Are You Afraid Of Going To Sleep?

My so-called ‘sleep’ (it’s stretching things to dignify it with that word, actually, even in inverted commas), in the past, has been appalling : it would take me at least three hours to lose consciousness, and, even then, I would wake, with a violent, shuddering start, ridiculously frequently throughout the night, sometimes shouting, or even screaming, and, not infrequently, drenched in sweat, making my pillow so damp that it would be necessary to turn it over (then, as the night progressed tortuously slowly, use the second pillow, then have to turn that one over…)

My intensely vivid nightmares would be filled with the most horrific violence, of which I was invariably the recipient – I would be sawn in half, chopped up with a machete, or otherwise maimed and mutilated.

I still get up at about 4.30 am as by then I am fully awake and there is no hope of even lightly dozing (as you may well know, early morning waking, coupled with the inability to fall back to sleep, is a classic hallmark of depression).

Once I’m up, I feel I need to take a long rest in order to recover from my nocturnal ordeal : in other words, my ‘sleep’ necessitates a (tormentingly elusive) sleep.

When things were at their worst, in fact, I would dread going to bed, almost to the point of physical nausea.

If we have developed post traumatic stress disorder as a result of our painful childhood experiences it is very likely that we will, without effective therapy, suffer insomnia and nightmares as adults, similar to that described above.

This is because PTSD leads to a feeling of constantly being on ‘red alert’ / on the look out for danger. Clearly, this is hardly a state of mind conducive to a blissful night’s sleep.

If we have terrifying nightmares, as alluded to above, we may become very fearful of going to sleep and try to stay awake for as long as possible, in a pitiful attempt to postpone our descent into our night-time Hades.

Of course, this can only work in the very short term.

If we constantly put off going to bed and, when we finally do go to bed, our sleep is disrupted by our nightmares and, perhaps, too, frequent waking, we will quickly become chronically exhausted (mentally, physically and emotionally) and, essentially, sleep deprived.

This can lead to:

– an exacerbation of existing depression

– high levels of irritability / proneness to outbursts of rage in response to even (objectively speaking) minor frustrations

– an increase in anxiety levels

If the sleep deprivation becomes severe, then, in addition to the above, we may:

– hallucinate

– become increasingly irrational / develop impaired judgment

The internet is awash with information about action to take to reduce insomnia and nightmares and to repeat it all here would be superfluous. However, two tips that I found useful were :

1) Imagine self in a safe and secure place when intending to fall asleep

2) If really can’t fall asleep try to relax in a different room for as long as necessary

Afraid Of Going To Sleep Because Of Nightmares?

These can imitate past traumas we have suffered or symbolically represent them. When waking from a nightmare and feeling frightened, it is useful for us to try to ‘self-sooth’ by, for example, telling ourselves:

– ‘I am safe now’

– ‘It’s over – it’s not happening now, it’s in the past.’

– ‘It’s just my imagination – it’s not real.’

Finally, of course, ‘trying hard’ to fall asleep and getting angry and frustrated about our inability to do so is counter-productive. Paradoxically, trying hard to stay awake when tired is more likely to induce sleep.

Resources:

‘Stop recurring nightmares’ hypnosis download : click here

‘Get back to sleep quickly’ hypnosis download : click here

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).