Fear of the dark

The Achluophobie (also: Nyktophobie ) is a phobic disorder with an exaggerated fear of darkness. The name derives from the ancient Greek word achlyo, which means as much as darkness or twilight. In general, the fear is not of the darkness itself, but of possible or imagined dangers that are associated with it. Sufferers avoid going out at night, they avoid the dusk and dark rooms, draw the curtains at night, to avoid accidentally look into the dark and try to have constant light.

Often the fear of darkness is casually associated only with young children, but are also affected adults and seniors.

Fear of darkness in children

Many parents know the request of children, but at night to let the light on. In the majority of cases this has nothing to do with a fault and gives again.

Childhood fears as they are regarded in most children as part of normal development. According to the diagnostic criteria, however, have these childhood fears together at about 23 % of children the periphery of a phobic disorder or anxiety disorder. In some children, these fears cause problems with impact on the daily routine.

The Robert Koch Institute referred to adolescence as a typical onset of anxiety disorders, what the idea suggests to counteract early as possible.

An investigation into the concept of a primary prevention for younger children showed the potential effectiveness of dealing with stories on dealing with the darkness for reducing fear of the dark. In kindergarten heard a group of stories that had a positive attitude towards the darkness to the content, the control group heard stories whose content neutral, that was irrelevant for fear of the dark. The results showed a revisiting of the statements from the stories, and a significant decrease in self-reported fear of darkness compared to the control group.

More Phobic disorders

More Phobic disorders are included in the list of phobias.