Anxiety at night

lucie · Post by **lucie** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:10 am

Writing to see if anyone else ever had experiences like this. Twice this week while I am sleeping I'm revisiting scary thoughts and visions of things that made me anxious during my day. The thoughts and dreams are so overwhelming that it makes me paranoid. I feel that I actually leave my house and drive my car to the same situation and start to panic that I'm going crazy. I remember sleeping the rest of night, but I get so anxious and keep revisiting the thought-did I do something wrong or not? Did someone attack me? I get so caught up in revisiting the thoughts I can't let go of it. Then I want to check and re-check again and again that I'm ok. The thoughts include driving on the highway, and I cannot drive on the highway, it provokes anxiety every time. I almost feel like the program wants me to think its exciting, but its not to me, I'm scared to death and of being attacked by a stranger and baing out of control. My fear of leaving the house in the middle of the night has gotten so bad that I hide my keys before I go to bed, check the doors multiple times and check my mileage in the morning. My doctor has me on Xanax .25 3/day and it seems to be helping, but the thoughts are still there. He suggested I give Lexapro a chance, but there never seems to be a good time to start it (high work responsibilities, caring for son). Is this common? If anyone has had this, I really need help. My doc confirms I'm not going crazy, but its so hard not to feel this way.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:51 am

People who are phobic never go crazy. We are so darn sane - that's why we question if we are going crazy or not. We can't go crazy. It's not in our makeup. (Put that fear to rest.)

Our scenerios may be different but the package is the same. You are experiencing OCD and nothing more. If you are working the program, stay with it. Use your workbook and follow the exercises daily. Use your relaxation tape, practice your breath work and use your STOP sign. You don't have to ruminate. Shout STOP, use your calm breath and focus on what you are doing in the present moment. You can still function even if you don't feel like it. It's OK to be uncomfortable. You can handle it. Let yourself know that this is only OCD (no big deal - and it's not, by the way) and that you are in the practice of allowing your thoughts and images to come and go as they please. (They don't have to affect you.) Start practicing "allowing" and let go of the resistance. If you didn't care one way or the other about these thoughts they would cease to exist.

Practice. This can be healed.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:11 am

thanks boon, your advice helped a lot. I skipped from the diet and exercise sessions to the irrational thoughts session based on others advise in the forum. I think I need to go back to the diet and exercise and keep going through the exercises one at a time. The irrational thoughts session really instigated some feelings of anxiety and fear with the statements about feeling good about myself *recommeded reading 10 times a day. I cry everytime I read it.