We need good sleep to have restful sleep and for the cycle of our life to continue. We need a good sleep to wake up the next day with all the energy and this need is well known by people who suffer from insomnia and cannot sleep. But there is a group of people that it is not that they cannot sleep, it is that they do not want to sleep because they suffer from somniphobia or fear of falling asleep.
What is somniphobia?
You can find it under the name of somniphobia, oenophobia or hypnophobia, but in any case it is an irrational fear of falling asleep. TOphobiathat is not as rare as it seems and that can complicate the lives of those who suffer from it to the extreme.
It is the time to go to bed that people with somniphobia fear the most; they do not want to fall asleep because they are afraid. But fear, what? Something bad happens to them while they sleep. In this panic, they avoid falling asleep at all costs, and when sleep finally overtakes them, they certainly do not get any rest.
Why are we afraid to sleep?
The causes of this phobia to sleep are varied and somniphobia can also be motivated by a traumatic event. But generally it is people who have had or have recurring who develop this panic to fall asleep, which is not without logic because nobody wants to relive nights of misfortune, death or violence.
Another cause of somniphobia is an anxiety. Shortly before going to sleep, anticipatory anxiety occurs with the classic symptoms of anxiety. Fear calls fear and the solution is to stay awake all night.
On the other hand, aninsomniaproblem can also cause the appearance of somniphobia, creating a kind of vicious circle in which the person who suffers from it is afraid of the moment to go to sleep because they know that they are going to have problems falling asleep.
Consequences of somniphobia
As you can imagine, the consequences of this phobia of sleeping are devastating for the body and for the social, emotional and work life of the people who suffer from it. Beyond symptoms such as dizziness, tachycardia, sweating or palpitations, all of which are also old acquaintances with panic, the fact of sleeping little and poorly is a serious health risk.
For people who suffer from somniphobia, every night is a nightmare. They try not to fall asleep, fear invades them and, in the end, the body wins in that battle against sleep. They fall asleep, yes, but not in the necessary conditions and have a little restful sleep whose consequences are observed in their daily lives.
Exhaustion, tension, mental confusion, irritability, and a state of permanent alertness are just some of the consequences that can lead to major health problems, social isolation, job dismissals, or breakups. Because like almost all phobias, we cannot forget the misunderstanding that somniphobia generates around it.
Treatment to lose the fear of falling asleep
In this situation we cannot say that somniphobia has a treatment that the affected person can carry out on their own. Indeed, these people already know that their fear of sleep is irrational, but they cannot help it. That is why the only solution is to put yourself in the hands of a professional.
Depending on the causes, the consequences and the time that you have been suffering from somniphobia, you can seek psychological or psychiatric help. It is usually treated along with other sleep, and therapies also vary by patient. But in any case, yes, somniphobia has a solution and with proper treatment you can recover the pleasure of sleeping.