I've experienced insomnia my entire life.
When I was a kid I think it was because of
some traumatic experiences, but as a
teenager and adult I've experienced
something different while trying to
sleep.
As a kid I would lay awake thinking about
a traumatic experience and it would keep
me awake for hours.
As a teenager and now as an adult, when I
start to feel myself fall asleep, I feel
like I can't move and panic for a split
second, waking myself up. Then I lay there
avoiding that sensation for hours.
In the past few years (I'm 26 btw) bedtime
has become even more stressful because I
worry that I won't be able to fall asleep
and then won't be able to wake up on time
in the morning, resulting in my son being
late for school or my being late for work
or an appointment. Then (if I don't take
an anxiety medication), I often lay there
stressing out about that for hours. lol
My question is for those who experience
sleep paralysis. Do you find yourself
avoiding falling asleep at bedtime because
you're worried that you'll experience
sleep paralysis?
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square peg
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 7
Posted: 06-11-07 05:44am
I've never avoided sleep because of it,
though I have been nervous of sleeping,
and sometimes if I've had a bad one (I
usually hallucinate at the same time) and
it's morning I won't let myself go back to
sleep because I know that sleeping in the
morning when it's already happened
virtually guarantees it will happen
again.
Instead of panicking, focus all your
concentration on moving a finger or toe. A
lot of people find this brings them out of
it quickly. And remember that some people
experience it very frequently or for hours
at a time (usually narcoleptics), and it
hasn't done them any direct harm. If you
get enough sleep, eat well and don't
self-medicate, it won't affect you beyond
the sensations themselves, which some
people even come to enjoy or explore.
Basically, just make peace with the
experience. Some people actually get it
much less often just by ceasing to fear
it.
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charismatic_irony
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 8 Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posted: 06-11-07 20:51pm
square peg
wrote:
Instead of panicking, focus
all your concentration on moving a finger
or toe. A lot of people find this brings
them out of it
quickly.
Interesting... I often find that I'm not
sure if I can move, but then I focus on
moving a finger and after a moment I can
move it, and then I'm okay.
I actually just had my sleep test last
night and this morning. I won't have the
results for another couple of weeks. I
think I'll post another thread about it.
