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.

[Lindsayannnnne]

I have this problem.. Every single night I try so hard to go to sleep and my mom will offer me sleeping medicine like melatonin or NyQuil or Zzzquil to help cuz I get mad I just want to go to sleep so I can wake up on time and get through the next day but as soon as I begin dozing off I either have a nightmare or one of those things where I startle myself awake thinking I wasn't breathing but my mom tells me I was the whole time, so I'll take medicine but I start panicking thinking I overdosed and that my hearts beatin too fast and that I can't breathe so then I fight the medicine an it's just horrible I get mad and depressed and cOnvince myself im psychotic it's HORRIBLE.. Why am I like this?? I'm sixteen and it's like I am terrified of sleeping and everything I think that EVERYTHING is going to cause my death but I know these are simply irrational fears..

[dsme9]

I have chronic insomnia due to childhood issues of not feeling safe. Also as an adult more often than not neighbors are usually very obnoxious and noisy these days in the United States. It seems that everyone hates to sleep and are wound up on energy drinks, coffee, or snorting their friends prescriptions such as Adderall or Ritalin. Not to mention crazy new drugs such as 'Bath Salts' (not to be mistaken for the stuff you actually put in your tube). Drugs like Bath Salts can keep people up for days with no sleep and act crazy. The sad truth is more Americans statistically suffer from Insomnia or even more frequent restless nights than 30 years ago. Trust has a lot to do with it. Crime rates have skyrocketed over the last 10 years where before it was actually dropping. People simply do not feel safe to sleep. We are in a constant state of Fright & Flight... but where do we go when we are economically trapped? Also work and school seems to be more stressful than ever. I'm not saying we are totally screwed. There are things you can do. For example instead of seeing your garden variety Social Worker or Counselor that is only going to throw pop psychology and self help books at you, try this instead: Find a well trained Psychologist with a background and training in CBT Cognitive Behavior Therapies as well as DBT. Also a Hypnotherapist, not just a regular hypnotist but a trained Hypnotherapist... its all about re-learning how to relax and sleep. You'd think your body knows biologically how to sleep but there is both Nature and Nurture when it comes to sleep. Better still find an actual Psychotherapist they are even more trained and have extensive backgrounds in such matters. No offense to your 3 year degree Social Worker types but they are usually trained to seek simple patters that often times aren't really there in real life (sort of a quick fix approach). They also have far less if any real training in CBT, DBT, and other important psychological treatments. It takes more than a printed off sheet of paper with instructions to do these therapies properly. Sadly in 2012 a lot of clinics and hospitals don't want to pay the high salaries of real trained professionals and hire a ton of social workers and poorly trained counselors (who by the way don't actually counsel you most the time due to threats of being sued for bad advice). These people often only offer a shoulder to cry on but nothing more. Also in counseling this a social worker you open up old sores that bleed with you even after you leave their office but aren't really addressing of fixing your issues. Only a real trained professional Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Hypnotherapist can do that.  Also you will also need to see an actual MD that can prescribe medications to help you sleep. Possibly even Anti-Psychotics. Now don't get me wrong hearing the word psychotic can be scary because there is such a taboo about it. But most insomniacs have psychosis at night when trying to sleep. The anxiety and fear keeps them from sleeping. In our every day lives at work, school, or social lives there are millions of Americans on and off such anti psychotics to help them sleep and they seem like perfectly normal people. That's because they are. It's just that trust issues, depression, anxiety, etc can seriously affect sleep. Also there are some people at work that never complain at work, they seem to be someone who lets stuff bounce off him or her, however instead of it bouncing off what they are really doing is letting it absorb into them. Then at night they toss and turn over daily turmoil. The same for students as well. Eventually people can break down and start nagging at work, or complaining inappropriately, or falling for baiting comments from people looking for a fight. My point is: That real therapy and training can not only help you sleep better but it can help you cope with the key issues of your sleeplessness. Such as dealing with people at work or school. Also lets not forget there are people that have no problems with emotional problems due to a bad childhood or abusive coworkers or neighbors. There are some people that have chemical imbalances such as ADHD, which often leads to the person having a hard time falling asleep, a hard time staying a sleep, and often wakes up too early. ADHD can be easily treated with medications (so long as you don't sell your meds as speed to other people). You see people with ADHD need that extra stimulation in the mornings from meds such as Adderall. It increases energy and focus, by the time evening rolls around this med is wearing off and they (for some reason) are able to sleep better at night. Sadly though too many people without ADHD are snorting adderall at night as a party pill. Bottom line for my long winded post is seek professional help with a trained Psychotherapist or at least a well trained Psychologist.

[swift818]

I have a drinking problem so it's hard for me to fall asleep unless I have a lot to drink and don't remember falling asleep. I know this all contributes to my anxiety, but I can't stop cause it makes me feel normal when I drink.  I feel better after reading this, but it could have also been the throwing up I just did because of my anxiety.  I sleep on my side because I don't want to throw up while I sleep.  My suggestion is to not use alcohol, and to get some exercise to wear ya out a little bit so you want to go to bed.

[SilverDust08]

Well, I had this About getting scared of dying When falling asleep, My way to get rid of it was to Watch Videos about Heaven And Learn about How it is, It will kind of actually make you want to die, And You will get over the fact and go to bed ;) God bless you all!

[mya193]

Omg that's whats exactly happening to me rite now I would fight my sleep till 6 or 5 n the morning then go to sleep normal my mom told me it was axiety and I was having maniac attacks...

[marie72965]

You will never die when you think you are going to die,now that is the truth.