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phobia of darkness! phobia of darkness!
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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by George Guille, It's going to be a long 300km... Bolivian Amazon

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by George Guille
It's going to be a long 300km...
Bolivian Amazon



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  #1  
Old 20 Mar 2008
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phobia of darkness!
i have a phobia for the dark and i'm not to keen on it! (ok if others around). does anyone else have this problem or overcame it? i'm going to iceland soon and will be on my own so wild camping is going to be a problem but i want to travel lots of the interior! i'm sure it's on this site that someone read a book and overcome this problem. have just searched but cant find it again but i might have found it somewhere else.
any ideas?
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  #2  
Old 20 Mar 2008
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The medical term is Noctiphobia- Fear of the night.

If its specifically a fear of the dark rather than night, try something like obscurophobia, but that is a guess.

Try searching on these.

Does travel with a longlasting lamp help, for some background light, inside the tent? Perhaps this could be recharged from the bike/car as you travel.
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Old 21 Mar 2008
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hmm carry a taser?
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Old 21 Mar 2008
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And if you can see in the dark, all the better.
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Last edited by mollydog; 26 Mar 2009 at 08:24.
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Old 21 Mar 2008
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I don't think the dark will be a problem in Iceland in the summer. You'll be lucky if it gets dark at all as it's close to the arctic circle. As for security, I can't imagine a safer place on the whole planet than the interior of Iceland. Just who do you imagine is going to bother you? I'll be camping alone in the Arizona desert this summer with the rattlers and scorpians and dodging bears in Yosemite, you think you've got issues! I realise though that phobias are irrational by their nature so the reality of the situation is not going to help you much. All I can suggest is to spend some time camping alone here in the UK before you go to try and get it straight in your head.
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Old 21 Mar 2008
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glad there''s a doctor on board!
it's the dark that gets me not the night. if i need to walk up a lane with trees both sides i'll walk in the middle or if it's too narrow i'll go around! it's silly thought's that someone/something is out there. i know that there's nothing there in reality and it's all in my head but i'm not calm or relaxed in these situations.
when i'm camping i leave a led light on in tent! it helps a little but i still dont know what's out there and that get's to me.maybe i'll try the carrot's mollydog or a tazer or 2. when i seen somewhere that someone conquered this problem with a book i thought great i'll try that but cant find it again! i believe in the power of books after stopping smoking this way.
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Old 26 Mar 2008
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Have you thought about trying hypnosis?
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Old 27 Mar 2008
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Flying doctor is right, in the summer darkness will not be a problem in Iceland, I understand at the height of summer it is light all the time.

Freinds of mine went on an expedition to Iceland one summer and, as a practical joke, adjusted one team members' watch before he left on a solo trip for three weeks. He spent the whole three weeks getting up at midnight instead of 8am (or something like that) without realising it. When he came out of the far end of his trip he hit the road and wondered why it took him eight hours before a car came along that he could hitch a ride from!

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Old 27 Mar 2008
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A few years back i designed and built reading machines for the blind. It was a revelation to me to see how well many of them managed to live a normal life. Maybe make friends with a blind person and ask for tips on navigation. Try being blindfolded in known surroundings.
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