Scared to fall asleep

I always have unpleasant dreams. They're all realistic and sometimes I can't even tell weather or not I'm really dreaming. When I wake up I feel panicked. I now try and stay awake for as long as I can, but eventually I pass out; either from exhaustion or crying.
I don't really know what to do...any advice or any thoughts really would be appreciated.

I get a lot of these. I have dreams mostly on either myself or someone that's close to me killing themselves, and I don't know if I'm dreaming, in a huge nightmare, or if it's real. Since I don't have a phone, I can't check on them during the night, so it seriously worries me.

I tend to wake up screaming after these types of dreams, and it takes me 1 hour exactly to either fall asleep crying, make myself have a bulimic episode, or make myself pass out by means of sexual pleasure (auto-erotic asphyxiation).

I would recommend that you try a relaxation technique before you go to bed, and that might help. At least, that's what my boyfriend recommended for me, and it works, but only when he's there.

Stay strong!

Me too. Just know a dream can never hurt you. Ain't real. Banish the Boogy man.

I think that eating a large meal just before going to bed or a warm glass of milk, can help you to fall asleep faster and maybe not think about those bad things. While eating a large supper before sleeping, might not be the healthiest tip, it does make me fall asleep fast and I think it works.