Sleepless Nights

This is a return to a previous topic I posted a couple of months ago. My insomnia is back... It is like an old friend I never missed. All this week I haven't been able to sleep, and I've gotten about 5 hours of sleep/night (Thanks finally to Tylenol PM). Now I am dwelling on the fact that I HATE lying awake at night alone, and I feel anxious,irritable, blah,blah, blah. I don't know what the trigger was that caused this lack of sleep. Sunday night I slept fine, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I was miserable. I've learned my mother and grandmother both have chronic insomnia as well. For me it is FEAR inducing. The thought of not being able to sleep makes my heart race, my chest constrict, and I feel terrified that I'll be awake the rest of my life. I am about to nod off, and then I think about it, and the paranoia returns. I know these are completely irrational thoughts,but they harken back to my earlier battle with insomnia in my teens. So today I tried to devise a plan of action. I will try to follow all the tips to establish good sleep habits, and if that fails I've made an appointment to see a doctor to try to get a prescription...

Wish me luck!