Can anxiety cause being scared of sleeping?

[esmy22222]

I'm a teenager and it feels like I've had anxiety my whole life. I started taking Prozac 2 months ago and in March I was feeling really happy and I had no panic attacks. However this week it feels as if I'm back at square one and feeling the same way as I used to. I'm scared to go to sleep every night cause of the physical symptoms. ( I get really bad hot flashes that last seconds and then I start to shake cause I feel cold.) Is it possible that my anxiety is being caused by the thought of laying in bed?

[Annakaythemermaid]

Hello,

I am terribly sorry to hear that you are struggling to manage your anxiety especially at such a young age. However, mental health is not biased to any particular age group or gender. It is quite plausible based on what you are describing that anxiety is the cause of your issue. It is imperative however that you speak with a trusted adult and seek medical assistance as you need to rule out any other underlying issues. Are you able to speak to your parents openly about this? I sure hope so because support goes a long way especially with the pandemic in the air. Additionally, you could benefit from watching videos on YouTube on how to manage your stress and anxiety. Very helpful. Stress and anxiety can cause just about anything to happen. That's how it eats at you and creates even more panic.

Please seek the counsel of a doctor and ask your parents or an adult you trust for help. There's no shame in it. As a matter of fact, people are a lot more compassionate than we give them credit for. Suffering in silence usually makes the issue worse.  It's great that you used this forum to gain some knowledge and assistance. I commend you!

Take care,
Anna

[Paxiled]

You're not telling us if those physical symptoms you're describing were the reason you ended up on Prozac or started recently.  If your profile is correct, you are 15?  That's awfully young to have had anxiety your whole life.  What do you mean by that?  The basic answer to your question is, yes, anxiety can focus on pretty much anything especially in those whose anxiety is expressed as phobias.  I'm a lot older than you and have been suffering anxiety for many years, but recently things got a lot worse because of some things that have happened over the last few years and I have had some fear of going to sleep.  Also of not being able to go to bed because of some stuff.  So yes, if your fear focuses on something that thing can trigger anxiety. but it isn't the cause of your anxiety.  We don't actually know yet the biological basis of anxiety, though you'll see lots of theories, so the best we can say is that it is when our thinking becomes dominated by anxious thoughts either because of some trauma or sometimes nothing at all that can be found that anxiety can attach to anything our brains decide to attach it to.  The way out is to fix the problem, which is to change your thinking.  While antidepressants can help with symptoms, they are not generally recommended for someone as young as you are. and for anyone the only cures we know at this point are therapy that works or lifestyle changes for some motivated people or spontaneously just going away as mysteriously as it came.  The Prozac is only symptomatic relief and again, you're pretty young.  Did you ever try therapy before being put on medication?  Was medication the first thing that was recommended for you to try?  And when did these hot flashes and chills start?  These are symptoms experienced by some anxiety sufferers, but are also side effects for some of the medication used to treat it.  

[Paxiled]

I meant to add, those symptoms can also be the result of physiological concerns, and one always has to rule out something physiological before concluding the problem is mental illness.  Have you had a thorough exam checking your thyroid, blood sugar, nutrition levels, hormonal balance and the like?