Re: anyone else
Yes, I have this too. I also get acid reflux at night, my doctor prescribed me medication which has helped (proton pump inhibitors).
I dread going to bed because I get so many anxious thoughts and negative thoughts which feed on each other and escalate until I feel hopeless and think I am useless and worthless. The counsellor I'm seeing said that's because I distract myself all day by being busy but then when I get into bed, everything stops and the thoughts I am scared to let in take over.
I deal with it by keeping busy right up until I feel able to sleep and keeping the light on until I feel really sleepy. I do things like drawing, crosswords, listening to the radio, watching DVDs, anything to keep my mind busy and tire me out. It has meant I don't get to sleep till about 5 or 6 in the morning though, and this morning I got woken up at 9am and couldn't sleep again. I think the night time is definitely worse, I find things seem relatively manageable in the morning but by the night time they seem awful and inescapable and I feel sad and empty and panicky. Also I have nightmares, very vivid ones, and I clench my teeth so I wake up with horrible headaches. I think being alone and having no distractions from the anxiety are likely to make you feel worse at night.
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