Claustrophobic

I can't sleep....

I never realized how claustrophobic I was until the past few times that I've had a cold, this time being the worst(it doesn't really help that I'm pregnant and my body is creating additional "stuff"). It's not like I can't breath...I just can't breath to the opitmum level that God designed for it to be, BOTH nostrils that allow air to pass through to the lungs in an easy manner. Not having both passages clear makes me feel like someone is putting a pillow on top of my face that I can't get away from. I get panicky, especially at night when I'm trying to sleep, and it doesn't help when my ears are plugged too.

I used to play hide and seek when I was younger and was really good at it. I could fit into the smallest of places. I was really tiny then, short and skinny for my age. I would curl up in a ball and hide in laundry baskets with clothes piled on top of me, in boxes, under beds, in my parents hallway closet where they would put towels and such (I would hide on the bottom shelf with the closet door mostly closed). I tried to play, later in life, with my younger cousins but found that I couldn't stay in my hiding place longer than 2 seconds if it involved things on top of me or somewhere where I felt that my "escape" would be inhibited. Even now, I can't have any blankets on top of my head.

I'm not even sure how or why I got this phobia.

It's about 4:00am on what now is a Thursday morning. I have to get up in 2.5 hrs for work. Now that sitting up has helped "cleared" my nose to some extent, I should try to go back to bed.....at least I have only a half day today and Friday off : )