Achluphobia... just Achluphobia...

[Chickenfan4life]

As you guys might know from a previous thread about this problem, I have a serious case of Achluphobia. Just last night, when I went to check the chickens, I took a flashlight that was faulty, and I didn't know this. Once I got into the barn, the flashlight began to blink and turn off for several seconds, multiple times.

I started panicking and smacking the flashlight to try to get it to work; it didn't work. Instead, it quite blinking and died. I started crying and was literally sitting in the barn, frozen in the dark. I actually sat there for, according to my glow in the dark watch, close to 10 minutes, my heart beating like crazy. Finally, I stumbled out of the barn and ran towards the floodlights at the front of the house.

That whole time, I was imagining horrible, horrible things and screaming.

Anyone else here suffer from Achluphobia? How did you cure your case?

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Anyone??? D:

 

[Mattemma]

Don't have it,but wanted to recommend a crank flashlight. I bought a buch of these crank/solar ones at discount for $2.99, They are great! No fails with these little things.

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Solar-Rechargeable-3-LED-Carabiner/dp/B003JILY9G

They say that repeated exposure to a phobia helps cure you of it.Maybe it works for some. Never worked for me,but you never know till you try.Until then look for those flashlights. I like the little clip too. I would clip one to my pant loop so I can work hands free.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Yeah... I might try that. I really just want to permanently solve the problem; exposure isn't working because I can't handle ONE minute in the dark... and it's only being in the dark outside; inside I'm perfectly fine!

 

[RedneckGurl]

I don't suffer from your particular phobia but I have had a fear of heights for most of my life and have always had problems with glass elevators, observation towers, flying in planes, etc. My husband has gotten his private pilots license because he has always loved flying and wanted to be able to fly his own plane. I tried a few times going up with him but was a total basket case until we landed. As you can imagine, me being in that kind of state wasn't the best for my husband's concentration on flying. I knew if I was going to be able to fly with him at all, I needed help. I had heard people talk about being able to stop smoking with hypnosis so I figured it was worth a shot so I went to a licensed hypnotherapist for help. After three visits I was able to cope with my fear and was able to fly in a small plane with my husband up to visit the grandkids in Tennessee. I highly recommend it as a way to at least reduce the terror you feel if not eliminate it all together.

 

[nok13]

get a dog. sort of like a seeing eye dog but not seeing for you but as a 'comfort' zone helper... my boxer was very good at that; the lhasas are terrible... they dont help me, but glue themselves to me in the dark ( i think their vision is as poor as mine); but the boxer always stayed by me, but a bit ahead of me, she would alert me to what was ahead, would check up on me, shove her nose in my hand to remind me that she was by my side; it gives conficence to have a warm (large) animal with you, its like a pack animal system, plus gives confidence cause they see/hear intruders, animals, can act as a detterant, can warn you, you can train them to lead u or go get help, you can put a glo in the dark collar or vest or a blinking light collar /vest on them....

i found that when my (now ex) was in army reserve (active duty here), i was alone with small children and feeling isolated, having the dogs gave me a sense of security when having to go out (kibbutz is rural and at that time we had no outdoor lights anywhere, etc)...

now, i have issues with winter/dark... and present husband works evening/nights, so the two dogs although small and bad eyes, still give a sense of someone in the house, they go with me when i have to go out to the hotel when i am on night on-call duty and someone needs me; a good flashlight with a wrist strap goes with me , there are also light sticks that u can buy and leave in the barn in specific areas so that if u lose the flashlight, u can grab the stick light, use soothing music (keep a radio in the barn area) or a small tv with remote, u can turn it on before u go in,
i have no probelm camping in the dark or sleeping out, but do have that horrible smothering feeling in winter dark, to the point that i close the curtains to not see outside at night (in winter, summer doesn bother me) and we actually have a great view out our window...

good luck

 

[Chicks Galore3]

I don't have a phobia, but I am still scared of the dark, especially outside like you said. A dog we had, (who we no longer have. ) Helped me a lot! He was very playful and energetic, and loved to play fetch. If it was dark when we went to put him away, I was usually very scared. But just the thought of someone(thing) to protect me helped a lot. I can know go oustide, in the dark, by myself. (I still don't particularly like it, but.)

 

[theoldchick]

Finding out why you are afraid of the dark would be really interesting. Did you get lost at one time? Did a sibling spook you in the dark? I had the strangest fear when I was a kid. I was terrified of toilets. Didn't much like them in the dark, either. I was okay with my toilet in my own house-but I needed a night light. My mother managed to help me and I eventually lost my fear of strange toilet. I didn't learn until much, much later-after I was well into adulthood-as to why I was afraid of toilets: While going through potty training I fell in the toilet.


If this fear controls your life don't be afraid to ask for professional help. Join a support group of folks who have the same problem as you.Simply knowing you are not the only one with this fear can give you courage. Research as much as you can about your particular fear. With knowledge you can learn to control your fear.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

I don't really know why I am so afraid of the dark; all I know is that when I'm in it, my heart starts pounding, I break out in a sweat, even in winter, and I am completely paralyzed. If I'm outside with another person, though, I'm somewhat better.

 

[RedIII]

To the OP -

I have had a fear of the dark since I was a kid, though not quite as extreme as yours, it sounds like. When I had to turn off the lights in the basement to go upstairs, I would run as fast as I could to the top, then turn around and see if anything was going to follow me. I could always imagine some horrific thing coming out of the gloom and rushing at me, and it made me so scared, I was nearly paralyzed! As I've grown, I've forced myself to do things like walk up the stairs, not run, and to not turn around and look, no matter how terrifying that is. I figure that if I don't acknowledge those things, they'll have to go away, and the more times I walk away from the dark without anything happening, the more it proves to me that I'm right. I also try to keep in mind that if anyone/anything did try to get me, I'd give them one bleepity of a fight, lol.

Maybe you could try to work on your breathing when you are scared? That helps me. I focus on keeping my breathing steady and normal, and I tell myself that I am tougher than whatever is around me. I try to move and act confident, so that if I was being watched, I wouldn't look scared. Fake it til you make it.

That doesn't mean that I don't still get the daylights scared out of me once in a while, though. And it's always when I'm talking myself up about how tough I am, and then the dog noses my hand and I jump out of my skin, hahaha

Finding out why you are afraid of the dark would be really interesting. Did you get lost at one time? Did a sibling spook you in the dark? I had the strangest fear when I was a kid. I was terrified of toilets. Didn't much like them in the dark, either. I was okay with my toilet in my own house-but I needed a night light. My mother managed to help me and I eventually lost my fear of strange toilet. I didn't learn until much, much later-after I was well into adulthood-as to why I was afraid of toilets: While going through potty training I fell in the toilet.


If this fear controls your life don't be afraid to ask for professional help. Join a support group of folks who have the same problem as you.Simply knowing you are not the only one with this fear can give you courage. Research as much as you can about your particular fear. With knowledge you can learn to control your fear.

I was afraid of them, too! But it was only while I was in the bath tub. I've always been a shorty, and when I was sitting in the tub, our toilet looked like it had teeth (the little bumpers on the underside of the seat

) and I was afraid that it was going to come alive and eat me.