How do I deal with extreme sleep paranoia?

I had that problem when I was a child, but never this bad. It got better about a year ago but about 3 months ago it started to get really bad. I can’t sleep at night. I lay on my bed awake, lights off (though it still doesn’t get dark), and then I just feel a very strong fear. Anything triggers my imagination, and I get terrified. I don’t get any sleep at night anymore. I don’t know if it’s the fear of being alone at night, or fear of the dark, or both, I don’t know what it is and I don’t know what to do! I have school the whole day until 6 p.m too so I really can’t afford to lose that much sleep. I need help! How do I deal with this? (Don’t know if it’s relevant or not, but I suffer from major depression, social anxiety and general anxiety).

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Just Keep Going

301

2 Answers

Its weird I have paranoia of sleeping in the dark too, I have to have a light on. Irritates my fiance how has to sleep in a pitch black room, so more often than not, i find myself sleeping on the couch with the light on. I used to get really horrible nightmares, but i feel sense of comfort if I have a light on.

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firefly22

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I can honestly say that the only thing that helped me was sleep medication. I just couldn't turn my brain off, and then the lack of sleep makes the paranoia even worse-- it's a vicious cycle.

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Keiralee