Bernadette, Lucinda talks on one of the tapes about people worrying about not sleeping. Stop worrying about it. If you can't sleep get up and do something productive besides worrying about not sleeping. She said when your body is tired enough, you WILL fall asleep. So stop worrying and sleep like a baby girl. We love you Bernadette!!

It scared me too I can relate. In fact I'm only taking 1/2 of a Xanax at night (.25 even; a small dose) and I was thinking of going up to the full .25 but I keep worrying I'll end up like him and rely on tons of stuff just to sleep.

But, I know that is not reality. I'm just getting a little help for now.

And, it is hard sometimes to feel God's love. That's when you have to have faith and believe that He is there for you.

One thing that always helps me is to remember that whenever I do have a setback I have tools to use that I didn't have the first time. And I know that it is better after you know you've overcome it once.

Just like today I had a PA and thought I was losing it. . . but it only lasted a couple hours. A few weeks ago I was having bad anxiety that lasted for 3-4 days. So this is an improvement!

Don't forget that you are just having a scary thought. Remind yourself that you are imagining yourself in the same situation when in reality it's not your situation. Don't forget that and keep up with your daily routines & let the scary thoughts pass through you without reacting to them. Be patient. You'll see your true reality again. Also, God is always closest to you when you don't think you feel Him. He loves you and nothing bad ever comes from Him. These feelings are part of your current mind set that WILL pass. Don't give up, be courageous & keep talking to God. He will answer you. It's just hard to hear or see when your anxious. Remember that!

Craw
Very good post. I agree, i read everything i could today on heath ledger death. The guy had 2 or 3 kinds of codene, 4 different kinds of antidepressants, and two kinds of sleeping pills. All the scripts came from england. We dont know how or if he even obtained all that legally.
But the guy definitely had a prescription drug problem, his own xwife talked about that.
Bernadette,, when you have a good doctor, they moniter your meds!! they also wouldnt give you all those different meds at once.
I never heard anyone say he had anxiety, yet he had all those meds, and there was never anything about him having bad pain either, but he had those pain meds.. we cant second guess this stuff... But try to think realistically!!!
Try to get in a regular routine of sleeping habits.. No tv in the bedroom,, go to bed at the same time at night, maybe drink some chammomile tea before bedtime.... Nelly

A couple things. Someone said that we are born phobic, but right or wrong, the texts seem to agree that phobias and behavior are learned in humans who are otherwise mentally stable.

Another thing is the "don't worry about not sleeping, just roll with it and sleep when your body decides to" advice. For short term, temporary bursts, it works well and you can accomplish many things. Well, I personally have a very cyclictic sleep cycle issue, and "just doing what my body says and not worrying about trying to fix it" has taken an immense toll on my body and rendered major chunks of my life unlivable. my body has been forcing itself on a severely erratic swing shift sleep schedule for over 15 years and my health and livability is suffering big time as a result, whether I roll with it or try to stabilize. Sometimes it takes more than a self help guide and easy answers, and other things have to be seriously taken into account other than "stinkin thinkin'" responses to external factors.