Stress Center Peer Support

I am in lesson 2 and we've been discussing "facing your fears." However, my fear is not being able to sleep at night. I am afriad to be alone and I 'what if' everything. what if I dont sleep and cant work the next day, or cant go to school or have a panic attack because I feel so sick?" Those are some of the thoughts. It's not like I can test out my fear like if I had a driving phobia and test a mile and then 10 miles. Its either I sleep or I dont. I've been taking a very small amount of xanax (half of a tablet of .5mg) before I go to bed. I feel like its all psychological taking the pill because its so small it doesnt do much but I also feel like I dont know what to do yet. Is it too soon? Im afraid Ill keep making excuses but I feel like Im not ready.

hi joice / i sufferd for years /what i did was not too stop taking the tablets just cut them in half and see how you feel for a week or two /and then in half again .
hope this is of some help to you

hi...i want to respond to you fear...when i first started getting help....my doctor told me to take 3 xanax a day...25mg...i did...it was just the begining....however after a while i was able to take 2 a day and then 1 a day,,,it has been years since i have taken one...however i always have them in case i need it...if you need it take it why suffer...however dont abuse it...just remeber when you have those fears at night...they are only thoughts...you could also try camomile tea before you go to bed..eventually the thoughts with this program will subside because you will not fear them and you will be able to think straight and sleep fine....you are only afraid of your thoughts...

Jocie22

I realize that your fear is very real to you, but if that is your main fear, you are sooo fine. First of all, I went through that back in 2004. By "worrying" and "what-ifing" about sleeping, I created such a bad case of insomnia I went without sleep for days and ended up in the ER. I am reading a book right now by Dale Carnegie "How to stop worrying and start Living". The chapter I just finished reading was "How to keep from worrying about insomnia". I don't suffer from insomnia anymore, but this chapter was great. There have been soo many famous people that suffered with insomnia and/or slept so little but accomplished so much in their life. Although you may hear alot about how much people need sleep and stuff, the truth is, some people just don't need as much as other people and there will be times in your life and bumps in the road when sleep may come and go. Roll with it. Nature will take care of you. Worrying about insomnia will hurt you far more than insomnia ever will. Oh, and i did use medication that time, but as soon as I started sleeping I slowly tapered down. (I was only on it for like 4-6 wks). Get yourself out of the worrying about it and sleep will come naturally, I promise.

Jocie

I am dealing with sleep anxieties right now. I will either fall asleep, and only sleep an hour. Or I will fall asleep, wake after 5 mintues, fall back to sleep and again wake up 5 minutes later. Then be wide awake. Then the what if's start, and I start to panic, that I can't sleep normally anymore. Of course that thinking insures that I won't go back to sleep.

My program is due in the mail any day now. My sleep anxieties are related to my anxieties in general. I'm hoping with the program, when I have those under control, I will be able to sleep again.

If you can taper off it is the healthy thing to do...If interested in this and want to do it safely go to <A HREF="http://www.pointofreturn.com" TARGET=_blank>www.pointofreturn.com</A>

Hope this helps,

Hang in,,,
Meds are not the answer,,,they make you very sick ...rob you of your creativity and are extremely dangerous long-term,,,benzos are very hard to taper off of,,,so please look at the site I mentioned...they are wonderful people and will help you through every step of the way!!
Karin

Originally posted by Jocie22:
I am in lesson 2 and we've been discussing "facing your fears." However, my fear is not being able to sleep at night. I am afriad to be alone and I 'what if' everything. what if I dont sleep and cant work the next day, or cant go to school or have a panic attack because I feel so sick?" Those are some of the thoughts. It's not like I can test out my fear like if I had a driving phobia and test a mile and then 10 miles. Its either I sleep or I dont. I've been taking a very small amount of xanax (half of a tablet of .5mg) before I go to bed. I feel like its all psychological taking the pill because its so small it doesnt do much but I also feel like I dont know what to do yet. Is it too soon? Im afraid Ill keep making excuses but I feel like Im not ready.