I have also felt that fear of if I go to sleep I will die. It's debilitating because after a long day of being anxious I am begging my body to just let me sleep. I'm only 19, @ worldsokayest so I understand the fear of having a faulty heart, but also knowing I am too young to have a heart attack or that the chances of me having sudden cardiac death walking through the store is unlikely but still equally terrifying.
I went to my doctor this morning and basically had a melt down. Glad it happened in her office so she could see how bad it really is. She prescribed temazepam and a PRN of generic xanax for emergencies. She also advised I seek therapeutic counsel as soon as possible.
Fear of dying and health fears are a very common theme for anxiety sufferers. The good news is you can learn to control it. Anxiety is the most treatable mental health concern there is. This program is based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) principles which is the most evidence based treatment for anxiety. If you focus on one session a week and complete all the homework then you should notice a difference soon. You may want to check out the section on relaxation techniques ASAP so you have some tools to use the next time you are feeling anxious.
I hope you were able to get some sleep last night. How are you feeling today?
I'm so tired. But every time I try to sleep I'm convinced my heart is going to stop. My diaphragm and my chest have been tight since 1:00am and I feel like my upper body is on fire when I lay down. I know all the cardiac tests came back fine, I know I'm only 23, I know I'm probably fine and fear is a lie. But how the hell do I shut this off? "This time is just like last time, yeah, but you don't really know that for sure. This time it could be real." Can I get off this train with my sanity in tact?
