Ever since I was young, I've been afraid of the dark. Since the earliest I can remember, I've slept with a nightlight and my head and neck wrapped around the blankets as so none of my skin is showing. I practiced that sleeping ritual even in the hottest of days.

Whenever I was in the dark, it felt like I was being followed and watched. I don't mean by a human, it was like I could feel their eyes on me, just watching. Sometimes when I would get afraid and run into my room, the feeling wouldn't go away. I was running but I wasn't getting ahead.

Now I'm 19 years old, have a very decent job, successful in school and guess what? I'm still afraid of the dark. However, now it is much worse.

I load tractor trailers at a giant corp. close to my house. Much of my day is spent alone in these trailers just putting away boxes. Very often, out of the corner of my eye I'll see a tall pure black figure in my truck. Of course, when I look nothing is there...but when I see nothing there, I actually become surprised.

It's as if even my own mind wanted me to see something there. At my last job I felt that too, I felt like there was a person watching me. Very closely.

I never told anyone because it hasn't done anything, but I just walked into my room and saw the shadow move from the middle of the room, into my dark closet. The door was open and I have "black out" curtains because my girlfriend sleeps during the day. So nothing in my room could create this shadow, not even myself as no lights were on.

And yet, I walk into my bedroom and see this shadow on the floor and it glides into the closet.

Any takes on what this could be? It's simply driving me mad.

I think that by instinct we are meant to distrust the night, since we are day creatures we do not operate very efficiently at night and predators who do hunt at night can easily pounce at you, so the brain needs to tell you that somehow so it makes you fear it.

I used to be the same as you until i decided it was ridiculous and i started standing in the night more often and actually realizing that it can help you hide from thing and use it to your advantage, once you realize it can be beneficial you change your way of looking at it and it wont hold you back any more.

I used to have the same thing with leaving my feet outside of the bed at night when i was young, until i decided that i was not going to let it bother me anymore so everyday at night i would stick my feet out for periods at a time until i was able to sleep with them pretty much hanging almost to the floor.

Fears are meant to be conquered and we fear what we don't understand, once you spend time with it and get to know it, it will stop being something that can scare you.

This is not a very healthy way of thinking, the night or darkness is NOT something, its the absence of light, it does not have any density. Its amazing how we can take something so simple and mystify it in a shroud of magic.

Well, you are 19 Op.... you will grow out of the fear, or at least I hope you do.

What I do when I am in fear of anything...

I simply numb myself and think positive. Changing your way of thinking is only something you can do in your mind.

Do it.... change your way of thinking and KNOW within that there is nothing to be scared of as your light is way too bright to be conquered by anything having to do with fear.

The sensation that someone is behind you in an empty room is actually a hallucination, believe it or not. A little something to consider.

Originally posted by EllaMarina
The sensation that someone is behind you in an empty room is actually a hallucination, believe it or not. A little something to consider.

edit on 6-10-2012 by EllaMarina because: (no reason given)

Well, I guess I've already gone bonkers than huh?