[ThatGirl47]

I have written and rewritten this post a couple of times. This is the shorter version so y'all do not get bored reading so much.

The last couple of nights when I have woken up in the middle of the night I have sent myself into an anxiety attack. I somehow convince myself that someone is in the house. after than my heart races, my hands get numb, my breathing gets extremely light and I feel my chest tighten. I can not control these thoughts and its becoming unbearable. If I am left home alone at night I will not leave my room for anything because I am scared some one is outside my window watching me and waiting to come in.

Does anyone else have these thoughts? How should I deal with them??

[Miswimmy1]

sounds like you have an anxiety disorder. i would see a professional about it... meds can treat it...

try taking a deep breath and then ask urself, "what is it that i am afraid of?" "what is the liklihood that someone is actually in the house?" "if someone is in the house, what should i do?" and think through it out loud... that sometimes will help convince urself that things are ok.

[ThatGirl47]

Originally Posted by Miswimmy1

try taking a deep breath and then ask urself, "what is it that i am afraid of?" "what is the liklihood that someone is actually in the house?" "if someone is in the house, what should i do?" and think through it out loud... that sometimes will help convince urself that things are ok.

I would love to see a professional but I am scared to ask my parents. I have tried every way possible (short of meds) to help myself calm down but nothing works and I end up sitting in bed in the dark or with the lamp on for hours until I pass out from exhaustion.

[ThatGirl47]

It sucks because I feel completely helpless in this situation even though I know that nothing is there. I just feel like something is out to get me all of the time. Then my heart starts racing, I get hot flashes, my breathing gets shallow and my chest tight; I feel completely glued to one spot as if me moving would disrupt things. I can not shake the feeling no matter what.

[tyleralwaysforums]

The constant reminder that absolutely nobody could, in any way shape or form, should be enough to calm this. As a child, I saw a therapist because I did the exact same thing. I would literally burst into tears and uncontrollably cry until one of my parents finally came to my "rescue".
When I finally saw a therapist, they worked out a reward system that would of course better my actions regarding my anxiety as a child. However, lately, I've been doing the exact same thing. I live with my mother and I am 20 and I still find refuge in my mother, however on a lower standpoint. If we just engage in conversations, then I feel much better and am lowered from my anxious, rigid state.

I'd just seriously have a talk with myself about the things that are causing these problems. Sometimes through self-discussion, things can be resolved without introducing anyone else to your situation. I find that this makes one feel more accomplished when the anxiety is rid.

[Thoughtbubble]

I'm reading this in the dark in the middle of the night, alone in the house! I've overcome fear of invasion, but it's kept me up many nights in the past and it can get really scary.

[ThatGirl47]

Last night/this morning was the worst I woke up at 3:15. This is the time that the scary paranormal things were to happen in Amityville Horror in case you guys did not know. suddenly my mind was flooded by bad thoughts about those movies and every sound in the house turned into a demon trying to get me. I became extremely stiff, my breathing was barely happening to the point where you could barely see my body rising from each breath. I broke out in a cold sweat and my heart rate went up. I scared myself so bad I felt tears falling from my eyes. I was silently crying for about 30 minutes and couldn't stop. I was not able to fall asleep after this and I have been up since then. Tonight I am scared to go to bed in case those thoughts come back. I do not know how much longer I can handle this.

[optimize990h]

I sometimes have the same thoughts, but I have not let it bother me as much. I have recorded myself sleeping to prove to myself that my delusions were not true. I just keep a light on for safety now.

[ECHOES]

Originally Posted by ThatGirl47

I have written and rewritten this post a couple of times. This is the shorter version so y'all do not get bored reading so much.

The last couple of nights when I have woken up in the middle of the night I have sent myself into an anxiety attack. I somehow convince myself that someone is in the house. after than my heart races, my hands get numb, my breathing gets extremely light and I feel my chest tighten. I can not control these thoughts and its becoming unbearable. If I am left home alone at night I will not leave my room for anything because I am scared some one is outside my window watching me and waiting to come in.

Does anyone else have these thoughts? How should I deal with them??

What about sharing this with your parents? Let them know that it happens often, and that it is terrifying for you. This might be the opening you are looking for to let your parents know that you would like to be in therapy.

Feeling very frightened is not a flaw, and they won't think less of you

[ThatGirl47]

I'm turning into an insomniac. I can't sleep at all. I get terrified every time I have tried to go to sleep in the last 72 hours. My body is exhausted but my mind won't let me sleep. I have had the week off from school due to Thanksgiving so not sleeping hasn't been a big deal. I have school tomorrow and I know that I may not sleep tonight. I will try again but I will probably end up going to sleep for a few hours.

[ThatGirl47]

I couldn't sleep again tonight but I decided that instead of moping around I can do my schoolwork and get myself completely back on track for work again. We are reading Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut. I find myself normally hating war books but somehow the way this man writes makes it extremely interesting. Its definitely not the best book to read in the dark though; hence, all the lights in my room are on.

What does everyone else like to do when they can not get to bed after trying things like tea, melatonin or warm milk? I find doing school work can sometimes distract me from my anxiety until I get distracted by something else on my computer.

Oh it's 4:32 in the morning and I haven't slept since maybe 3:00 yesterday morning. I don't feel ridiculously tired this time though. Hmm guess I really am going crazy.

[OrangeMoira]

Sorry you're having such a hard time. Insomnia keys me up so that my anxiety is worse, which makes the insomnia worse...bad cycle. Graphic books and movies don't help, either!!

If you're afraid to tell your parents about the fears, could you tell them that you need to see a doctor for another reason? The sleep problem itself, or headaches/physical symptoms you might be having? Once you're at the doctor, you can speak to the doc about your fears and see what they suggest. This isn't something you should have to deal with alone. It's better to ask for help now than in college or when you've moved out of your parents' house!

White noise helps me a lot. I play river/waterfall/rain sounds and try to really focus on the sounds. It dulls the background noises that would startle me otherwise, too. Repeating a long "mantra" in my mind has worked, too. Milk/melatonin/poultry doesn't help me.

[edward6]

I am learning to banish the thoughts, which feed the emotions, then I sit down and focus totally on the emotions themselves. If I can stay focused on the emotions, which are right here and now, they dissipate...always.
Your emotions could have a bio-chemical basis, which I cannot address, but this is how I am dealing with mine.

[-jimi-]

When you wake up, do you wake up peaceful and then start imagining things or do you wake up already with a sense of panic? Kind of a difference there.

[Autograph2000]

Originally Posted by ThatGirl47

I have written and rewritten this post a couple of times. This is the shorter version so y'all do not get bored reading so much.

The last couple of nights when I have woken up in the middle of the night I have sent myself into an anxiety attack. I somehow convince myself that someone is in the house. after than my heart races, my hands get numb, my breathing gets extremely light and I feel my chest tighten. I can not control these thoughts and its becoming unbearable. If I am left home alone at night I will not leave my room for anything because I am scared some one is outside my window watching me and waiting to come in.

Does anyone else have these thoughts? How should I deal with them??

I am older than you, 46, but I still have these types of things go through my mind. I believe you are stressed. Do you have a doctor, because this can help. There is medication that can lessen your stress very easily. I also recommend that you do not watch violent TV shows or music. Anything that will "get into your mind", is bad. Everything you do must be positive. I know it sounds boring, but this should help you. Are you worried about something? Find a doctor, I always believe that if someones family will not let them go to a doctor, this happened to me from time to time when I was in high school, call a doctors office and speak with the nurse, some doctors are very good. Keep your mind clean of bad things all day, so you are a bit fresher before you go to bed. Read for a few minutes before you sleep, a funny book, something like that. You are not alone. Have you ever heard of a group called, "To write love on your arms." Google them, you can call and they can help also.

[bastetsha]

I understand what you are going through. I have had panic attacks due to thoughts such as what you describe for years. I found that taking up meditation helped me or just discussing it with my parents have helped me calm down and be able to go back to sleep. I hope they go away for you and you can get some quality sleep.

[ThatGirl47]

Originally Posted by jimi...

When you wake up, do you wake up peaceful and then start imagining things or do you wake up already with a sense of panic? Kind of a difference there.

Hi Jimi, when I wake up it usually is with an unprovoked sense of anxiety.

Sometimes it is caused by a bad dream but not normally.

I do have a misfiring problem within my brain (hereditary issue, unfortunately for me) where I can sleep so deep/focus so hard to the point where my brain forgets to tell my lungs/body to breathe. This can cause me to wake up gasping for air on some nights which may add to a sense of anxiousness.

But i would say about 85% of the time I just wake up and I don't feel any sort of panic until I get myself thinking. It is impossible to banish the thoughts like others have tried to suggest.

Also for everyone, I have gotten my mother on board into getting me to see a few doctors to find one that works for me. I forgot to mention that in this thread but it is not officially happening until after we come home from Christmas break.

More background on me to answer the rest of these questions:

- For some strange reason my body shows no physical signs of sleep deprivation (e.g. Bags under eyes, headaches, sullen complexion or decreased immunity) besides the obvious fatigue which I am sometimes able to ignore if I am constantly moving or around other people or at school. It just seems that sometimes my Circadian rhythm is a but off sometimes.

- I do not watch any overly violent or gruesome tv shows that could get to me or stem these thoughts at night.

-I don't have too many reasons to be stressed (thank God) about these things I just make them up in my head and scare myself out without any sort of warning.

-Only real stress is my life is getting into college but I have gotten into 2 of my top 3 schools with scholarships. I do worry about being on my own even though I won't admit it to my parents.

-I used to sleep in my parents' or my brother's room every other night until I was maybe 10 years old due to fears of someone coming to get me, demons, ghosts, my dolls coming alive (my brother and sister made me watch Child's Play when I was 6 years old and pranked me with my dolls for a solid 3 months) or earthquakes (we were living in California at the time and I woke up during one which has maybe scarred me for life). I've never admitted that because its really embarrassing. I mean most kids are able to sleep in their own room by themselves at age 4. Also I'm scared to tell my parents that I still have thoughts like this mostly because it's been almost 8 years since I have woken them up and I'm worried about their reaction if they know this has been going on from when I was about 4 until now (I'm almost 18)

I really just don't know what to do but I know I need sleep.

Any thoughts or am I just another crazy person that hates sleep?

[Sabrina]

I am glad that you got your mother on board. Your problem is pretty severe and does need some help from a professional. Sleep deprivation coupled with anxiety can be debilitating.

[-jimi-]

I don't think you hate sleep. But you already have something funky going on with your deep sleep. I've met a lot of people with different sleep disorders, some don't even have a name. Take my friend for example that don't dream. People think that is BS, and that she just doesn't remember. Comes out she has less than 10 % REM sleep.... Kinda weird.

I do think some of your issues is a circadian rhythm thing. I couldn't usually go to bed even dead tired too early, or I would wake up at night, the same time every night, with a sense of dread. I woke up with it. Straight from deep sleep. Going to bed after that hour that never happened. Now I was lucky I didn't have school or work so I could do that.

So yea it could be that your brain is sort of influenced of time of night and urges you to wake up.

In a certain time of our civilization (forgot the era, not good at history), we had dual sleep. It was normal to think of sleep as two things, first and second sleep. And people knew there was a big gap there inbetween where they had to sort of be awake. Since many people were up at the same time they could talk and socialize. These days we don't have the "time" to go to bed at 8:30, be up two-three hours and then sleep until the morning. We demand our sleep is efficient and uninterrupted.

Also I think some of the so called sleep disorders once had a purpose. I mean, in the old times they could put night owls like me on guard and we wouldn't fall asleep during the night. Maybe it also once had a purpose for people to wake up alarmed. I don't know.

I think the fear itself can be many different things. It can come from changing from deep sleep to being awake (night terror), but like you say, even if you don't wake up scared the fear can come afterwards. I mean it can be something one expects, if you had a prior experience of waking up fearful, like a learned fear. But also nighttime IS special and always have been. I don't know if it is a myth, but during "hour of the wolf" (night before dawn), most people die. Also it is said to be the harshest hour for working with work related accidents following. And there are tons of myths about late night, often related to strong fears and sometimes to the supernatural. So it's been sort of going through the ages, that night time is something of fear. Like ghosting hour at 12 is also a common thing in popular culture. So it's kind of there in our "genes".

Some nights even had more significance than others. Like for where I come from. This night we just had (called Lussi night)was thought to be the longest night, where the bad spirits could get you. Also in our tradition, arriving to church in the wolfing hour at Xmas day and you would find the ghosts having mass.

I have often freaked myself out at night. I guess especially after waking up and it is dark, you are very sensitive. I have had the feeling someone was there (spirit) like for real, or sometimes I had just freaked myself out being afraid of random objects in my room. I'm not really superstitious but sometimes I do cleansing processes just to tell my mind I'm doing something about it. It's not particularly odd really that I can spook myself so bad at night, even when nothing triggered it. It is night time, and I guess our brains tell us to be extra aware of dangers.

Yea, rambling all over here. What I meant to say is that it is possibly not very strange that you hold this fear looking back at human history. But also I know from my own experience that it is scary and it does need to be addressed somehow. I hope you can find the perfect way to handle your fear, it is probably not the same I handle mine, but after you find something that might work you might feel more in control. I think knowing you can do something about it is very important.

[ThatGirl47]

Well I can't sleep tonight. My mind is racing with so many thoughts for everything I have to do tomorrow. I feel like my brain is just shouting at me with everything and I can't focus on one thing. I'm worried I am going to let people down by not accomplishing everything. It's scary.

I can't be in the dark because I keep freaking out that someone is going to get into my room even though it is on the second floor. I feel like someone is watching me from my window or my skylight (even though the only thing surrounding my house is woods and our sweet old neighbors). I keep getting this weird sense that someone is behind me looking over my shoulder even though I am sitting with my back resting on the wall. I have to look up every 10-15 seconds and look around the room. There is a presence here.

I think it just weirds me out because I have lived in this house for a little over a year. The old lady that lived here in this house before us was Miss America 1957. She lived here after retirement with her husband. Apparently she was widowed and then became sick a few years later. She died in her sleep in this house and (of course) my bedroom is on the second floor above the room she spent her last days/died in.

I have been a very large believer in ghosts ever since I was little (I used to live close to Camarillo Mental Hospital (Hotel California) and my grandparents live on a farm that has been in our family for 150 years and dates back to underground railroad times (we even have multiple cemeteries of pets, family members, servants and unknown people on the property within a 5 min walk of the house)). I have experienced the inexplicable and therefore believe strongly in the idea that ghosts walk the same world as we do because I have seen/felt them with us. I live in a very historic (I'm talking revolutionary war and founding fathers) part of Pennsylvania so my friends and I have all seen weird things (not all bad) in houses.

Sometimes I feel a strange pull into the sitting room that is just off of my bedroom. I feel like someone is sitting in there, watching, listening and waiting for me to acknowledge them. I don't feel dread all of the time, it almost feels as if my grandmother is sitting there waiting for me (both of mine are alive and kicking though). I guess I am just fearing the unknown.
I can't decide if my anxiety is acting up or if something is actually going on.

Does anyone else here believe in ghosts? If so, do you get scared by them or ignore them? Is there any way to stop this feeling of uneasiness?

Oh, how I miss the days when I was little and did not fear these things.

On another note:

My mother has seemed to forget about me asking for treatment again. She hasn't brought it up, but (bless her heart) she has had a problems with her back that have to do with her arthritis in her spine and cannot get out of bed on some days. I just want to get better so I can become the daughter she dreamed of instead of the screw up child I am now.

[GirlOfManyFaces]

I use to be scared of windows at night because I thought there was a man with big red eyes trying to hurt me. (Keep in mind I was 9 through 12 yrs old) but it kept be from doing anything after dark. Eventually it just disappeared. So just give it time. It will be all good