Hi everybody,
So today I am going to be talking about a very rare phobia which affects only few of us -Somniphobia.
Majority of us like to sleep and look at it as a basic necessity to survive just like eating, drinking and breathing. Many tend to get cranky or irritable due to the lack of sleep ( like me). However, there are some people in the world who also suffer from anxiety disorders related to sleep, which is a condition called Somniphobia.
Majority of us like to sleep and look at it as a basic necessity to survive just like eating, drinking and breathing. Many tend to get cranky or irritable due to the lack of sleep ( like me). However, there are some people in the world who also suffer from anxiety disorders related to sleep, which is a condition called Somniphobia.
The word Somniphobia is derived from Latin somnus meaning sleep and Phobos meaning fear. Thus, Somniphobia is the fear of sleeping or falling asleep. It is also called ‘Hypnophobia’, the fear of being hypnotized, a condition where the person is literally made to go in a sleep-like state. Most sufferers are scared of having nightmares or dying in your sleep.
Causes Of Somniphobia:
1. Sleepwalking is one of the typical causes of fear of sleep. Sufferers are so afraid it occurs in the first place, that they are scared to go to sleep.
2. Some people tend to talk in their sleep. Most of it is gibberish, but they fear revealing important things or being out of control about what they are saying.
3. Sleep paralysis is another cause of Somniphobia. This is the state when a person, upon waking up, experiences muscular paralysis. This might happen several times which leads to them fearing sleeping.
How to overcome somniphobia:
I used to suffer from a minor case of somniphobia. I was a nervous wreck at the thought of sleeping due to the repetitive nightmares I had. I used to dread even thinking of having to sleep each night. It began shortly after I had seen a horror movie. Every night I would have dreams, no, actually nightmares and I would end up waking up in the middle of the night sweating all over and gasping. And I couldn't go back to sleep no matter how much I tried. And I was scared to sleep , cause I thought I would still have horrifying nightmares. It took me a while to figure out how I could get rid of this awful phobia. But then in the end I found a way to escape and it really worked. Each day before sleeping watch a funny video or read my favorite book. And when I slept instead of having horrific dreams I end up dreaming about candyfloss or me visiting the Queen's palace. If you suffer from somni- phobia maybe you too should try it.
- Krista Fidelia |
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