The Fear of Falling Asleep Becoming a Major Problem

I was talking with my wife about my inability to get to sleep at a decent hour on a regular basis, even though work has been very accommodating with my scheduling.  She was confused why I couldn't seem to get into bed and fall asleep until after midnight when I have to be up by 5:30 most morning.

As we talked more about it, I discussed with her the regularity of my nightmares.  The thing that she didn't understand was that I don't always remember having the nightmares.  What I do know is that I wake up sore and stiff on the mornings following the nightmares I don't remember.  It's like I tense up head to toe during the nightmares.  What's worse, I am exponentially more susceptible to intrusive recollections and flashbacks on the days following the nightmares I don't remember.

Ugh.

Add this to the nightmare 'memories' I DO remember and I think you get the picture.  I don't get many undisturbed nights.  It makes me afraid of going to sleep.  What I didn't realize is that when it gets close to bedtime, the adrenalin kicks in and I become hypervigilant.  I am only able to lay down and go to sleep once I have gotten to the point where I am so tired that my physical exhaustion outweighs my fear of sleeping and the hypervigilance.

For those of you that understand the impact of adrenalin on the body, it takes an extreme sleep deficit to become exhausted to the point you can overcome the adrenalin and fall asleep anyways.

This is my world right now.  Granted, I am coping with my PTSD very well right now.  I am closer with my wife and daughter than I ever have been.  Yes I have to take my anxiety medication for emergency anxiety control on a more regular basis than I ever had to in the past, but this fear of sleeping has become the focus of my frustration in recent weeks.

I discussed this with my individual therapist and she it looking into ways to work around this.  Stay tuned...