If your child is afraid of the dark, they're not alone. “It's very common in children and adolescents alike,” says Thomas Ollendick, a distinguished professor emeritus at the Child Study Center at Virginia Tech who has dedicated much of his career to understanding fears and phobias in children.
Children are most often afraid of the dark starting at around the age of about 2 through the preschool years, although it can appear in older children as well. A fear of the dark usually lasts for a few weeks to a few months.
Being afraid of the dark is often associated with childhood, mostly occurring in children ages 6 to 12, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But it's not uncommon for the issue to continue into adulthood.
Turns out that fear is pretty normal—experts say being scared of the dark is actually a fairly common thing among adults. According to clinical psychologist John Mayer, Ph. D., author of Family Fit: Find Your Balance in Life, fear of the dark is “very common” among adults.
How common is nyctophobia? Nyctophobia is very common, especially among children. Some researchers estimate that nearly 45% of children have an unusually strong fear of some kind. Fear of the dark is one of the most common fears among kids between 6 and 12 years old.
1. Arachibutyrophobia (Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth) Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. While the phenomenon has happened to everyone at one point or another, people with arachibutyrophobia are extremely afraid of it.
Children and adults suffer from a fear of the dark for a variety of reasons. For example, darkness impairs one's vision. Not being able to see as well "increases anxiety, uncertainty and tension and this can lead to fear of the dark in any age group," explained Dr.
Exposure therapy – spending more time in dark rooms in small, incremental doses to help desensitise. Talk therapy – simply sharing fears and discussing the rationale behind them. Relaxation techniques – deep breathing, meditation, or yoga.
According to All About Cats, agoraphobia is Australia and the world's most common phobia, with 61.67 per cent of people identifying it as. Agoraphobia is a social phobia commonly understood as the fear of public spaces and crowds.
1. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders. Nearly 30.5% of Arachnophobia sufferers (the excessive fear of spiders or other arachnids like scorpions) are living in the United States alone. It is one of the most common animal phobias around the world.
1. Acrophobia. Acrophobia is the fear of heights and it affects more than 6% of people. People who have acrophobia can have anxiety attacks, which causes them to avoid high places, such as bridges, towers, or tall buildings.
We are born with only two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds. A 1960 study evaluated depth perception among 6- to14-month-old infants, as well as young animals.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Understanding the phobia can help you overcome it and live a fulfilling life. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary, and ironically, it means the fear of long words.
"Noctophobia is one of the most common childhood phobias. It is thought to stem from the decreased visual input we experience in the dark, leading to overactivity of the other senses, such as sound and touch." This can then trigger an imaginative response in children, leading to anxiety and fear.
A person may develop a phobia of any type of situation or thing. Because of this, there are hundreds of different phobias that people may experience.
Some people may experience multiple phobias. They can be broadly categorised into two groups: Specific phobias. Complex phobias.
Causes of Bananaphobia
Only a handful of people are known to suffer from the fear of bananas from all over the world. Most cases begin in childhood, when one has been forced to eat bananas by parents or caregivers to an extent that leads to stomach distress or vomiting.
People with nyctophobia experience anxiety symptoms when faced with darkness or anticipating experiencing darkness for 6 months or more. Symptoms of nyctophobia include: difficulty breathing. fast heartbeat.
Former England footballer Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne has become the first ever winner of experimental Channel 4 reality show Scared of the Dark. Gascoigne came out on top over seven other celebrities, after spending 180 hours in complete darkness – living, eating, sleeping and completing challenges.
Self-evaluation. A person can find the source of his or her own fears by doing some self-evaluation and also by talking to a professional. Asking yourself questions such as: “Why am I afraid?” or “What is causing my anxiety?” will lead you in the right direction.
Anxiety disorders (such as Social Phobia) are the most common type of disorder, affecting 1 in 6 (17%, or 3.3 million) Australians, followed by Affective disorders (such as Depressive Episode) (8%), and Substance Use disorders (such as Alcohol Dependence) (3.%).