Table of contents:
- Nyctophobia (dark phobia)
- The characteristics of dark phobia
- Claustrophobia (phobia of confined spaces)
- The characteristics of claustrophobia
- How to treat phobias?
Many consider that the two types of phobia namely nyctophobia and claustrophobia are the same thing. In fact, the two types of phobias are not the same. Claustrophobia is the severe fear of confined and narrow spaces. Meanwhile, nyctophobia is a phobia of dark or night. To know more about the differences between the two, let's look at the following explanation.
Nyctophobia (dark phobia)
Source: Parenting Hub
Nyctophobia is a condition of extreme fear of the dark or of the night. Nyctophobia can also cause symptoms of anxiety and depression. In fact, this dark phobia can be exaggerated, have no reason for it, and can affect your daily life.
Dark phobias often begin in childhood and are seen as a normal part of child development. Several studies have shown that humans are often afraid of the dark because of a lack of visual stimuli. In other words, people may be afraid of night and darkness because they cannot see what is around them.
Fear of darkness or lack of light is normal. However, if it has affected the activity to the quality of your sleep, consult a doctor immediately.
Symptoms of dark phobia can be seen from physical and emotional. In fact, symptoms of dark phobia can appear when you have just imagined or thought of yourself in the dark.
The characteristics of dark phobia
Physical symptoms:
- Difficulty and painful breathing
- Irregular heartbeat
- Parts of the body such as the feet or hands are shaking and tingling
- Dizzy
- Stomach ache
- A cold sweat
Emotional symptoms:
- Experiencing tremendous anxiety and panic
- Feeling like running away from a dark place
- Lose control
- Feel like threatened, even want to pass out
- Fright
Claustrophobia (phobia of confined spaces)
Claustrophobia is a form of psychological disorder that creates severe fear and anxiety when you are in a confined or narrow room. A claustrophobic (people with claustrophobia) will feel panic because he cannot escape while in a closed room.
The difference between a phobia of narrow and closed spaces with a dark phobia is that the room doesn't have to be dark. Even in a brightly lit room a person with claustrophobia is terrified. Meanwhile, people with dark phobia, even in open spaces such as parks or roads, they will still feel scared. The reason is, what triggers fear is a lack of lighting, not the width of the space or the presence of in and out access such as doors and windows.
People with claustrophobia may feel frightened in elevators, in small, windowless rooms such as bathrooms, on subways or airplanes, and in machines. scan MRI.
The characteristics of claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is a phobia whose symptoms can appear during childhood or adolescence. This can happen when the person with the phobia is in a narrow, closed room that triggers a feeling of worry about not being able to breathe, running out of oxygen, or even limited space to move.
- Sweating
- Can't breathe
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Feel dizzy
- Mouth feels dry
- The body is shaking and the head hurts
- Numb
How to treat phobias?
1. Exposure therapy
This therapy aims to deal with fear itself. This can be done, among others, by describing the fear when the phobia strikes, instead of avoiding the topic of conversation related to the phobia you have.
In addition, the patient will also be faced with his fear continuously until he can get used to facing the fear. Later the doctor or therapist will plan several long-term treatments.
2. Cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy helps people recognize their feelings or anxieties and replace them with more positive reasons or thoughts.
Later, the patient will be explained that darkness or night does not mean that anything bad is going to happen. This type of treatment is usually combined with several other therapies.
3. Relaxation
Relaxation is usually used to treat panic and anxiety due to certain phobias. In it, patients are also taught to practice their breathing. This can help manage the stress and physical symptoms that usually cause their phobias to recur.
