fear of the dark

Hi, I hope it doesn't sound ridiculous, but i have a fear of dark.
When I was about 10-13 years old I did sneak out from our house after midnight because in the cellar, which was in the back of our garden, so there was a TV what I could watch without my parents permission That place is scary even daytime but i had no problem to do things like that.
In the past few years it's changed. Now I'm 25 and i can't go to sleep with the lights off. Whenever I tried to switch them off I became so scarred in a moment that I couldn't bear and if I'm trying to wait that's just worse. I'm also scarred about sounds as well sometimes, I barely can watch a movie with my headphones anymore..
What is this? Its just doesn't make sense to me.
Thanks

I usually I to have the light on, too. It's because when I wake up for bathroom, my vision is bad. So, to avoid accident of wasting my time to get to bathroom, I keep the light on. I am in such a deep sleep that a nightlight is useless, I'm too disoriented!

A friend can't sleep without a light on either and can't live alone because of fear of loneliness.

Lights are disturbing me, before i never sleep with them on, but lately I prefer to stay awake till dawn, its comfort me but have a serious effect on my daily life since I have to wake up at 10 am..

i have a night light also.

1 of those touch lights.. you gently touch the base of it with your hand, and it comes on and lights up the room

but i don't use it as much as i used to- i actually don't mind the dark

I sleep with the TV and a light on. I'm petrified I'm going to see something I don't want to see. I have seen shadows before, opaque black shadows that walk by my bed, and even block out the light, so I started sleeping with the light and TV on. I leave them on as well because I'm terrified of being broken in to, and they will at least know someone is home if they see those on. I grew up in a house that myself and others believe to be haunted, and by all accounts it was evil, and that messed me up so bad that I've been terrified of the dark since I was a little kid. Imagine going upstairs and hearing people talking, thinking it's the TV on in your mom and aunt's room, only to find no one in there when you open the door, and no TV on? Knocking, voices, things being thrown at you or off of the shelves/tables, toilets flushing, lights flickering, dark (darker than dark, darker than black even) shadows melting down the walls and darting past your line of vision, dogs and cats growling at thin air, hearing footsteps up and down the stairs, and worst of all, smelling something that smells like sulfur and rotting meat while you hear something coming down the stairs. I dreaded summer break when I would be left alone in that house while my mom and aunt worked. When they left at 7am, I was up and I absolutely refused to go out of the kitchen/dining room/TV area out into the living room. That's where the stairs were. My dogs would sit by me on the sofa and just stare out there and growl. You could feel whatever it was come downstairs and just stand right outside the TV area. The atmosphere of the room would totally change. So unlike my friends who slept in in the summer, I was up every weekday at 7. My aunt used to practice black magic in that house, and we had a psychic friend tell us that she had opened a portal to hell in her closet. It's funny because before she said that, we had always felt that it was centered around her closet. My friends wouldn't even come over. That's what it was like to live in that house, which I lived in from the time I was born until I was 18. That's why I sleep with the lights and TV on. My nightmares wake me up a lot and it's nice to have light when I wake up. So I totally understand about being afraid of the dark. I had the lights go out in my office building, which has no windows, and I about peed myself I was so scared.

I can't stand the dark. I am alright if I am sleeping but if I am awake there has to be lights on of some kind.

Without intending to be unsupportive, I point out there are many definitions of dark. Many of them at times have caused me consternation.

Well, humans have always "feared the dark", we do not like it if we cannot see possible preditors. We are "after all' not much different from animals, who also "hide" in the dark, except for the night time preditors.

So it isn't something to worry about and somehow think you are "odd" if you find the dark (where you cannot see) disturbing.

Open Eyes

actually that is a pretty useful thought, open eyes

I'm random when it comes to fears as well. Take heights for example: As a child I climbed trees that were several stories tall. My mom was afraid I'd take up mountain climbing. Hah, now there are times when I can hardly stand to be on a third floor escalator. One year I'll be going on serious roller coasters, and the next I'll be white knuckle on the ferris wheel. It applies to the dark as well. Sometimes I appreciate darkness but there are nights when I keep a low level lamp on to avoid panic.

It does feel awful random. Really, it's just anxiety finding an outlet. There was a lot of stress in my life and I had other mental health problems hitting me rather hard.

I found that getting the other stuff in my life under control really helped my anxiety as a whole. Facing my fears and forcing myself to do uncomfortable things was also useful. Push. Get a clear vision of what you want and go for it. For me the phobias could have been part of a process or, if I'd let it, a place that I fell into permanently. I gave up on heavily combating it for about half a year and became almost completely agoraphobic. So I definitely advocate doing everything you can to stay on top of the situation and not let it decline. We just have to work a bit harder and face some unpleasant feelings in order to accomplish that.

A night light or a low output light bulb on a small lamp may do the trick.I don't know but my boyfriend suggests that I try something..As I have a fear of the dark that over powers my life and my lifestyle.. He suggests that me &+ him sit together with the TV on then when I'm ready to grab him then he turns out the TV so it is complete darkness then for me to talk to him and focus on him then i will be able to see where i am and what is in the dark.

beads afraid of teh dark to. we also catn stadn total queit. so we sleep wiht a lite on adn teh radio on all niet logn. it runs up teh electrdcdi bill a bit butbeads dotn care. feelign safe is moer importnt!

I'm actually quite fond of the dark. No one can see me, and it makes me feel safe.
And yes, that is my normal signature!