Terrified of sleeping

[mitra902]

For some reason, i feel as if im going to die when i sleep, as if ill stop breathing

Its the whole anxiety/hypochondria thing, even when im drifting into sleep ill wake up in panic because i feel as if i cant breathe(i do this thing where i constantly clear my throat/swallow all day long, it interfers with everything), so its like im stopping myself, this gets really annoying, especially when i sleep over at my boyfriends and im up all night like a freak, i used to drink to fall asleep but now im on meds (anti depressants) so i cant really drink  hopefully theyll help, i just want to be normal, cant remember the last time i felt that way....
I honestly feel like something is wrong to the point that i dont really look forward to anything/the future because i feel as if ill die anytime soon or that i cant even imagine wanting to live like this forever (but im not suicidal at all, im just insanely scared of dying in fact)

if anyone else has this trouble, reply, or has any comments :)

[Cuchculan]

You would be very surprised how many people fear sleep. That when they sleep they won't wake up. Common irrational thought. They fight to stay awake. But you can't stay awake forever. You need something to take your mind off of those thoughts. Be it a radio playing. Just that little something. Because if you deny yourself sleep things can get confusing. Because we all have to dream. Someone who is kept away for days on end will start to see things. It is dreams coming into their wakened state of mind. At best I would suggest you debate the issue with yourself. How many times have you fell asleep? You have woken up each time. Is there anything medical to back up your idea that you will just stop breathing? Hearth conditions or anything similar. I would guess the answer is no. Their is zero proof that you will die if you fall asleep. But another thing you can try is journaling. So you can't sleep. Write down your exact thoughts. How you react to those thoughts. What symptoms it brings on. They are all connected. If we could only change one of them. The thought or the reaction. The rest would right itself. I can see you even fighting the medication as it tries to knock you out. Doing your best to stay awake. Exposure may help. Just lay there and let the medication work. Don't fight it. If you do wake up, get up out of bed for a few moments. Take a walk around the room. Do a few exercises if need be. Anxiety is just energy. Try burn some of it off. Might even make you more tired. But the fact is when we are tired enough we will fall asleep. No matter what. And so far, as is obvious, you have not died in your sleep. Take that into account too. Have you known anybody who has died in their sleep? Maybe an old relative or something. That put the idea in your head. It can be treated if you are prepaired to give into it. The feelings are not nice. They never are. But I am sure you have seen those same feelings come and go in the past. We all have. Anxiety hits us. We either run from it and feed it or say ' I have had this before and it passed after a while '. That is what you have to try and accept. Not easy at first. But with a bit of work it can be done. Just wish you the best of luck with it.