Dee,
First you have to isolate what she's afraid of. Then you can name the
phobia. Then treatment is usually a combination of medication,
desensitization to fearful stimuli and in vivo practice confronting what
you're afraid of. I don't think there's any phobia relating to sleep. You
may be talking about someone who just has periods of high generalized
anxiety.
I'm a bit out of the loop on the medicines they give for phobias these
days.(My mom was a psychiatric social worker very involved in the treatment
of phobias.) Xanax used to be one. They wouldn't give an antidepressant.
The rest of the treatment, is I think, the same. I used to volunteer at
the clinic where she worked. There were a lot of people who were say,
agoraphobic, or afraid to leave their homes. We would practice a kind of
yoga-like, head-to-toe relaxation exercise, go out into the
community---cross open broad streets, go out to lunch, and confront
whatever kinds of things made them nervous doing alone.
Love,
Martha
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