Why am I frightened of being tired/sleep?

[Gryphoenix]

It's the weirdest thing. I get panicky if I'm overtired or exhausted.

Take last night for example--I woke up in the middle of the night after the shocking ending to a dream (it wasn't a true nightmare but the ending was scary) and it woke me straight up. I was fine for a few minutes then I realized how tired I felt and utterly, utterly exhausted, like I was run over by a truck, like my body was on it's last leg and it freaked me out and I fought the feeling of sleep until I was too sleepy to try. I thought I had only been asleep for 2 or so hours due to the way I felt but I had actually gotten 5 hours and I usually don't feel that run down after 5 hours. I don't have panics when I sleep or around sleeping time or anything. I do have insomnia often though, I kinda had one the other day.

I hate the feeling of 'falling' asleep too, that loss of control gets me every time. I can fall asleep just fine if my mind is busy thinking about other things but if I let myself 'feel' the black pull of sleep--ugh, I hate that. Especially if my body falls asleep before my mind and I can't really do much except feel everything kinda shut down. It's scary.

I have a theory that the animal part of my brain--the panic part--doesn't like being tired in case there's an emergency and I have to be at my 100% to fight back or take a flight.

Also when I had one of my worst panic attacks ever I had no sleep and was beyond exhausted the entire day and that terrible exaustive feeling coming back someday has bothered me a little ever since then.

[Bill]

Hello phoenix,

You have a "troubled mind" which is still acting out all your worries while you're asleep so you're probably tossing and turning and so having shallow rather than deep sleep. That's why you're feeling as if you've not had enough sleep. Do you have nightmares too?

You're also trying to keep yourself "under control" which will tense your body up so you'll "jolt" off to sleep rather than "unwind" into sleep.

You need to Relax! I don't mean Just by chilling out before you go to sleep but also by stop trying to resist dropping off. You're resisting because of fear!

Something that I find works for me is I imagine driving down a country lane or road, turning left, right and wherever my imagnation takes me, just following the roads I think of. I never reach my destination because I've dozed off before I get there. This also helps by not thinking of "worries" before you drop off so you're more likely to get Restfull Sleep! :hugs:

In your case, imagine flying as a "golden" phoenix would!:winks:

[sulmare]

Hi phoenix

I can relate, going to sleep is the worst for me and I usually take amitriptilyne to help me get a good deep sleep, the busy mind over takes the body and only allows me to get shallow sleep & nightmares otherwise

I have however started to try and sleep without meds, and think about lying on a beach beside the ocean, or on a sunbed beside a pool... relaxing thougths which help the nightly battle, and has been known to work