paranoid at night and scared...help?

That is an absolutely horrible answer! Xanax? What an asshole!

I used to be like this when I was young and grew out of it. I know exactly what's happening. Being paranoid and scared at nighttime kept our ancestors alive. Especially young people who are vulnerable. The brain plays tricks on your and imagines things to protect you.

You ever think you see something out of the corner of your eye and you look and it's nothing? As a kid imagined that dark pile of clothes in the corner had a monster in it? There's a reason for this. It keeps us alive! It's just that we don't live in the wild anymore, we've built houses.

So what I'm saying is that it's perfectly natural and your brain is actually working as it is designed to do! Maybe you're just naturally more sensitive than others. Maybe you needed more security and peace when you were developing and didn't get it.

It doesn't matter, what I would do is try and communicate to the deep, ancient centers in your brain that is making this happen. You need to connect your rational knowledge that there is nothing dangerous with the animal paranoid parts. Think about it, you just need to take control of it! It's like an automatic program that will just keep going unless you stop it.

Do whatever it takes to make you feel safe in your house. Make sure things are locked when you're alone, install an alarm system, do active things that make yourself feel better. Force yourself to think thoughts about safety. Imagine a guardian angel striking down all of the imaginary baddies or something.

The point is that you can totally take control of your life and people who tell you to take drugs are not your friends.