Scared to sleep

[MrsUseless]

Why am I so scared to sleep? its like everytime i start to get tired I get scared to sleep...I think Im going to die in my sleep.  HELP.

[lonewolf07]

There have been times when I feel myself falling asleep - and that's what it feels like FALLING asleep - when my rational mind says "everything is slowing down because that is what happens when you go to sleep" but my anxiety-filled self says "no, you're dying" which is how I interpret what you have said.  Sometimes the fear of sleeping lasts for a week or even longer.  My shrink won't give me sleeping pills and during these "episodes" I am too afraid to even take a minor tranquillizer or OTC headache meds.  It can be devestating.

I don't know of any way to alleviate this except for talking to my shrink or other people  about it.  Eventually the "rational" part will emerge and tell you that you are not going to die.  Don't know if it's any help or not but I watch TV a lot during these "episodes" and sleep if someone is around to keep an eye on me .... just in case.  It makes me feel somewhat safer.

Sleeping can be scary for anxious folks because we are giving up what little control we have and the analogy of sleep to death doesn't help any.  If you are really concerned that it might be physical, you can go to your dr and see what he/she says.

lonewolf

[peaches1982]

Most of the time when I lay down and try to go to sleep, I will feel like I cant swollow or breath and then I start to really panic.  I take remeron 60mg and klonopin 2mg at night to help me sleep, but that takes a while to work.  Does anyone else have this problem?

[shantheman85]

the past 3 or 4 days all hours i wake up cuz i cant keep my self asleep cuz i freak out like if i stay asleep i wont wake so i get up at like 8 every mornin with my body feeling like i havent been to sleep and i start all over again panicing my muscles are heavy and i just get nervous to sleep does anyone know what that could be

[Madcow_57]

Seems like I am not alone here. I go to bed with the fear I am going to die in my sleep. My heart is racing. I wake up suddenly thinking I have died. I have even sat up and looked back at wear I am laying, thinking I am looking back at my body. I feel I should go to the doctors but feel daft!

[astridtetsche]

I have the same kind of troubles too, thought slightly different since I'm terrified about not sleeping. My heart starts racing and I go into a kind of panic. I've had this for years and I don't know how to calm myself down.

[medic0084]

Before jumping into the pharmocology pool.  Go have a sleep study done, its very easy and non invasive.  Many sleep disorders manifest themselves in different ways.  Sleep Apnea for instance, or RLS (aka jumpy leg disease).  You get to a point where your body doent want to sleep because it has to deal with these issues