 2022 · It could also be a result of certain life events. Fear of the dark persists into adulthood for many people — roughly 11% of the U.S. population is afraid of the dark, John Mayer, a clinical psychologist, told Glamour Magazine. Some adults may fear the dark as a result of a negative experience they had at night, Lewis said.
- Jillian Wilson
- Lack of Light
- Vulnerability
- Faced with Your Own Demons
The darkness impairs our vision, first and foremost, which is a huge part of our ability to understand and manage our surroundings. Darkness blinds one of our most important senses, and leaves us with a lack of control and vulnerability. Frostrup writes that compared to nocturnal creatures that developed ways to cope with the dark, “humans…despite ...
Researchers believe that fear of darkness stems from genetic encoding that hardwired us to avoid predators at night. One study, published in PLoS ONE, notes that lion attacks in Tanzania are 60 percent more likely to occur after 6 p.m. than during the day. (Interestingly, the study also found that the lions are more likely to attack and hunt humans...
But in the modern day and age, especially in developed countries, we don’t have to worry about lion attacks in the jungle or warring tribes pillaging our villages in the middle of the night, catching us unaware in our tents. Instead, nowadays, darkness poses another threat to us: a mental one. As we lay in bed trying to go to sleep, the work day ov...
Oct 26, 2016 · The reason: It’s not the darkness itself that’s frightening. It’s the fear of what the darkness masks. The dark leaves us vulnerable and exposed, unable to spot any threats that may be lurking nearby. For much of human history, dark meant danger, and fearing it meant taking precautions to stay safe. Evolutionarily, it was an advantage.
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May 18, 2023 · Research has shown that humans are naturally afraid of the dark, and this fear is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history. One of the primary reasons we fear the dark is the fear of the unknown ...
Explore the psychological and evolutionary reasons behind our fear of the dark, and how to overcome it, in this insightful article.
Sep 29, 2017 · Overview. Nyctophobia is an extreme fear of night or darkness that can cause intense symptoms of anxiety and depression. A fear becomes a phobia when it’s excessive, irrational, or impacts your ...
