[HaileyTrill]

My wife suffers from night-time ‘feelings of a presence’ which frighten her; so much so that she cannot remain in a room, on her own, after dark.
She is not asleep, the presence is non-specific (not necessarily human), malevolent and disappears if someone else enters the room.
She does not know how long this has been a problem as it was never noticed until after she had left university, and, for the first time in her life, found herself expected to sleep in a room on her own.
She coped by leaving all the lights and the television/radio on all night, to make it feel like people were around.
She coped, but about seven years ago things got much worse, after her then husband drove off and left her, abandoned, at night time, in a cemetery in the middle of nowhere, with no means of getting home and back to their 14 day old child.
She is getting a little better and asked me recently if I had noticed how she was now able to stay sitting for as much as 20 minutes in the lounge, after I have gone to bed.
Well, I hadn’t noticed, and the odd times when she has asked me to go to the bathroom with her, I had incorrectly assumed, were one-offs
So, I have recently been reminded of this problem, for which I have, in the past, spent many fruitless hours searching the internet.
I can’t find a forum entitled “Afraid of the Dark”. Please help me find some on-line help from somewhere. We live in China – there’s no help here.

[CANDC]

Hi HaileyTrill. Welcome to Psych Central. You may find that the Anxiety forum may be helpful https://forums.psychcentral.com/anxi...c-and-phobias/ I moved your thread to that forum in the hope you would get more responses.

These self help guides can be very helpful from another site Self Help Guides | 7 Cups

They also have free trained listeners if your wife could reach out to them. Need to Talk to Someone? - 7 Cups Or you may also find these helpful for yourself.

Wishing you and your wife the best outcome. Not sure this could be adapted to adults but perhaps it may be of interest to you so you can find ways to interact that help support your wife. 3 Play Therapy Techniques for Improving Self-Confidence in Children | Reflections from a Children's Therapist

[downandlonely]

It sounds like anxiety to me, maybe a phobia of the dark. My little brother was scared to sleep alone for the longest time. When he got to big to share a bed with my parents, he slept on the floor next to their bed. I think he finally started sleeping in his own room at about 14 or 15. Now he lives in his own house and is fine. Would it be possible for your wife to get therapy?

[HaileyTrill]

Thank you CANDC.
Yes, I had noticed '7 cups' in my searches before. Thanks, I will go back and have a closer look at it.
HT
Hope this gets through - There is an error message that says I have to remove links - but I haven't used any!

[HaileyTrill]

Thank you downandlonely.
As far as we are aware "therapy" in the Western sense of the word, doesn't exist here.
HT