She's 23 and afraid of the dark

DEAR AMY: I am 23 and still terrified of the dark. I can't sleep without a light on unless another person is in the bed with me. I have to sleep with my bedroom door wide open and the hall light on. If someone turns off my light in the middle of the night and I wake up in the dark, I freak out and jump out of bed to turn it back on.

I have never lived alone, but when I sleep alone in a house, I have to lock myself in my room, turn every single light on and drink a couple glasses of wine to fall asleep. Every time I find myself alone in the dark, images from every horror movie I've ever seen (or heard about) come flooding into my mind. The last time I was house-sitting for my parents, there was a thunderstorm that caused me to drive around in my car for an hour for fear that the power would go out with me in the house. I feel like the only way to cure my anxiety would be to force myself to spend the entire night alone in a pitch-black room, but I really don't want to do that! Should I just try to live with my fears, or do I have an abnormal problem that needs to be addressed?Scared

DEAR SCARED: You should face your fear.

Forcing yourself to spend the entire night alone in a pitch-black room, however, sounds like a scene from one of those horror movies.

In cognitive-behavioral therapy, people heal through gradual exposure to the things that frighten them. A professional counselor could set you on a therapeutic course.

Don't drink alcohol before bed. Keep a diary next to your bed. Write down what you're thinking about and how you're feeling. Is your heart racing, etc.?

With a nod to an idea borrowed from a great non-horror movie, "Ghostbusters," can you imagine Scooby-Doo rescuing you from Freddy Krueger? The idea is to develop techniques and build on your successes.