Afraid to go to sleep

Not sure what I should do.

Is this a new problem?

Yes. Well, I was afraid when I was younger but it's different now.
I am afraid of the vulnerability of being asleep I think.

I have a similar problem. Lately I usually stay awake until the sun comes up and then I want to sleep half the day away. My parents get cross if I stay in bed late, but then I'm exhausted getting up at an earlier time when I've only had 4-5 hours sleep for days in a row. I'm scared about being vulnerable to attack in the dark when the rest of my family is asleep. It's especially bad for me around 1-3am, but taking 10-20mg of amitriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant that causes sedation even at doses not effective for depression) at 9pm helped me fall asleep by midnight so I could bypass the worst of the anxiety. Maybe a similar approach would help you? I'm not currently taking it (long, complicated story) and so I just distract myself on the internet or reading a book until I can fall asleep, and most days I try to get up regardless of the tiredness until I crash and sleep in and the cycle resets.

*Willow*

Yes I'm supposed to take Ativan when I can't sleep, but the problem is lately I just don't want to take it!
I hope your sleep schedule gets to normal soon
J

Thanks!

Why don't you want to take it? Is there anything non-addictive you could take to sleep? That was my concern with benzos and zopiclone etc.

*Willow*

I also have a little fear of sleeping. I can't sleep unless I take an ambien. Try to take the meds. For me it's a little easier when I no longer have a choice.

hey i had this as a little girl after my dad died really badly. like it lasted until middle school. i slept with my mom up until then. because of the fear of being attacked in my sleep. i get it every now and then. sleeping is a vulnerable thing. i try to tell myself that im safe as im falling asleep. but sometimes i still think someones going to break in and rape and kill me while im sleeping. sometimes my T will tell me that i am safe and i trust him so that helps. i tend to go to bed pretty early to avoid it. so the sun is still up when im going to sleep

I used to set up a stack of empty cans from the recycling in a tower by my door so if anyone opened it they would fall and make noise to wake me up. It made me feel safer...

Thank you everyone.
Going to try to go to sleep when it's light out and take my medication.

I like this idea it's very clever

Were you only worried at night while psychotic? If so, was it meds that made it go away?

*Willow*

Yeah....I would build these things then do a double take in the morning having forgot I built them. One time I put a kitchen knife by my bed stand....this was when I thought I had a transmitter put in and it was maybe running out of battery so they needed to do a new one....or so they told me. I kind of forgot about that I guess I did have paranoia....just told the pdoc last week I never had that...oops....

Basically I was worried because the voices were threatening to do whatever and it only actually lasted a couple of days then it changed to some thing else but yeah it stopped forever when the voices stopped....sleep now is like so comforting....