Stevie is no longer afraid of the dark (Psychology Articles)

The idea at its inception was that street lighting would help officials of the state more effectively survey and control city streets after dark.

Whether streetlights actually make anyone safer remains a contentious topic among scholars and city planners. Most studies fail to demonstrate an inarguable correlation between street lighting and decreases in traffic accidents or crime, although it feels wilfully obtuse to suggest that taking the dark way home is always just as safe.

Light pollution is aggravated by any kind of irresponsibly aimed outdoor lighting: Proper shielding and direction can mitigate the glare of these emanations — which can be blinding — and the International Dark-Sky Association publishes guidelines for easily modifying outdoor lighting to be more dark-sky friendly. In recent years, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles have been swapping the high-pressure sodium bulbs in their streetlights — which produced puddles of gassy, orange-hued light, a grittily romantic flicker — for comparably cost-effective LED bulbs.

The temperature of sodium bulbs is usually around 2, Kelvin, which registers to the eye as warm. LED bulbs burn closer to 4, Kelvin and emit an intrusive, bluish glare. If you live in a major American city, it is now virtually impossible to spend any time at all outside and in the dark. The new LED streetlights are almost universally described as unpleasant.

New York is presently in the midst of its own retrofit, a colossal overhaul scheduled to be completed by the end of But after the new bulbs were installed in Windsor Terrace, a residential neighbourhood in Brooklyn, citizens reacted with disbelief. New York deserves better. It struck them with awe. They attributed all sorts of things to the night sky. Harder previously had a career as an art dealer but now works full time as a dark-sky activist. She has the kind of fast-talking, no-nonsense comportment that recalls Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday , and is, by all accounts, a formidable opponent.

The single biggest challenge facing dark-sky advocates such as Harder is working out a way to change our understanding of darkness as a nefarious force, a thing that needs to be avoided or controlled, if not vanquished entirely. From a very young age, we are taught that nighttime is when dubious things transpire. At worst, it is terrifying. Night in Times Past , the historian A Roger Ekirch details the ways in which nearly every known civilisation figured darkness as a source of evil: Even in our earliest folklore, night is a proxy for wickedness, worthy of trepidation.

Christianity positioned God as a source of eternal and unblinking light, a corrective to spiritual darkness and chaos. Torches, candles, oil lamps, gas lamps, lightbulbs — these were not only facilitators of productivity and examples of the extraordinary ingenuity of man, but also sacred talismans to ward off ever-encroaching night and the malevolence it supposedly enables.

Most historical reasons to fear darkness are now moot; our unease at night is more transcendental than pragmatic. Still, a kind of basic discomfort with darkness persists. Changing deeply ingrained cultural ideas about darkness is a complicated task. I wrote to Ekirch to see how he understood the stakes of the battle to preserve the dark.

Then he quoted an anonymous early Italian essayist, who described darkness as its own lubricant for human communion: A few weeks before I visited Cherry Springs, I went with a couple of friends to a sensory deprivation chamber in Brooklyn. Formerly a component of psychological experiments — and, on occasion, deployed as an interrogation technique — sensory deprivation is now being reconfigured as a kind of bourgeois meditation aid: The idea is to disappear a little.

The stresses and expectations of a modern life seem to demand an antidote of, well, nothingness. I was not a natural inhabitant of the tank. I spent the first 15 minutes karate-kicking the door open and then pulling it closed again — mostly to make sure it would, in fact, still open and close.

I pressed the button that turns the lights on and off approximately 50 times. I decided to stretch one hand out — ostensibly to see if I could still see it in the dark; I could not — and accidentally dribbled warm, salty water into my open eyes. Eventually, once I had tired myself out, I was able to consider the experience of pure darkness, unbroken even by starlight.

I understood how people found it curative: But darkness, without the galactic punctuations of the night sky — without stars and planets and moons — feels more finite than infinite. On my third night in Pennsylvania, I went back to the park by myself, after midnight. On weekends especially, it can be fun to have a sibling sleep in your room.

You can laugh and watch funny videos together. It's comforting when someone is with you. Part 4 Quiz What is the benefit of a sleep mask? It muffles some of the sounds around the room. Your eyes won't dart around the room. Anxiety masks can help soothe your body and mind. Not Helpful 24 Helpful What do I do if I am afraid of clowns breaking into my house and taking me?

The chances of this happening are just about nil. The "creepy clown trend" is just that--people who think it's cool or funny to scare people--nothing more. People will move on from this activity when they grow tired of it. Not Helpful 15 Helpful This indicates that something is hitting the house due to its position and wind. It might be a tree branch hitting the window, or if you don't have a tree by the window, it is probably the way that wind is hitting the building.

What loose items are on the house? Have a look during the daytime. Not Helpful 16 Helpful Know that this is just the same house you live in every day, and everything is the same as it is during the day - just with no light to illuminate it. Turn on a light if you need to. Practice going downstairs by yourself at night so you'll get used to it and it will come to feel normal.

Not Helpful 23 Helpful It is easy to think that the dark is the residence of evil a misconception due to horror movies and such , but it's not. The best way to handle it is to face your fear. Stay calm when you're in the dark and try to think of something other than the fear itself.

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Not Helpful 21 Helpful It is most likely your eyes adapting to the darkness. If you see strange figures, use your phone or flashlight to shine some light in the area. Not Helpful 14 Helpful Sleeping with a TV can affect your health, and you may have difficulties sleeping due to the brightness and sound. If sound and light make you feel better, then connect your phone to a speaker and play calming music.

Fear of the light: why we need darkness - podcast

YouTube has a bunch of 8 hour videos, so you can find one that will be long enough for one night. For light, just leave the light on in the hallway or plug in a small nightlight. My mom doesn't believe me when I told her that I was afraid of the dark. What can I do? Perhaps try to explain it in a way that's relatable to her. Ask her if she remembers any irrational, maybe? Tell her that you'll outgrow this in time, but that for now, you're still scared of the dark. Not Helpful 19 Helpful Because I had a very irrational imagination when I was younger, I slept under the covers for fear of intruders in my room.

But I can't bring myself to stop sleeping under the covers! I have exactly the same problem. I've found that eye masks really help, as well as deep breathing exercises to keep me calm. Not Helpful 13 Helpful My mom is immediately making me sleep without any form of light in my room after I have slept with a light for about 5 years; she doesn't understand my fear. What can I do about this? If possible, get a small night light that you can plug in after she leaves. If that's not possible, then try to just cuddle up in your blanket and avoid looking at the dark.

Think about some good, fun, happy things to keep your spirits up until you fall asleep. Not Helpful 0 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Already answered Not a question Bad question Other. Tips If you play relaxing music all night, be sure not to put the volume up too high. Play your music loud enough for you to hear it, but not so loud that it will bother your sleeping family.

Remember that sometimes anxiety is helpful and required for your survival. Your fear may be the only thing that is keeping you out of danger. Keep a journal about your fears. If you want to you can share your journal with your family so that they can help and support you. It's just your imagination! If you hear a noise, try to come up with a pleasant reason for that noise happening. Such as if you hear creaking, tell yourself it's your pet looking for a late night snack. If you're afraid of the dark and are wide awake try not to let your eyes dart around the room looking for anything that might get you but instead, just focus on your breathing with your eyes closed.

Make sure that you don't have any scary posters or something in your room at can trigger your fears. Sleep with a pet if you need to. Have something to think about so you can talk to yourself at night in your head. Try to think positive. Perhaps you saw an amusing cartoon earlier in the day, you could think of that. Distract yourself when you have your eyes closed. For example, plan out what you're going to do tomorrow. Your child may be embarrassed, but let them know that you are their parent and you have their best interests at heart. Try thinking of marching music i.

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Star Wars Theme and believe that you have a protective bubble around you. Have a teddy bear. They make you feel much more secure. Just don't be afraid to tell a parent late at night if you are so scared. Make sure that your area is clean and that you're comfortable. Then you can start to dream of how your day will turn out tomorrow.

If you are a not a big fan of the dark watch videos of people sleep alone in the dark! Read a book before bed. Thinking about fun, non-threatening things happen in the dark sometimes helps, like a glow-stick party or something you did in the past that was fun. Only open them if you know there is a real danger, like an intruder. If you don't have any pets, and you are scared, then find a teddy bear which is suitable. That will calm you. I have a teddy bear to help me get to sleep but it is very large and it allows me to feel protected by my large teddy bear. Think about fun things that you'll do the next day.

This should distract you from your fears. It makes sense that you'd be afraid of the dark. After all, it is in our instincts, even after we have evolved into the modern human. Read so that your imagination goes wild. It also helps with stress because it relaxes your brain. Have a cat, dog, even a wolf! If you have one as a pet let them sleep with you. Close your eyes and imagine good things like a giant ice cream cone or any other happy thoughts. You just fill up a spray bottle with water and spray it around their room every night.

You can add food coloring or glitter if you want to.

Why Are We Afraid Of The Dark?

Count down from 5 slowly out loud then say I'm safe. Warnings Stay away from scary movies, images, and websites. Don't click on suspicious links to photos or videos. If you're afraid of the dark, disturbing images can leave you absolutely terrified and troubled for days. If you want some extra light, don't turn on every single light on in the house; it's wasteful and expensive. If you choose a lava lamp night-light, remember that it often casts weird shadows on the walls. Lava lamps become very hot if you leave them on for too long.

Usually, they can be left on for eight hours, so in the morning, turn it off right away. Stay away from excess caffeine and sugar, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime. Both of these substances have active neurotransmitters that can make you jumpier. Article Summary X To stop feeling afraid of the dark, remember to avoid caffeine in the afternoon, since it can make you feel extra jumpy when you're trying to fall asleep. Did this summary help you?

They could pile 20 of their friends into one tiny car, spray you with water from a flower on their shirt, or throw a pie in your face. People thrive when they can stick to a daily routine and often suffer mental stress and anxiety when their lives are unpredictable, unstable, or unsafe. So it only makes sense that interacting with a clown can be frightening.

We are never sure what they are going to do because, by definition, clowns are trying to push the limits of what other people will tolerate before they snap. Penny Curtis from the University of Sheffield noticed that the pediatric hospital had multiple paintings of clowns on the walls. She decided to poll children aged 4 to 16 who were staying in the hospital to find out how they felt about these images of clowns. The results of her study showed that the clowns gave the vast majority of these kids the creeps, even the ones who were too young to have ever seen any horror movies with clowns.

Children and adults alike can see an image of a kitten, and they automatically have an understanding of what a kitten is. The image of a clown shows an abstract creature that is difficult to categorize, almost like looking at an image of an alien, except we know that clowns are real.

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When clowns have makeup on, they typically stay in character at all times. With regular actors, the public is accustomed to understanding a general idea about their career. It is easy for us to understand that acting is a job, but it is very difficult to comprehend the motivations behind wanting to perform as a clown as a career choice.

So you wallow in a sense of discomfort and unease while being around this person because you are ignoring your natural instincts to run away due to politeness. When McAndrew polled people on their opinions of every occupation that exists, clowns were considered to be the most creepy —even more than funeral directors and taxidermists. While the majority of these clowns were simply loitering and trying to play a prank, they were all suspected of criminal intent.

Many people were up in arms, trying to protect their loved ones from potential clown attacks. There were even nine clown-related arrests in Alabama. In sociology and psychology, this is an example of mass hysteria—a phenomenon in which an illusion is shared by a group of people who identify something as a threat.

No matter how illogical this fear may be, it leads to widespread panic. In an article by Erika Engelhaupt in National Geographic , social media is blamed for the mass clown hysteria. With the ease of sharing information instantly and the way viral videos spread, it gives the appearance of a phenomenon happening more frequently than it actually does. Human beings have two types of fear: An example of an innate fear would be the fear of heights.

Many of us experience overwhelming fear when standing on the edge of a cliff or visiting a tall building. Fear is a normal part of our survival instincts.



A perfect example of the learned fear that clowns may have murderous intent would be John Wayne Gacy.