Scared to sleep

[Mr.Jitters]

Now I know I'm certainly not the only person who experiences this, so I'm just venting and hoping to get some advice, maybe help someone out there who's in the same boat as me.

I've been really tired and feeling pretty rough all day & looking forward to crawling into bed tonight. Anxiety & panic have been centred around tiredness. Pandered to my agoraphobia and stayed in all day to ride it out.

Now it's bed time, can I get into bed? Not on your life. As soon as I lie down waves of panic wash over me, and I'm scared to get up because I'm so dizzy. Depersonalization/derealization are more intense than usual, so I'm assuming I'm scared to let go as it feels as though I'm hanging on by a thread as it is. And I know all of this is because I'm tired, and need to sleep, which makes it more frustrating.

Does anybody else get scared to sleep when they're tired? Does anybody have any nifty tricks to scare the fear away?

[cathycrumble]

Hi I know what you are going through and this helps me

http://www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/relax.html#HowToRecover

claire weeks is brill Hope this helps

Cathy xx

[Mr.Jitters]

Thanks Cathy,

I find Claire Weekes to be incredibly comforting while listening. She has a great way of snapping me out of the worst of it, so I'll try popping it on in the background and braving the duvet again.

Kam :)

[cathycrumble]

ye do it I know I am not going to sleep well or i will wake very early with nervous tummy so u are not alone it's the pits I know but I am determand to get through this shit anxiety and i am sure you will don't worry about sleepeing just let yourself go and let all those feelings of fear float out of your head just let go and let them do their worse lol that's what Claire Weekes says. Sweet dreams.

Cathy xx

[Mr.Jitters]

Sweet dreams to you too! Thanks for the support :)

[cathycrumble]

You're welcome nite.

Cathy x

[Granny Primark]

I do, my mum died in her sleep. Well we think she did. She went to sleep and had a massive heart attack. Sorry to be so morbid, but what a lovely way to go. We just hope she didnt suffer too much.

[cathycrumble]

I am really sorry to hear about your mum. However, with a lot of people on here suffering with HA I find it may give people a lot of fear thinking of things like this. Although what you said about your mum dying in her sleep, it is a lovely way to go. But It is not something I would put on here. I hope you understand where I am coming from.

Cathy x

[Jamesk]

I had a variation on this last night - was exhausted, but very time I dozed off it felt like I was falling off something or dying and so I jolted awake. Feeling dizzy exhausted and disorientated today, which in turn is making me more anxious.

[Helen1985]

JameK- I could have written your post the other night! i woke up had a panic attack then tryed to get back to sleep but everytime i nodded off it felt like i was falling off a cliff or like u said about about to die so it kept me awake. Ive felt like this all weekend and am gonna go to the docs tomoro to make sure im not low on iron or anything as feel so so weak. xxx

[Jamesk]

So glad it's not just me (well that sounds wrong - I mean I wish you weren't going through this as well obviously.)

I am just so tired now but scared if I try to sleep it will be the same story again.

[Dizzy_Dave]

JameK- I could have written your post the other night! i woke up had a panic attack then tryed to get back to sleep but everytime i nodded off it felt like i was falling off a cliff or like u said about about to die so it kept me awake. Ive felt like this all weekend and am gonna go to the docs tomoro to make sure im not low on iron or anything as feel so so weak. xxx

I feel like that nearly every night as I drop off, it's worse if I've had about 3 previous nights of broken sleep. Just go with it, prop yourself up with pillows and ride the feelings, once you say to yourself "these are just the feelings of me going to sleep" they get less and you fall to sleep, for how long who knows, for me it's about 1-hours, then I wake again. The body is weird isn't it? :winks:

[Mr.Jitters]

Good advice, Dizzy_Dave.

I sometimes get really odd looks when I tell people that the more tired I am, the worse it is. Good to know we're not alone.

I've been listening to an audio book I downloaded by Deepak Chopra called Restful Sleep every night in bed. He stresses the importance of just laying there and resting, without worrying about sleeping, or losing control. Much more effective for me than the sleep induction audios I've listened to - which I'm inclined to fight because I'm anxious. It's made a huge difference, and for the past few days I've actually been looking forward to going to bed.

[Helen1985]

Thanx Dave, Yes the body is such a weird thing lol. Im glad im not alone on feeling like this tho. xxx

[Jamesk]

Thanks all for your advice.

The result of a combination, I think, of exhaustion, hot chocolate, half a zopiclone and at least knowing what was going on from your common experiences, resulted in completely unbroken sleep from 9 last night until 6.30 this morning.

I feel almost human now so cheers again.

[Mr.Jitters]

Great news! :)

[Jamesk]

Bad night last night. Went to bed about 10.30 and got off to sleep really easily.

However about 1,30 i woke suddenly thinking i was having some kind of attack, and from then on it was cat naps at best with a feeling of having a heart attack each time I drifted into proper sleep.

A day at work now and then I have to drive to Cardiff to watch the Rugby World Cup semin final with friends - not sure how I am going to make it.:weep::ohmy:

[Mr.Jitters]

Hey Jamesk,

Sorry to hear you had a lousy night. I still get them, and had one last night myself. Pretty much exactly how you described it. I slept soundly for 2 hours and woke up in a state, managing half an hour of sleep every hour or two after that until I had to get up. There are no words to describe how awful it leaves you feeling, are there?

Short term, lack of sleep can't harm you in any way. Hold on to that thought, and how deeply you're going to sleep tonight. Be careful if you're the one driving, and enjoy the rugby and time with friends!