insomniphobia

[leithen1]

hi there everyone. hope you are all well.

this is my first post on here, and i am so desperate.

since i was a child i have had a very serious phobia of insomnia. it really is serious and is destroying my life. i have done anything it takes to fall asleep and i always manage to do so. the problem that i have is that the fear is still huge and i think its getting bigger. it is so hard to focus on life and i have a family that deserve so much better than a father that is obsessed by this phobia. i feel like i haven't got the strength to go on sometimes and have recently been put on antidepressants. its such a mess and i don't know the answer or how the story ends. i have done cbt which was helpful to show me that the fear was a misunderstanding in my mind and i genuinely believe that no harm will ever really come from not sleeping.

the problem is that for some reason my mind refuses to let go of the fear and it terrorizes me so so much.
i feel so alone as i have never spoke to anybody that shares my phobia.

if you can help me in any way i would be so so grateful

many thanks

leithen1

[Turstalee]

So... You have to retrain the mind so that you don't see sleeping as a fear. I used to take 3+ hours to fall asleep. I have sense figured out all the reasons that it takes me longer to sleep and corrected them. But when I lay down I still have fear that I won't fall asleep easily so I try to avoid it on my phone.

I am starting meditation... Which helps you focus on one thing only like your breath, which trains your brain to stop thinking about anything else that would cause you to get distracted from trying to sleep. The Audiobook "How to train your mind" by Chris Bailey shows you how. That is a wonderful start.

Also you need to see a therapist that specializes in phobias and sleep so you can figure out why you have this phobia and possibly think of sleep differently.

[Turstalee]

Oh and I read in Atomic Habits that using your bedroom for ONLY sleep helped insomniacs register that the bed is for sleep therefore triggers the "I'm tired" response in the brain. They went to the trouble of "if you can't fall asleep, leave the room till you get tired again so you're body associates the bedroom with sleep and naturally is in a rhythm to do the "habit" of sleeping when you crawl into bed

[Mariloles]

Hello there.  Your post is over 11 years ago so I hope by now you are feeling better.  I have suffer from insomniphobia since I was 23.  I am now sixty.  And I mean suffer!  I guess there are not many of us so there is not a lot of help or understanding out there.  About 15 years ago. I was given Seroquel which induces sleep.  It is the only way I can fall sleep.  The fear of not falling sleep is so huge that I go into a panic attack.  I hope you have found a solution for your phobia.  If not, you may want to try Seroquel.  Ask your doctor.  Good luck.  

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

Don’t worry leithen, you are not alone. Understand that there is a circadian rhythm for all living organisms. It is a 24 hour cycle rhythm and the biological clock within that individual adapts to this rhythm. If you observe this rhythm, the transition happens gradually, like the daylight subsides slowly into darkness and the sounds too gradually mellow down into the night. These changes condition us and promote sleep. So, just relax. Sleep is a natural process; let it envelop you gradually and gracefully.
Just stop thinking about sleep and sleeplessness. The more you think about it the more sleepless you become and this becomes a vicious cycle. You should stop becoming anxious and try to relax. Try to have a warm bath before sleeping. Have a glass of milk or read a book before trying to sleep. Don’t watch TV or do exercise before sleeping. Condition yourself that you can relax and that you can sleep well.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[Mickey1019]

I believe I've had a slight case of what you are talking about if thats even possible . I never knew it was even a phobia until this post came up. I removed all clocks and sources of time from my bedroom because i found myself clock watching all night and anxious. I also listened to music while I was laying in the bedroom and white noise. I wouldnt put the tv on because I found myself checking the time on tv and staying up watching tv all night. I eventually started falling right to sleep even without the music or the white noise. I dont know if this could be any help, im sure you have been down this road. Im not sure if your place of employment has shifts but maybe if you worked the late shift or graveyard shift it might make you tired enough to forget about the phobia. I know easier said then done