My husband recently got a night shift job and I honestly cannot sleep without him, I actually get so scared I can hear my heart thumping and the noises around me become even clearer- it almost feels like I'm frozen scared.

I live in a house, in an okay neighborhood, it's pretty quiet and right by an elementary school. It's not that I'm afraid of ghosts or anything- it's the "bad people"- you know with all these crazy people breaking in and doing horrible things to people, it's them that I am terrified of being alone at night.

I am on the couch all night, with a cellphone and house phone on hand, I do turn the t.v. on [it's on really quiet] and sometimes doze off [I wake up 20-40 min later] and literally wait till my husband comes home. What's worse is that I have to go to work in the morning!

Getting a dog or security system is not the answer [it is not in our budget and with these tough times I can barely even go out for dinner and a movie].

Please help =(

MRS.S

I used to have the same issue when my boyfriend was working graveyard, and I was home alone. (it's the other way now).

But what I used to do is just set the house up like he's there. I would set up his side of the bed, and cuddle a body pillow instead of him. The thing that made me slept better is calling him right before I was about to go to sleep to make sure that he's all right, and he knows that I'm all right.

Also, perhaps more/better locks would help you feel more at ease in your home. Deadbolts are always great. Make sure there are locks on all windows, and I put a metal pole in the window track so that the window stops if attempted to open until said pole is removed (can't be removed from outside).

Also, if you are not the type of person to keep a gun for "just in case" or for protection (neither am I), maybe a bat by the front door. Maybe even a can of mase. I made sure to have a cordless phone by each door.

Do you have a safe room? A room that you can barracade yourself in if something happens? Always prepare one with locks and such. Even if it's the coat closet.

Just some things to think about, hope this helped.