I've been afraid of the dark, as far as I can remember. One sure way to know I'm home in the evening, is that all the lights would be on. I wouldn't enter a room without turning on the lights first. I seem to have an overactive imagination, and can create scenarios in my head, that in reality, I know aren't real.
It was actually just a few days back that I had this shift, that allowed my mind to let go of those scary ideas about the dark; for my unconscious to know that I am safe in the dark, in my home, and that it was just hypnotic suggestions that created these silly ideas related to the dark.
How did this life-long fear disappear in just a snap? I started thinking back earlier this week. I tried to analyze and understand how much of this was at a conscious level and how much at an unconscious level.
Ok, so what happened? I was listening to a video by Dr. Richard Bandler, the co-founder of NLP (Neuro-lingustic Programming). I was working on other things, while semi-listening to the video. I would tune in with full attention every now and then, until something said caught my interest. There was one particular event that did this.
Dr. Bandler was sharing a story about his past, during the time when the movie Jaws was first released. He laughed as he shared how that movie gave him a lot of business. How? Jaws the movie had created a lot of phobias of swimming in water! The movie created phobia's in so many people, that his NLP business increased a lot!! Contary to the belief of some psychologists, phobia's are rather easily removed. NLP includes a method of removing these phobias. I've actually learned the technique myself, and I've seen it performed on a friend of mine!
I've actually listened to him share the same story repeatedly in different videos. One of the last times I listened to this phobia story, I thought to myself, that since I understand that watching movies is a form of hypnosis, and hearing that story made me think of how silly it was for the people it create phobias from a movie. Then I thought, oh wait, how can this be applied to my life?
It was late in the evening and all the lights were off except for the room I was in. So, the first thought that can to my head was - the dark! Being afraid of the dark was some idea that was suggested to me when I was young. I dont remember how or when, but I'm sure television may have had something to do with it.
I remember after watching the movie E.T. as a child, and being afraid that something like E.T. was hiding in my closet at night. Even though E.T. was friendly, that idea still scared me. That idea stayed with me as I grew older, always having to keep my closet closed, so nothing would be staring at me in the closet at night. Silly, right? But sounds very similar to how Jaws, the movie, had affected others.
I remember once hearing a story about a troll under the bed. I won't repeat the story, but once I heard it, I always remembered it, and then was created, the fear of something under the bed at night.
The closet, under the bed, and the dark, were the fears of my life that I could immediately relate to the Jaws story. And by doing so, I realized how silly it was. Not that I didn't know that consciously, but perhaps finally my unconscious understood it too.
Although, this wasn't a phobia, nor was it really debilitating, but it is freeing to stay calm in the dark, and alone at night. I can also sleep on my back without the covers over part of my face, as I have nothing to fear.
