Telling therapist info

[123456789]

I was wondering what you all may think. I have been going to a therapist about my anxiety and depression. I recently admitted to him that I smoke pot. I also see a nurse practitioner there that prescribes my medication. I know she can see notes from my sessions with my therapist. After I told him about my pot use, I also told him that my sleeping medication for my insomnia was causing stomach pain. He said he would get back in touch with me to have the medication changed. The nurse practitioner had someone else contact me and told me now just to take melatonin. I feel like it is because I told my therapist about my pot use. They are really against prescribing meds at all there. I guess because the area I live in has a lot of drug abuse. I feel really upset though because my insomnia is out of control and I feel like being told to take melatonin is a slap in the face. Like she is not taking me seriously.

[Nowuccas]

Hey 123456789,

A previous post on insomnia follows, modified for you:

Exercise, preferably 6 hours before, but not within 2 hours of bedtime.

Have a warm bath, or shower, an hour before bedtime, then a glass of very warm milk, possibly with Horlicks, or one of the herbal teas, below, and use dimmer lighting. Your bedroom should be very dark, with the lights out, and a good sleeping temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, or 19 degrees Centigrade. Put your mind in a position where it wants to shut itself off, and sleep. View http://umm.edu/sleep/relax_tech.htm The progressive muscle relaxation, http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html is very easily learned; guided imagery, or mindfulness breathing https://www.verywell.com/mindfulness-meditation-88369 is known to be effective, or www.wikihow.com/Meditate

Find out which works best for you, in the daylight hours, so you will be prepared, come bedtime. For many people, a good idea is to develop a set "wind down" routine for the last hour before bedtime, so your subconscious mind learns that it is time to put thinking aside, and prepare for mindfulness, (awareness, without cogitation/purposeful thought) in preparation for sleep.

The idea with mindfulness is to not even think about sleeping: just drift off, naturally, during exercising those techniques.

Avoid TV, computer, or anything exciting in this hour, although reading a BORING! book is a good idea. Experiment, to find which combination works best for you. No coffee, tea, or other caffeine within 6 hrs of bedtime!

Try a cup of chamomile herbal tea, an hour before bedtime. Others may prefer Sleepytime, by Celestial Seasonings, Relax, Be Sleepy, or valerian root (valerian "hangovers" possible), etc., from supermarket tea, or health food aisles. Milk, or cream should not be used with herbal tea. Get up and do something, like read a book, if you can't sleep within 20 mns. Personally, I prefer to use word/phrase repetition for a short time, changing over to mindfulness breathing; however, you may well find another method more effective.

The following EMDR variant came from a book on treating insomnia for the depressed; I use it every night, and it is well worth trying. It seems to reduce distractions during the mindfulness relaxation methods, so I use it first. Keeping your head still, move your eyes first to the far left, then far right, and repeat this another 19 times. Each full sweep should take around a second. If you like, you can either subvocalise, or repeat: "one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand ... up to twenty.

After this, allow your body to go limp, and relax for a short time. Then repeat the whole exercise, limpness, and relaxation twice. This may well be all you need. Others may require another round of the above. Before beginning the EMDR variant, I take a whiff of lavender essential oil in both nostrils; some people prefer a drop, or two on their pillow. This provides a strong cue to the subconscious mind to prepare for sleep. 85% of people are suggestible, to some extent, so consider professional hypnotherapy, or hypnosisdownloads.com has: Fall Asleep Fast, Drift Off To Sleep, Sleep and Dream, or Sleep Like a Child, or instant-hypnosis.com has: Beat Insomnia, Quiet Blissful Sleep, Enjoy Deep Sleep, or Restorative Healing Sleep.

Try the free sleep aid at: soundsleeping.com/ You could try melatonin (pharmacies, health food, vitamin stores or some supermarkets) for a few nights only; more can interfere with the brain's natural production of it.

Sleeping tablets should only be used for a maximum of a few weeks, and preferably much less; a few nights.

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Check out https://www.google.com.au/search?client=opera&q=vitamin+d+deficiency+insomnia&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

"To this, I would add melatonin, which is both a hormone and an antioxidant: Magnesium deficiency can cause insomnia. Lack of potassium can lead to difficulty staying asleep throughout the night. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to excessive daytime sleepiness." Aug 15, 2013
Tips for Sleeping Better | Vitamins & Minerals - Mercola
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/15/nutrients-better-sleep.aspx
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Vitamin D Hormone | Sleep, Chronic Pain, and Headaches
drgominak.com/vitamin-d-hormone.html
Vitamin D levels lower than 40 ng/ml, (now considered “normal “ since the widespread use of air-conditioning), cause sleep disorders; insomnia, sleep apnea, REM related apnea, unexplained awakenings to light sleep, inappropriate body movements during sleep.

Bulletproof Your Sleep with Vitamin D | When to Take Vitamin D
https://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-your-sleep-with-vitamin-d/
Although subtle, more than half of the world population is vitamin D deficient! (1) ...... My terrible insomnia that began two years ago coincided with daytime chest ...

Vitamin D Deficiency Could Explain Your Restless Nights - All Body ...
bodyecology.com › Blog › Brain Health
If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, vitamin D deficiency could be to blame.

Insomnia: Vitamin D Solved Sleep Problem - The People's Pharmacy
www.peoplespharmacy.com/2012/11/12/vitamin-d-solved-sleep-problem/
Rating: 4.2 - ‎31 votes
Nov 12, 2012 - Q. A few years ago I was plagued with insomnia. ... A. Low levels of vitamin D can result in sleeping problems along with depression, muscle ...

Sleep Support - Addressing the Sleep-Pain- Anxiety/Depression ...
www.needs.com › Articles › Sleep Support
The issues of neurotransmitter imbalances, Vitamin D deficiency, and low ... Low serotonin can cause anxiety, depression, insomnia, and enhanced pain ...

"Vitamin D3 Cured my Anxiety, Depression, and Panic Disorder", (by another forum member) is at http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?12695-Vitamin-D3-Cured-my-Anxiety-Depression-and-Panic-Disorder&highlight=vitamin

VITAMIN D: View my post at http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?34912-I-can-t-breathe-or-relax&p=228476#post228476

ANXIETY: http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?33964-New-to-the-site-and-looking-for-help&p=223989#post223989

DEPRESSION: http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?32707-has-this-happend-to-you&p=216510#post216510

[Kirk]

I would try the Melatonin, as I know of people who it really worked well for.

[123456789]

I would try the Melatonin, as I know of people who it really worked well for.

Thanks. I have taken lots of melatonin in the past. Going to a therapist and her was a last resort. I wish taking an over the counter supplement would get rid of my inability to sleep and then staying exhausted throughout the day but it doesn't.

[Kirk]

I am older now at 59. I pretty much always fall asleep easily, but I tend to wake up at 2:30-3:30am and sometimes have trouble
falling back to sleep and I can feel crummy when I first get up or in the afternoon the next day.