wow...that's pretty much exactly my problem...i never sleep without something on the t.v. either...and i'll be out with my friends and it'll just hit me, and i'll start screaming and they look at me like i'm retarded or on acid or something...it sucks because i feel like i can't go out and do anything anymore without freaking out at any given time.
I freak out most nights, too, Prismatism. I don't know what it is, but my mind races before bed and I can't sleep and I panic and start bawling and freaking out. Probably the reason I stay up so late until I'm barely hanging onto consciousness. I have had so many panic attacks...They suck because they're so scary. One landed me in the hospital getting X-rays and junk because I couldn't breathe.