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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT | paranoid android

Mental Health Fear of Sleeping?

Im exactly this way, self medicated for sleep for the last couple of years. When I was maybe 8-9 years old i started having almost what you'd call panic attacks as i was drifting off to sleep and wake up in a sweat with a rapid heartbeat. Not that doesn't happen now, just when i go to sleep without booze or bud i get them night sweats and restlessness. Im trying my hardest to establish some form regular sleep even if i do feel bad the next day, cos its not like i feel fantastic after having a load of booze or weed before bed. Got hold of some etizolam but literally have my last one till i can get more, so tonight i will sleep well.
 
PriestTheyCalledHim said:
The only time I ever had this was when I was camping and having sleep paralysis after going to bed after drinking alcohol
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I used to get sleep paralysis and night terrors bad before i went on clonazepam. I would always sense something just out of my vision and sometimes i would catch a glimpse of a figure. We call it the old hag here and i have seen people wake up screaming after getting a visit from her. Alcohol always gave me nightmares and it felt like i never slept at all.

I only found benzos,z-hypnotics and Cannabis helps to help. Right now some clonazepam before bed mixed with some hash keeps nightmares at bay for me. Anti-cholinergics seem to make it worse for some people as well but alcohol is probably the biggest offender for causing it.
 
Wow! I found this thread after doing a search for melatonin because I decided to finally try taking some in order to relieve my anxiety about sleeping. Waiting for it to kick in...

Happy to know I'm not alone. As others have said, I actually love sleeping but I have a very difficult time falling asleep mostly because I am afraid of that helplessness. I stay very alert at night I guess. I'm always worried about someone breaking into my apartment; sometimes I even keep a big knife by my side haha. For this reason I also never shower when I'm home alone. And I could never live by myself I don't think. I also never feel safe in a house where the door is unlocked.

I do have a much easier time sleeping when I'm next to another person. I guess my problem has gotten worse recently because 1. my boyfriend is away and 2. I'm going through opiate w/d.

It's rare, but I do get sleep paralysis sometimes. It happened a couple nights ago actually. Opened my eyes and thought there were several people pinning me down, couldn't scream for help or anything and was obviously freaked out for a few seconds (felt like an eternity) until it wore off. Trying to go back to sleep after that is very difficult.

Well, it's 5 am and I'm finally starting to feel groggy enough that I might make it to sleep! I wish I wasn't also starting to get hungry.

Good night & sleep tight!
 
chelseagirl said:
It's rare, but I do get sleep paralysis sometimes. It happened a couple nights ago actually. Opened my eyes and thought there were several people pinning me down, couldn't scream for help or anything and was obviously freaked out for a few seconds (felt like an eternity) until it wore off. Trying to go back to sleep after that is very difficult.
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Yup that's exactly what it feels like. I would try and scream out for help or move my arms atleast but i could never do either. One night i decided to just treat it like a bad trip and i just lay there seeing what would happen. Once the fear went away so did the old hag. However that's certainly not easy to do so taking a benzo before bed is the short cut i use.

I used to keep a blade under the side of the bed i slept on and a baseball bat right by the bed when i lived in a dodgy area and was into some dodgy shit myself. I used to tape a open knife on the underside of the bed ffs. Paranoia much :\ . Thankfully i am no longer in the type of lifestyle where people busting into my flat in the dead of night to kill me was a possibility. I still don't sleep well without some background noise though so i usually turn on the dishwasher before going to bed or have a fan on.
 
^Haha, guess the username suits you. Although I'm not sure it's paranoia if there's a possibility someone might try to kill you!

I'll never understand why people who live in nice neighborhoods don't lock their doors. Like, really? There are plenty of people out there who would love to exploit yr sense of safety. Plus you probably have expensive stuff worth stealing.
 
chelseagirl said:
^Haha, guess the username suits you. Although I'm not sure it's paranoia if there's a possibility someone might try to kill you!

I'll never understand why people who live in nice neighborhoods don't lock their doors. Like, really? There are plenty of people out there who would love to exploit yr sense of safety. Plus you probably have expensive stuff worth stealing.
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Yeah back then i was rather wild and scrappy and into real sketchy stuff so it was not being totally paranoid i guess.

I never lock my door. Even when i lived in one of the worst parts of Canada where home invasions where happening alot i never locked it. I used to do alot of break and enters when i was a wee lad so i know just how useless locks are. Also a lock is only as good as the door it's attached to and i used to be able to get through most in under 5 minutes. At best locking your door will make you wake up if someone is breaking in thus giving you time to grab a weapon. I used to piss my room mate off something awful because i wouldn't even bother closing the big door in the summer time and would just have the screen door closed. However she eventually realized that locks only keep honest people out :\ . I have never had anyone break into my house much less break in while I'm actually in the house.
 
Wow. I had no idea about the lock thing! Whatever helps you sleep at night though!

Where in Canada are you? I grew up in Montreal and miss it a lot.
 
Am I the only one that thinks a fear of sleeping could be similar to the fear of death?
 
Well, then, you'd probably go 10 days without sleeping if what happened to me happened to you.

I was sleeping a proper good sleep, then all of a sudden I wake up and there's this guy, on his knees on the floor with his hands on my face. He's doing something thats stopping me from moving. I'm confused and trying with all my strength to free myself, to get up from his grasp. It's like he's trying to force himself on my mind by pinning down my body, and i'm fighting with everything I have to beat him. I can't see his face but he's trying hard to control me, after struggling a lot he suddenly disappears into thin air. Then I woke up.

I did give some thought, for about 5 seconds, to the possibility of that being a real "entity" or what have you trying to get control over me or fuck with my in any way. Then I laughed and thought, what a trip, and went right back to sleep cause I don't believe in that shit. Later that night I woke up from a nightmare again, but I can't remember what it was, just a bad feeling. Then I sat up and thought I saw a man in my room. After a few seconds I realized it was just the way my coat was positioned in a corner. Went straight back to sleep.

I got no problems sleeping, especially after a good fix. I've slept in hostel rooms sharing with 24 people with some of the people having loud music and shouting like it's a nightclub, all night long, and it didn't even wake me up.
 
I was up until 6 am last night because I was afraid of the imaginary people tip toeing around my house. Haha. It was windy last night and I kept hearing noises, probably outside. Once it starts to get light out or I hear one of my roommates wake up, I can finally relax. Hoping I'll have better luck tonight.
 
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