Hypnophobia

The causes of this psychological disorder can be: communication with a person already suffering from the fear of sleep, an accident or other traumatic event seen on TV or experienced in life. All this evokes the fear of falling asleep in a hypnophobic patient.

Another cause of hypnophobia may be the fear of dying in a dream. Usually he appears in childhood (for example, in the practice of one psychologist there was a case when his patient as a child accidentally watched a horror film at night, this event had a strong effect on the child that, as an adult, every time he tried to sleep, he felt discomfort).

It is generally believed that hypnophobia carries with it many symptoms that affect the patient’s body. That is, the symptoms of the disease can affect both the mental state of a person and the physical. Many susceptible to this disorder experience discomfort even with only talking about a dream or just thinking about it. Despite the fact that hypnophobia reminds many ordinary anxious neurosis , it is often very difficult to treat. ^[four]

• rapid breathing
• dyspnea
• confusion
• sweating
• feeling of panic , fear , anxiety
• drowsiness
• dry mouth
• lethargy
• shiver
• cardiopalmus
• nausea ^[5]

Of course, these symptoms can not affect the mental and physiological state of a person. Indeed, during sleep, the human body regains its strength, and poor-quality sleep can lead to such negative consequences as absent-mindedness, forgetfulness, chronic fatigue, aggression and so on.

Symptoms can vary depending on the physical and psycho-emotional state of the patient. Everyone suffers a disease in their own way. For the treatment of these symptoms, there are many drugs that are strictly prescribed by a doctor, but the side effects and withdrawal symptoms often after their use are unexpected. Prescribed medications do not treat this disease, but only temporarily suppress the symptoms.

The causes of hypnophobia are still rather poorly understood. Many patients suffering from this psychological disorder associate its occurrence with repeated nightmares. ^[6] Hypnophobia can also be the result of prolonged depression or anxious neurosis. ^[7] In addition, it can be caused by a tragic event that the patient experienced (car accident, house fire, natural disaster, etc.). Another person can become susceptible to hypnophobia if he survived the accident while in a state of sleep: he fell asleep with a cigarette — he woke up in a house engulfed in flames.

The driving force of almost any phobia is fear. Therefore, the key to recovery from hypnophobia is to reduce the fear factor or its complete destruction. During the rehabilitation process, meditation and yoga classes can have a beneficial effect on the patient's psychophysical condition. If a person experiences a fear of sleep from the fact that he believes that he is not safe during sleep, he will sleep with someone close to him, which will make him sure that there is nothing wrong with him sleep will not and cannot happen. If a person is lonely, then he needs to have a pet in order not to be alone at night.

Cognitive therapy is a common form of treatment for almost any phobia. It is considered particularly effective in dealing with such fears, when the patient has fear not of the situation itself, but of the consequences that it may entail. The ultimate goal of cognitive therapy is to correct distorted perceptions and incorrect perception of reality regarding the fears experienced. The theory is that correcting thoughts that cause discomfort can reduce anxiety and, as a result, avoid situations that cause horror.

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin suffered from this phobia. Many believe that it was precisely because of hypnophobia that Stalin held his nightly vigils. He was so afraid of dying during sleep that he brought his body to full exhaustion, working at night, and only after he had brought himself to the limit of his fatigue, could he fall asleep.

• List of phobias
• Insomnia
• Sleep