I love being outdoors, love hunting camping hiking fishing, all of it. Been doing it all since a kid. But I have a huge problem with being scared of the dark. I'm alright as long as there's someone else with me, but when I'm alone out deep enough into the woods I can't help but be debilitatingly scared of the dark.It's so bad that I have to have my hand on my gun at all times once the sun goes down, I even piss in a bottle at night so I don't have to leave the tent. It's hard to sleep because I'm hyper alert to every sound, and as you know there are a lot of them at night. So my question is, has anyone else felt with this and how did you over come it?
Bumping. I also get way too in my head at night while solo camping. Wondering if anyone has any strategies or >coping mechanisms they like to use to help.
>>2844585Thanks. I imagine it's not a super rare issue, I was hoping someone would have something solid that's worked. I try to just push through it like exposure therapy or something, but I'm 35 and still having this issue.
Get drunk and fight the forest. I woke up last weekend with bloody knees from tripping over shit even with a headlamp and my clothes were scattered around the fire pit. No idea how I made it to the tent
>>2844589That used to help, but I don't drink anymore. Bad alcoholic.
I became a complete masochist and became completely care free of life and money. The odd thing was I started making obscene amounts of money.
>>2844591Is this quoting something?
Idk, open campsite and a good tent that lets you look outside. Was close to a full moon and with all the leaves you could hear everything. I got jumpscared by a toad when I went to take a piss and he spent the next 20 minutes hopping closer to the fire. Woke up around 1am and just watched the moonlight shift through the blowing trees. Maximize your ability to see stuff I guess, toad sounded a lot spookier before I got a light on it
Sorry OP, the majority of users left on this board no longer go /out/, they sit inside all day now larping online, posting in knife and pipe threads, and looking for other people's Instagram photos to post here.
I know this board advertises itself to be for people who go /out/ but it's actually a LARP board for lonely shut-in retards who like to pretend they go /out/. There's no actually advice here other than Brand™ recommendations.
I'm hyper alert too so I just usually bring a radio or something to play at night while I'm going to sleep. If I can't hear it, it doesn't exist!
>>2844571You're not scared of the dark you're scared of the unknown, of what is unresolved in your own mind.The same dark you're afraid of I am sat in the middle of, on my own, and a lot of the time I know I am "safer" there than in a brightly lit room full of people.
>>2844937I'll take you /out/ nigger
>>2844941>You're not scared of the dark you're scared of the unknown, of what is unresolved in your own mind.Yea I know.... Scared of the "dark" is just an expression, no thinks they're scared of the concept of darkness man. I also grew up watching TV and Movies and these are extremely common and simple platitudes. What I'm looking for here are people who have experienced the same thing who have over come it and feel r them to share their experience.
I'm also lowkey interested in this...
I can’t really relate, the dark to me is only unsettling when people are around. When there are no other humans and I’m sleeping outside it feels incredibly tranquil
>>2845038No one cares.
Try not being a pussy? Lol.
>>2844585I carry a g20 so if shit gets screwy I can shoot it.
>>2844571It’s something you have to get used to figure out what in the dark is actually scaring you. For me its being eaten and there are a ton of mountain lions in my area so I researched lion behavior and what to look out for. Also immersion therapy is the only way to get through it. The more you get used to the sounds and flow of your wilderness the more you become accustomed to it. A thought exercise you can do is when your sitting in your tent freaked out dig down to why you are afraid and continue asking why. Also when it comes to skinwalkers I wouldn’t worry about it.
>>2845103>I can kill a skin walker with bulletsYou're saying rationalization is the solution to irrational thoughts, and are wrong because your reasoning is irrational.
>>2845104You thought you were smart enough to give an answer to something you have absolutely no knowledge of because of arrogance and ignorance. You failed.
>>2845103But how do you kill what isn't alive in the first place? :(
>>2844571buy a rosary and stay strapped. easy fix
>>2845202I'm not catholic
>>2844571you need to confront your fears and face them head on. I had a massive fear of being in water alone despite the fact that i love swimming with my friends. the fear was an uncontrollable feeling of stress i felt everytime i was in the water if someone else wasnt close by to me.i had it for years despite swimming every summer. but one day when i did my usual swimming it felt different. the fear i felt, it was just gone.i stayed in the water alone when everyone else went up and just layed there floating on my back and it felt amazing. my heart didnt start beating faster all i felt was tranquility. one day when you go in to the dark all the fear will be gone and thats when youve conquered it
>>2845213I'm 35, I've been trying to face it head on for the last 20 years and it's not working
>>2845217im 21 right now and i had the fear of water from when i was a little kid up until i was 20. i guess the time it takes is different for everyone but im confident that theres a time for everyone
This thread made me consider something I have not for my Halloween week long trip on the Appalachian trail, how long and dreary those fall nights are. I only sleep 3-4 hours when backpacking, so I'll be stuck in the spooky dark with nothing to do. I'll just get shitfaced and night hike I suppose, fuck it's going to be creepy though
>>2844571I didnt get over my fears until I had kids. My fears turned into vigilance or I’m just too exhausted to be afraid of anything
>>2845238>I’m just too exhausted to be afraid of anythingThis. I basically hit camp, set my tent up and collapse. A little drink makes it easier. Night hiking is a little spooky though ngl.
>>2844571https://youtu.be/HErh3-aqkQ8?si=899KwVB8ef57yXIf
>>2844571Sleepy alone in tent for 3 months and was super dark one night and something scratched my tent at night that was spooky. Tensed up and listened then I Started screaming inside of my tent to try spook it. Idk what it was but spooky You get used to the sounds after a while. Like the birds and stuff become like normal everyday shit. Had an owl for a bit there for like 2-3 days so you notice it.One day in broad daylight i Heard crackling sticks and I was in my tent and tensed up then I jumped out really fast out of my tent and it was some old guy that got spooked and I got spooked also.
>>2845295What was this supposed to be?
>>2844813Quit posting your faggy retardation. I've been on this board for years, and I go out all the time. I was catfishing last night from 5 to 11. I was planning on kayaking, but this happened instead. You people who seriously, unironically post that no one on this board goes /out/ is retarded. Do you touch grass?
>>2845359You wouldn't be this upset unless the statement touched an already sensitive nerve. People who go out don't need to try this hard to prove it to others, unless you're really trying to convince yourself.
>>2845359Forgot the image.
It’s natural, human evolution has imprinted in us the fear of the dark. I was in the same boat, but got over my fear slowly by camping in areas I would say are easy access and “safe” then move deeper into the woods from there. It’s also important to remember at the end of the day you’re probably the most scary thing in the area. >having nods helps
>>2845368What do you mean by having nods helps?
>>2845370It’s a super power that allows you to see in the dark