EXTREME fear of seeing spirits in the dark??!

EXTREME fear of seeing spirits in the dark??

well ever since i was 10 or 11, i was scared of supernatural things ( i am religious adn watching shows like Unsolved Mysteries would literally make me CRY with fear) and several times in my life i would have a bad dream about something possessed or a religious figure or something of the sort, and i would wake up kinda shaking and unable to move because i was paralyzed with fear. and the next few days i would just be afraid to go in the dark or to the bathroom. it goes away after a while, but there is still a small part of me afraid of seeing something supernatural in my attic or closet or something. i'm 15 btw. is this just a fear or possibly a mental disorder?? please help!!

Movies like The Sixth Sense don't help.

I used to be scared of possibly seeing something too, but then I started thinking of it this way: If I believe "ghosts" are nothing more than energy imprinted upon a location, what you see is nothing more than a constantly recurring movie of the past. It can't possibly hurt me, or even interact with me. It's like a stain in reality.

Now, If I believe a ghost is an actual spirit of some deceased entity that can interact with me, try to think about all the people you know, and if they were to one day become a ghost, how would they treat you? As much as Hollywood loves scaring the hell out of us with things jumping out at us, that just doesn't happen very much. 99% of the ghosts you might encounter are going to be sweet little old ladies, grandfathers, children, that have some kind of unfinished business, don't know they are dead, (or do, and are in denial about it), who are attracted to a particular person or place, or who just stick around. Unless you see things flying off shelves, or have unexplained scratches appearing on your body, try to relax and sense your environment. Most people I've spoken to that claim to live in a haunted location say that the ghosts they encounter are harmless, and sometimes, friendly, though for someone not expecting unexplained behavior, their presence can be pretty frightening.

I have a friend that lives in a 100yr old house she bought after the old man who owned it died of old age. The old man died there of natural causes, and his wife died at age 35 of a disease. She swears the house is haunted, and was terrified at first. But after researching the original owner, and learning that he was a kind man, she began trying to put her fears in perspective, and realized that most of them were from hearing ghost stories as a kid, and watching too many scary movies. Now, even though she feels a presence, sees shadows, and experiences other unexplained phenomena at the house, she also feels that it's just the original owner keeping an eye on her and the house, sort of like an adopted daughter. When she feels his presence, it's become friendly, and even calming.

So, self-exploration of these fears, and why you have them would be my recommendation for a good first step. If that solves nothing, try the thing about remembering that most ghosts are just the spirits of normal people, and they may be lost, scared, or just confused. It's highly unlikely some random entity will ever want to hurt you. Also, try to remember that should a ghost present itself to you, it's extremely unlikely that you're going to see some horribly decomposed corpse. You might just see a semi-transparent apparition of what the person looked like when alive. Lastly, try thinking what you would be like if *you* were a ghost. What would you do to others, and how would you try to interact?

If all that fails, you do need to consider seeking some kind of help. Probably the most effective would be to confront the fear by going to a reputedly haunted, but safe location with someone who knows ghosts, to show you what to expect, and how there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm all for medicine, but IMO confronting a fear like that seems to make more sense than trying to get a psychologist or minister to take the problem seriously. In the case of the psychologist, confronting the fear is also MUCH cheaper :) Good luck. -Kel