Anxiety thoughts and could not fall sleep

[Ognjena Mihajlovic]

Well i have 17y.And from april of this year i have anxiety before sleeping...so i have problem to fall asleep...that is very big problem for me cuz i need to get up early to go to school...and like this i am for nothing...please guys help me.

[Fahrenheit]

Hey, there. A lot of people who struggle with anxiety also have trouble sleeping. I had serious insomnia for almost a year while I was suffering from a lot on anxiety. It takes time, patience, and practice to build a toolkit for dealing with managing your anxiety enough to get a good nights rest (and sleeping enough to be able to manage your anxiety!) Here is what has helped me:

1) Meditation: It take time and practice to learn meditation, and the more you do it and the more regularly you do it, the better results you will get. I find guided meditations most useful, because having a voice to focus on keeps me out of my head. There are a lot online. I really like Vipassana mediations, and Body Scan meditations for sleeping. I try to focus on my body, instead of engaging in my thoughts.

2) 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise: Google it. Coupled with mediation, this has helped me, because it required me to count as well as control my breathing. I don't have the headspace to think about anything else, and that helps me sleep!

3) Podcasts: I love podcasts in general, but there are a couple I have on my phone just because I find the voices of the hosts soothing, and that helps me sleep. The ones I listen to for sleep are 'Stories From the Borders of Sleep' and 'Memory Palace' Something about there voices is very comforting, and it feels like being read to by a parent before bed.

4) Everyone says sticking to a bedtime routine helps. What relaxing thing can you do for 30min right before bed? Herbal tea? Read a book?

Also, is there anything in particular you are anxious about? Addressing the anxiety itself is your best shot, as well as developing ways to deal with anxiety when it hits ('cause occasional anxiety is inevitable). Perhaps you are just anxious about sleep itself? I can relate to that!

Hope some of this helps, and you start getting some good rest!

[RoderickLariviere]

I have suffered with insomnia during my panic attacks when my anxiety is at the top... Mediation and exercise will help you to improve your sleep quality and get normal sleep..

[The Intolerable Kid]

Try Valerian root pills or extract, maybe some liquid melatonin. Night time tea is also a good idea.

[Fahrenheit]

Hey, I also wanted to recommend this episode of an anxiety-themed podcast I listen to. The podcast is Anxiety Coaches Podcast and the episode in question is called 7 Ways to Get Sleep When you have anxiety. You can find it on iTunes, podcast apps, and online at there website. http://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/episodes/144-7-ways-to-get-to-sleep-when-you-have-anxiety-acp-classics

[Ognjena Mihajlovic]

Well, that start from april this year... i couldn't fall asleep and immediatly anxiety appeared... and always before sleeping ( sometimes all day) i think about what if i couldnot fall asleep tonight ? Idk what happens with me...like some thoughts...i haven't that before guys, never. I don' want that thoughts be all day with me. Maybe will be good to contact psychotherapist? I google all this months about sleeping and insomnia...and i listen meditation on youtube 30min before sleep...and sometimes happens hat i fall asleep
immediately but i at one wake up at 3am or later,just idk why. :(

[Fahrenheit]

Do you know what is causing your anxiety? Do you just have anxiety about sleep or other stuff as well? Or do you feel a lot of anxiety and you don't know why?

I think at least contacting a therapist for a preliminary session is a great idea. The right therapist can help you figure out what is happening, identify causes and problem area, and give you the skills and support to work through them. If you have the resources to see a therapist, I think you really should!

Let us know how you are doing! Wishing you some peace and good, deep, restful sleep.

[Nervous Ninny]

Are you having any caffeine in take, pop, coffee, tea sometimes that will start to effect you when it wasn't before.

[MainerMikeBrown]

Before year 2000, it usually took me two hours or so to get to sleep after going to bed. In 2000, I started taking psychiatric meds, and I still do. And since 2000, I usually get to sleep within a half hour after going to bed.

[MiST]

When I can't sleep, I just get up and do something really boring until I feel sleepy again. Just laying in bed procrastinating is never good.

[MainerMikeBrown]

Reading a book for a while can make you sleepy if you're having trouble getting sleep.

[MiST]

Reading a book for a while can make you sleepy if you're having trouble getting sleep.

Yea, something boring like fifty shades of grey..LOL

[Ognjena Mihajlovic]

[QUOTE=MainerMikeBrown;222668]Before year 2000, it usually took me two hours or so to get to sleep after going to bed. In 2000, I started taking psychiatric meds, and I still do. And since 2000, I usually get to sleep within a half hour after going to bed.[/QUOTE
What helped you?

[Ognjena Mihajlovic]

what if i need to go early in school tomorrow?

[Ognjena Mihajlovic]

Do you know what is causing your anxiety? Do you just have anxiety about sleep or other stuff as well? Or do you feel a lot of anxiety and you don't know why?

I think at least contacting a therapist for a preliminary session is a great idea. The right therapist can help you figure out what is happening, identify causes and problem area, and give you the skills and support to work through them. If you have the resources to see a therapist, I think you really should!

Let us know how you are doing! Wishing you some peace and good, deep, restful sleep.


anxiety about sleep, fear that i will not fall asleep and not be able to be restful next day....
I think all day about that if i couldnot fall asleep tonight. :(

[Fahrenheit]

anxiety about sleep, fear that i will not fall asleep and not be able to be restful next day....
I think all day about that if i couldnot fall asleep tonight. :(

Every since I was really young I had trouble falling asleep. Anxiety definitely makes that worse, and it kind of forced me to come up with ways to help myself get sleep. I still struggle with it, there is no magic button that will get you to fall asleep. I think one of the really important things you can do from the beginning is accept that sometimes you will get really shitty sleep. There will be days where you have to function on maybe 2 hours of sleep. Learn that you are able to get through those days. Then, start working on building a practice that will allow you to fall asleep better. That will take TIME, so you have to be patient with yourself. But if you do practice these things everyday (meditation, etc.) they will begin to help, and you will see that you have more power over calming down and relaxing enough to sleep. So that is possible - but even your strongest tools won't work every time. It took me a long time to make peace with that, but I think now that I HAVE when I do have a hard night, I can handle it better.

You are telling me you are having trouble sleeping because you worry about sleep and that makes it worse. I relate to that. But what you are worried about is probably the future - you are worried about what it will be like to go to school the next day being really tired. You are worried you will not be at your best, and so may not do as well in class for that day or may not behave socially the way you would like. I do that to. I always want to put my best self forward, and anything that makes me feel tired or sick stresses me out because I feel like I will be 'less than.' So, try just giving yourself the permission to be tired. Try telling yourself 'I will be tired tomorrow and I might not do the best at everything, but that is okay.' Once you give yourself that permission, and let go of that fear of being 'less than' your best, and accept it as just a normal part of life, some of that sleep anxiety will ease. The problem is, you are putting all the pressure on how your day is going to turn out on the quality of your sleep (which is, of course, super important, so that is understandable) - but by doing that, you are turning sleep into a obstacle or a problem to be solved. And it is really hard to relax when you are approaching it that way. I speak from experience when I say that. ;) If you tell yourself it is okay to be sleepy tomorrow, and maybe even the next day, on the third day you will probably get some sleep.

I don't know. I hope that helps and made some kind of sense. I struggle with this a lot as well, so I understand how frustrating it can be.