Sleep (General)

[dobsd]

Hey all,
I just wanted a bit of help and maybe advice on some sleep problems I've been having.
Most of my life I've had sleep problems such as not being able to sleep, being very tired on waking, extremely vivid/disturbing dreams. But recently, I've been having this problem where, as I'm falling asleep it's like I can feel myself 'falling', and I suddenly jerk awake and feel like I have stopped breathing. This goes on for at least half an hour before I finally fall asleep and I have no idea what it is or what may have caused it. It's very scary as I start worrying that if I don't wake myself up, I will stop breathing.
Has anybody else had this problem, and if so, what is it? It's driving me mad!