Anxious mostly at night

[AnneyAwake]

I feel afraid that something is wrong with me and I don't even know what. I just feel something isnt right or perhaps im afraid something isnt right. I alernate from worrying about my breathing and heart to worrying a sinus infection has spread to my brain. I have terrible sleep anxiety which results in insomnia. Im afraid of sleeping. Ive been doing so well and the last couple of weeks seem to have backtracked and i hate it and im worrying that since ive been good and its coming back that something really is wrong this time. Last night while laying in bed (im assuming i was asleep) i felt as tho i couldnt open my eyes, like i was trying really hard to and couldnt and then after a few seconds i did. it scared me. any advice would be great. thank you.

[Nico]

I go through periods of insomnia as well. I fear that I will die in my sleep or something ridiculous like that. I find making lists of what symptoms I fear and why I fear these symptoms and then read them and work out how rational they are. If none of these work O suppose you could try meds, but they don't really work for me.
Best of Luck

[AnneyAwake]

i am currently on anxiety meds. lately ive just been having intrusive thoughts "what if i have a sinus infection and it spread to my brain" "what if i stop breathing" etc. i dnt understand these thoughts and cant seem to make them go away. i am also afraid of dying in myslef

[SamanthaAU]

Night time has always been the hardest for me. My health anxiety started when I had my first panic attack whilst falling asleep.

I Worry sometimes that something will happen to me while I am asleep and no one will find me til morning. I worry cause there are no doctors surgeries open (even though the hospital is only 5 mins away).


And sometimes I have problems in the state between awake and asleep. When I drift off is when I startle a lot, have intrusive thoughts and my mind plays tricks on me.

[AnneyAwake]

yea me to. night time is not my friend. mine kicks in when the sun goes down. so its like sun downing for alzheimers patients only mine is anxiety. i just dnt understand y im back sliding after being so good

[smine]

i don't have anxiety as such... but i have noticed over the years that if i am awake at night, especially if i have been asleep and then woken up... that my mind seems to magnify tiny or far-off problems (like bills to pay or the eventual death of my parents for example) into huge and upsetting dramas that must be solved immediately - which of course makes it impossible to get back to sleep.

but in the morning, i discover that those huge and unsolvable problems are actually not so big after all - or they do not need to be considered for many years to come, and it is much easier to put them into proper perspective.

so now, i deliberately refuse to think on anything sad or upsetting or worrying during the night. if i wake, i get a book or my ipad or turn on the tv & distract myself until i'm sleepy again. if i do have a real current problem that is worrying me, i still don't think i will be able to fix it by laying awake all night stressing, so i still do my best to make the effort not to think about it until morning.

i assume this phenomenon is chemically driven due to different hormone levels overnight compared to daytime... which also helps me dismiss the negative thoughts from my mind.

i don't know if these observations of mine are relevant or helpful to your problem but hopefully they help a little :)

[SamanthaAU]

I know this is an obvious question, but has anything happened lately to trigger this off, and stress, worries, major events?

[AnneyAwake]

thank smine that does help. i do the distractions things myself. i work nights at a hotel. so being a to be on here is good distraction.

Sam- nothing significant has happened thats why i dnt understand. i was trotting alone nicely.

[SamanthaAU]

Hmm well that's no good to me then lol.

You just need to turn those obtrusive thoughts on their heads right away. If you think you will have a sinus infection and it will go to your brain, immediately say to yourself IF you get a sinus infection, you will go to the doctor and get some antibiotics!




Easier said then done though, right? xxx

[AnneyAwake]

yuea ive been wanting to go to the doc. but its 178$ for an office visit plus however much for meds. sigh. i know it spreading to the brain is very rare and it would take a very very long time for it to get that bad

[SamanthaAU]

Have you tried popping your head over a steaming bowl? I do that when I get really blocked and it does help sometimes.