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[Vel]

How do you deal with it? I know there must be some people out there who wresle with it; how do you cope?

For those who aren't aware, nyctophobia is a fear of darkness. Funny, right? Hilarious. That's why people with nyctophobia can't discuss it with other people.

It's not a fear of 'darkness', it's a fear of sensory loss, and heavily tied to other phobias such as aquaphobia (the fear of being submerged in deep water; the key issue being deep water, as in water that provides a loss of mobility and senses).

I'm not super certain how to deal with it myself; the panic attacks are variably manageable to disruptive-to-regular-sleep.

On rare occasions, they're heavily disruptive to sleep due to only being stopped by keeping the room illuminated.

Tell me, at the least, that I'm not the only one who receives panic attacks due to sensory loss; there must be some kind of information available on how to calm the panic attacks from it.

Edit:

I'll edit my own original topic post just to specify to anyone thinking of posting a 'bracing' joke because I just need to 'man up': there is nothing logical about a phobia, and approaching it that way is not an effective vector. I don't believe in ghosts, I don't believe in demons, or whatever the heck else. I simply have panic attacks without external sensory input; I'm even perfectly calm if I'm in the dark with another person I can receive input from. Heck, I've been perfectly calm in the dark with people who were afraid themselves. It's when I'm alone that causes issues.

[LordBucket]

How do you deal with it?

Get a night light and keep a flashlight next to your bed?

This seems like one of those phobias that shouldn't be more than an inconvenience.

it's a fear of sensory loss

Play background music? Get one of those hanging decorative things that make noise whenever the wind blows and put it outside your window? Or an analog clock that audibly ticks?

Again, I don't see why this is such a problem. It won't be the end of the world if you leave your bedroom light on at night, and there are plenty of other things you can do to provide constant input.

some kind of information available on how to calm the panic attacks from it.

Desensitization training. Watch any Anthony Robbins videos about collapsing anchors.

One possible example: every time you masturbate for the next month, tap your temple and say "compass" every time, right as you climax. Just like Pavlov's dog, this creates an association in your mind of "tap temple plus compass" with ecstasy. To test it, do the temple tap and say compass when you're just sitting there doing nothing in particular. If you feel sexual arousal, you'll know the anchor is in place.

Once you've done that, turn out all the lights and simultaneously trigger the anchor. Thereby associating sexual climax with having the lights out. The mutually incompatible associations will tend to cancel each other out. Do this a couple times and you'll probably find that neither sensory deprivation nor your deliberately created trigger will have as much effect on you.

[Khorne]

I'm kind of afraid of the dark, but I wouldnt go as far as to call my fear a phobia, more like an overactive imagination. How do I deal with it? Other than computers and lights, I just face my fear. But since I don't really have the phobia, I'd say use some lights think happy thoughts, and keep occupied.

[Vel]

How do you deal with it?

Get a night light and keep a flashlight next to your bed?

This seems like one of those phobias that shouldn't be more than an inconvenience.

I'd just like to specify for this particular part of the response, that I already have a nightlight (my computer monitor provides sufficient light when I just leave it on). But, a nightlight isn't the answer, because there's been many studies that've shown that any kind of light at night heavily disrupts truly restorative sleep. It is a minor inconvenience, but it's a minor inconvenience that affects a lot of other things.

I'd respond more thoroughly but unfortunately it's quite late, and, yea. Can't afford to push things so far in terms of time-allotted-for-sleep.

[Twiggie]

Can't you just set your 'puter to auto-sleep after however long it usually takes you to fall asleep?

[ISP]

I sleep during the day when my room is lit, wake up when it starts getting dark and have very bright lights for the night.

As a kid there use to be a hallway that had the lightswitch well down into the dark, it was on the way to the bathroom and I'd turn on every light and open every door on the way to it every time.

My sisters would tell me there were monsters under the bed and down the hall... I hate them for giving me the damn phobia.

Couldnt watch scary movies and go in a dark room without chanting "It's not real."

[GlyphGryph]

But, a nightlight isn't the answer, because there's been many studies that've shown that any kind of light at night heavily disrupts truly restorative sleep. It is a minor inconvenience, but it's a minor inconvenience that affects a lot of other things.

Yeah... no. Bright light will, the the fact that the moon exists, and animals sleep outside, lends little credence to that theory. You don't have to be in absolute blackness to sleep well, just in darkness dark enough to switch you to night vision, and/or use light weak enough to fail to penetrate your eyelids when they are closed.

For getting maximum visiblity with minimal light, don't rely on point sources like nightlights though - better to have refracted light from multiple sources, from what I understand.

[Sordid]

How do you deal with it?

The same way you deal with any other phobia, AFAIK. Gradual acclimatization. I remember reading something about a psychiatrist treating people with arachnophobia by first having them look at pictures of spiders, then looking at spiders behind a glass, then at spiders without a glass in between, and finally by having them touch the spiders. You approach the object of your fear from a distance and only when you're comfortable at your current level do you move closer. In your case I'd say that might take the form of a light with a dimmer switch. When you're comfortable with the current light level, dim it a little.

[pisskop]

As you age you should get over it, although I sometimes let my imagination run and that builds a Fun tension...

I used to be okay with the dark until one night I had a dream about a tape worm chewing through my toe to invade my body...

---
If you are intent on doing domething about it than you shouold start by keeping your sleeping quarters dark.  Its your room, and you are in charge in there.  don't give up that authority without a fight.

[DeKaFu]

I used to be (and still am, on occasion, depending on my mindset) afraid of the dark. One thing that was true for me was that I was only afraid if I was alone in the room. One of the first times I was able to comfortably sleep in complete darkness was when I got my pet rats, which lived in a cage in my room. Just the knowledge that there was another thinking being in the room took all the fear and mystery out of the darkness. Of course, it turned out that rats are incredibly noisy all night, being nocturnal and highly active...

Not sure there's any usable advice in there, but I guess if you have a pet, you could try letting it sleep in your room?

[Lectorog]

A dim light pointed toward a corner of your room, rather than a standard night-light? That way you wouldn't be receiving much direct light that could bother your sleep, but if you're awake you can see defined objects, rather than just a point of light.

[The Fool]

As you age you should get over it, although I sometimes let my imagination run and that builds a Fun tension...

I'm 21, and I have a lovely combination of Nyctophobia (fear of the dark/things in the dark) and Kenophobia (a fear of voids). I also draw from imagination fairly often, so most imagery from my mind is vivid and unusually violent. Phobias are something you cope with, not something you 'get over'.

When there is a blackout, any pitch black spaces become my own personal 'Silent Hill', complete with uncertainty on the layout of the area and the feeling of something dangerous nearby. Even if I saw a wall just a moment before I occasionally look back to see if it's still there, or that something hasn't snuck up on me. In a blackout I can't even stay in my room because of that feeling of being in an ever-shifting world within a void.

In short, I understand completely. For anything that isn't pitch black my eyes adjust to it thanks to 20/30 vision. Invest in a brighter alarm clock or let your monitor run all night. It's all that stops my room from being pitch black, and it works wonderfully.

EDIT: Just to clarify, when I say pitch black spaces, I mean pitch black past the range of my flashlight.

[Ancre]

I had a time when I couldn't sleep without all the lights on, and even if it's better now, I can't sleep well if it's too dark. You're not the only one.

Usually opening the window's curtains is enough though. Knowing my surroundings by heart and locking the door and angling the bed so I could see it helped too (trading perception for memory ? I dunno, it just worked).

[Eidolon]

I have no idea. I don't really have any phobias to compare yours with, and I quite enjoy sitting in a dark, quiet room for the peaceful feeling.

I do have a question though: If you're sitting in a dimly-lit, quiet, still room and you close your eyes, do you become afraid? Also, if you were in a dark room with no sounds, would a strong, recognizable scent be enough to keep you from panicking? I personally like the smell of wet concrete or earth and tend to associate it with calmness, so maybe there's something similar for you. If scent can keep you from panicking, maybe carry a small tin with something strongly-scented in it, and open it up when you feel like you're going to panic? I'm not trying to get you to carry a teddy-bear or anything, maybe just something inconspicuous like a tin of altoids.

Anyways, posting because i'm genuinely curious to see what the extent of this for people.

[GlyphGryph]

I'm 21, and I have a lovely combination of Nyctophobia (fear of the dark/things in the dark) and Kenophobia (a fear of voids). I also draw from imagination fairly often, so most imagery from my mind is vivid and unusually violent. Phobias are something you cope with, not something you 'get over'.

Phobias are mostly definitely something you can get over - but it is neither quick, nor easy. It can take a decent amount of psychological conditioning, but there are psychologists who specialize in that.