The Dark Essay: Sleeping Alone In The Dark

Ever since I can remember I have always been afraid of the dark, especially sleeping alone in the dark. Although it may sound silly because of my age, it is very much true. It is not the darkness that scares me so much, it is being in a room alone, in the dark, with open doors. Whether it is my bathroom door, closet door, or room door, they all have to be shut tightly and my main room door must be locked. I also have to sleep against the wall so I know nothing can creep up behind me. In a sense I feel silly and paranoid but doing these actions give me a sense of safety. Maybe I watched too many movies growing up about monsters, murders, and kidnappings.
Every night after showering and my other nightly routines, I lay down. Sometimes I forget …show more content…
We are eight years apart and like normal big brother and little sibling relationship, he messed with me all the time. One thing he loved to do was push me in dark rooms in our home and come in and laugh in an evil voice. I couldn’t see where he was, or escape because he would lock the door. I was so young at the time that I was too frantic to unlock the door. I would jump on the bed and hide under the blanket hoping I’d be safe in there. He would continue to laugh in his evil voice as I could hear him get closer. When he reached where I was hiding, which was basically in plain sight, he would pull me out by my feet under blanket. I would yell for my mom and it felt like an eternity until she came to my rescue. She would scold him for scaring me and he would laugh. I knew it was my brother but it still frightened …show more content…
The only way I could manage would be to make sure all of the doors in my room were closed and my bed was positioned along a wall so that I can sleep with my back facing it. Negatively reinforcing my habits of closing/locking doors makes me feel safe, aware of all my surroundings and I no longer feel paranoid. I love the relief I feel and I’m able to sleep peacefully. My biggest fear is being scared, caught off guard and harmed. Securing my surroundings takes the edge off. I’m not forced to be uncomfortable or conquer my fear. I can cover it up and push it to the back of my mind enough to go to sleep every