You’re not the only one that’s afraid of what’s hiding in the dark (15 Photos)
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Raise your hand if you’re a grown-ass adult and still have an irrational fear of dark corners. It’s ok, you’re not alone. I’ve got both hands up. Normally, when it comes to people that worry about the things that go bump in the night, we always picture kids. And by the time you’re an adult, with responsibilities and stuff, you should be over it, right? You couldn’t be more wrong.
The folks over at Sofary, a lighting company, decided to survey 1,000 people, asking them what they used to be afraid of, and if they’re still afraid of those things now. You’d be surprised to learn that irrational fears of the dark and spooky are more common among adults that you’d think.
Creepy stuff, y’all.
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Starting off with childhood, over 50% of men and women were afraid of the dark in general, which makes sense. It’s an evolutionary thing to be wary about the things we can’t see. From there, more girls than boys were afraid of being home alone, while boys found that they didn’t want to know what was hiding under the bed.
Both genders, however, were afraid of ghosts.
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At the lower end of the spectrum, as kids, we were less worried about things like kidnapping, power outages or specific rooms in the house.
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Not even this? Really, kids?
I was afraid of my furnace room, just like Kevin McAllister.
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So, now we know what you were afraid of, how did you cope with it? Most kids had recurring nightmares about their fears, while 42% of girls and 34% of boys would call out for a parent. There was also a significant amount of kids that wet the bed.
These all sound so rough, but a huge developmental stage for kids.
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While having childhood fears was common, researchers wanted to know which things caused the most terror. Most kids said potential animal attackers, especially snakes. Girls were more worried about snakes, than boys.
Boys on the other hand, found their intense terror came from being worried about ghosts, clowns and being kidnapped.
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That’s probably why this movie scared me.
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So, while most fears tend to fade away as we grow and mature, a lot of adults admit that their fears have either followed them, or they’ve developed new fears. Now, over 30% of adults admit that they’re afraid of bugs and spiders, with natural disasters a close second. These also an equal amount of women that are worried about being left home alone.
Significantly less adults are worried about the dark in general, or the supernatural.
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At the bottom end, it’s pretty obvious that specific rooms don’t scare us, nor open doors. As well, only 13-16% of adults are worried about ghosts.
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So what do we do as grown-ups to calm ourselves down? Most will turn on the lights, call their S/O or snuggle their pet.
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There’s also small amount that will resort to grabbing their weapons and keeping them near at hand, when they’re feeling scared. Men were also more likely to close their eyes when dealing with their fears, or to resort to a nightlight of sort.s
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Ultimately, most of us don’t have to suffer alone. The survey also asked who we’d turn to in a time of terror, and let in to our fear-bubble. Most said their partner, with their mom being a close second. Surprisingly enough, over a third said they would’t tell anybody, especially men (45%). According to psychologists, that’s not the most healthy thing to do. It’s best to share the things that scare you.
On the other hand, men are more likely to share their fears with their dads, as compared to women.
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So while most of the fears that the respondents have shared make sense, there are also fears that they’re embarrassed to admit to. Almost 73% of respondents said that dolls scare them, with clowns and spooky things under the bed, close behind.
As well, more men admitted to being afraid of spiders than women. Can’t say I blame them.
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Men were also more fearful of ghosts, the dark and paranormal activity, and being home alone, as compared to women.
So while we might feel ashamed to share these same fears as our childhood selves, no amount of rational thought or convincing will really make a difference. So what if we’re afraid of some things? It’s time to accept that some things are scary and just try to accept and manage our fears as best we can.
And sometimes, a drink helps.
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