[jerry_adam]

dear all,
i am hoping to get some help or recognition:

i suffer from sleep anxiety. My mind is keeping me anxious stressed and awake about the fear of not sleeping.

the main obstackle is when i am finally able to relax myself and feel that i am about to sleep, an automatic stress reaction kicks in that makes me awake again. Its horrible. Its ;like my mind is scanning for sleepiness and then ruins it. Its like my mind is scared of me going to sleep while i need it so bad.

This feels like a situation i cant control wich makes me more anxious every time. Can someone relate?, knows whats the cause of this and offer me some help maybe? i am trying mindfulness but i am not sure if i am making things worse because i react to this event with anxiety all the time. Dont want to make things even worse.

[Scott]

Hi Jerry,

Welcome to the forum! What is it about the idea of not sleeping that makes you anxious? Over time, our mind has developed to constantly scan for danger and prepare for fight or flight. It also has the ability to learn conditioned arousal and begin to associate our bed/bedtime with heightened arousal. There are techniques, specifically sleep restriction, that can be implemented to overpower these anxious thoughts about sleep though. What time do you go to bed, wake in the morning and how many hours of sleep do you achieve on an average night?

Scott J

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[Author]

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