Everyone has that one thing they're scared of and some has refused to admit the fact that they're scared of that particular thing. I use to be like that too, as a matter of fact I still find it difficult for me to accept my fears.
Fear of the dark
Growing up, i was always afraid of dark places. It got to a point whereby i can't even sleep in my room alone, I'd have to spend the night in my sister's room. Then I'd give silly excuses like, the temperature of my room is hot or i don't feel like sleeping in my room, and many more excuses.
I'm older than my sisters and telling them I'm afraid of the dark is just ridiculous. I had this feeling they'd use it against me anytime we're going to have a misunderstanding. So, i kept it to myself and told nobody, this is like the first, I'm openly admitting I'm afraid of the dark.
Maybe it's because my siblings are not here 😅.
Few years ago, i could remember when my dad asked me to go turn off the generator when it's 12:00.a.m i was scared but i couldn't say it out. I didn't know how to give an excuse so i won't go and turn off the generator, and i couldn't even say i won't run the errand. My dad knew i usually sleep late as at that time, so he assumed i would still be awake till then.
Due to the fact i was afraid of the dark and going outside by that time of the night, i decided to sleep early so i wouldn't have to go outside and turn off the generator. The next morning my dad asked if i was able to turn off the generator, i told him i slept off and i wasn't able to go turn off the generator. He was really angry at me, i preferred for him to be angry at me for not turning off the generator than for me going outside in the dark to go turn off .
I didn't have a good reason for being scared of the dark, my younger siblings are also afraid of the dark, but they openly admitted it, for me it's just so difficult to openly say I'm afraid of dark places.
The thought of being afraid in dark alone affected me when i wanted to leave my parent's house to move in to my own apartment. So many questions running through my head
- How would I stay alone?
- where would I sleep when it gets dark?
- Is it even compulsory i leave my parents house?
- what would happen if i end up being alone in the dark?
How i faced my fears
I decided to set some goals for myself, it may sound weird setting a goal because i have achluophobia.
I started learning how to stay in dark rooms alone, i recognise that being afraid of the dark is not a sign of weakness. I started avoiding thoughts and situations that would trigger my achluophobia.
Emphasis on avoiding thoughts that would trigger my fear. Most times i avoid watching movies or videos that would trigger my fear, especially horror movies. I also stopped reading horror books.
Avoiding this things really helped me a lot, at some point i realised that my fear of the dark was fading away. I decided to try something i thought was impossible for me, sleeping in a dark room. At first i thought i won't be able to sleep in the dark room alone till the next morning, but on the other hand there was nothing in be afraid of.
I slept alone in the dark room, and nothing happened. I was so happy i could finally face my fears.
I was able to conquer my fear of the dark. I finally moved to my own apartment. I wouldn't be say I've gotten rid of my fear for dark places, but I can stay alone.
I can now stay alone even at night without having anything to be scared of, it wasn't easy for me to adapt to it at first but with proper discipline i was able to conquer my fear to an extend . Although, i still have achluophobia, but I've been able to control it. I'm hoping to finally get rid of it in the nearest future.
Thumbnail generated by meta AI
