Dark things feel bigger in the dark

In the pitch black of night, a simple noise can feel like a menacing threat. Every sound seems louder because of the surrounding silence. Similarly, a silhouette our mind conjures will feel much scarier than it would in the light — I used to have a lot of those experiences when I was younger.

The same thing applies to life when we’re facing problems and emotional struggles. Darkness, in this context, refers to something unknown, unspoken, or misunderstood. Our fears and anxiety amplify these dark aspects, making them feel bigger.

Have you ever had a problem, solved it, and then looked back, wondering why you were so affected by something so simple — whether it was financial, academic, emotional, or otherwise?

Technical Problems

A bug feels serious when we can’t figure out why it’s happening. Have you ever spent hours solving a bug, only to realize later that you had a ,/ instead of ./ somewhere, and you couldn’t easily find it because it was inside a string? Or encountered other random errors where, once you figured them out, you felt more pissed than relieved?

‘Skill issue’ just keeps ringing in my head when I can’t figure out a solution quickly or when I write buggy code. Bugs feel more serious and like catastrophic failures when we don’t understand their source, especially when time isn’t on our side. A friend once told me that programmers have a habit of giving long timelines for tasks that end up taking only 14 minutes. I had to explain to him that sometimes unexpected issues arise, and we might end up spending longer than the timeline we gave. Honestly, that’s also just a skill issue though.

At the end of the day, we emerge from the darkness and get our app functioning. The stress, Stack Overflow threads, Reddit discussions, GitHub issues, and everything else we used along the way serve as light when we encounter another darkness. More importantly, we’ve acquired new skills.

Poverty

From bugs to poverty — that’s unexpected. But hear me out. I saw a post that said being poor is especially damaging because it affects so many areas of life: your health, due to a lack of access to proper healthcare and nutritious food; your and your children’s education; and your ability to escape poverty because you lack the resources to seize opportunities.

The idea of Africa suffering in darkness due to poverty is compelling because this darkness is not just about poor electricity, but also a metaphor for our way of life. Many Nigerians still believe in Juju and would rather seek help from a Baba than pursue proper solutions. I can’t entirely blame them, as some are simply unaware of better options, though others just choose ignorance.

Here comes the society

On a societal level, issues like discrimination and violence often thrive in the dark. When society ignores or pushes these problems into the shadows, they grow unchecked and misunderstood. Darkness makes them seem bigger and more terrifying than they would be if addressed openly. By bringing these issues into the light through conversation, policy changes, and education, society can see them for what they truly are — serious but solvable.

Depression

Lack of sunlight is dangerous. We often face our darkest moments alone, in the quiet of night, when the world is still, and our thoughts are loud. Isolation and unprocessed emotions are common examples of emotional darkness. The problem is that initial depression can lead to a downward spiral, pulling us into even more depressing thoughts until we finally break free.

Having good vibes around you is a way of escaping this darkness. People to illuminate the dark corners of our minds have big value for anyone in this phase.

Pitch Black

Sometimes, the things we fear in the dark are indeed as large and as dangerous as they seem. There are real dangers — be it in a literal dark alley, or the figurative darkness of unchecked power, corruption, or evil. In these cases, the darkness doesn’t just amplify perception; it conceals reality.

Dark things feel bigger in the dark because darkness distorts our perception and hides the truth.

By illuminating the darkness, we can see things as they are — no bigger or smaller — and deal with them accordingly.

The shadows may still be there, but they no longer hold the same power to terrify or overwhelm us.