Fear of the dark/stress and anxiety causing insomnia.

TLDR version - Can't sleep because my brain is a jerk. Any tips? Also venting, argh.

There are two reasons I can't sleep at night.

I have a fairly intense fear of not being able to see my surroundings. I refuse to go swimming because I can't see everything around me. I avoid putting water on my face in case it gets in my eyes... And even with my bedside light on at night I still have trouble with it when I close my eyes.

It's not a rational thing, I know that. Whenever my eyes are closed my mind wanders to dark places, I know there's nothing in my room but I can't get over the ridiculous fear that something has popped up since the last time I checked.

When I'm not awake because I'm too scared to close my eyes, it's because I'm stressing about things, getting so bored in my own head that I verge on anxiety attacks. (something else I struggle with, sigh.)

I've struggled with sleep my whole life. A coping mechanism I've always used has been to stay distracted with reading or something until I'm literally too exhausted to keep my eyes open, but lately mine and my partner's work schedules have been restricting my sleep even further so I'm starting to think I should sort this out. I sleep well next to my partner most of the time. Even if my mind isn't quiet, at least I feel safe.

In any case, I'll be seeing a shrink soon for a few reasons but for now I'm wondering if anyone else here has trouble sleeping, and how you cope? (Also I just needed to vent.) Thanks for reading!

 

That sounds really stressful. You have my sympathy. I can't offer any suggestions. I'm one of those who go to sleep pretty quickly.

 

Maybe some hypnosis would help you.

 

I've never considered it, not sure I have the funds or patience haha, but I'll keep looking around.... And eh, sympathy is almost as good as advice! x)

 

I think you have a form of chronic terror. It's a more advanced form of fear. That could be why you have a hard time managing it .. calling it something it's not. There's a difference between being afraid and terrified.

The fact that your mind wanders to dark places when you close your eyes make me think of night terror.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_terror

Do you keep a dream journal? If your dreams disturb you, it could be that you fear sleeping itself because of dreaming. That's just one possibility .. there could be other or many other explanations.

What I know for sure is that it can change and be a problem of the past. You aren't stuck with it forever.

I don't know if shrink means psychiatrist but a psychiatrist prescribes drugs. You may want a psychologist or psychotherapist. A psychiatrist is paid to diagnose and drug you and you might not have a brain disease.

 

I actually have one of each, but I recently decided to stop seeing my psychologist because he couldn't do anything for my other issues. I never actually mentioned this one, I was only seeing him for specific reasons and I just didn't think of my sleep issues. I may have to go back..

It's nothing to do with nightmares or night terrors, I only wake up still scared from a nightmare about once a month, which I assume is the normal amount.. Once I'm asleep I'm fine =) I occasionally wake up and take half an hour or so to sleep again, but that's only when I'm more stressed than usual. Thanks for the input though!