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View Full Version : It's all OK but sleep?



Dogman
09-09-2011, 06:48 AM
I had anxiety for this past 2 months. Initially it was very difficult to accept and all, but in about a week or 2 I took control of my life again. I started doing things in my daily life again and everything. Especially doing exercise fized me greatly and I'm not on any medicine, so far.

This condition does not annoy me that much in daily life, I can keep myself busy and be okay with it. Its when I go to bed, life turns into hell, it also makes me a pessimist and depressive. Why me?
This anxiety can sometimes tire you, its like you don't want to have to fight with it. It makes you feel like your life now, is a struggle.

Its summer right now, but how will I deal with this when school starts, when I'll have to get a sleep schedule, how will I concentrate on books?
Is there a good way to sleep better at nights? Also will medicine such as lustral make me feel pre-anxiety again?

Anxiety beater
09-09-2011, 11:14 AM
Hi Dogman - I feel for you, it's dreadful when you can't sleep at night. But the truth is, we all sometimes go through phases when we don't sleep too well - it becomes a problem when we start worrying about it - the more you obsess about not sleeping, the worse it's likely to get. There are a few practical things you can do to help. For example, it's good to try to get into a regular bed-time routine - try going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time each day, even on weekends, so your body gets into a rhythm. And no matter how tired you feel during the day, DON'T CAT-NAP!!! Save your sleep up for the night. Also, try avoiding things like alcohol, tea and coffee or other stimulants a few hours before bed. If you can't get to sleep or wake up in the night and can't get back to sleep, don't just lie there worrying about it, it's better to get up and do something non-stimulating until you feel tired (but keep the lights low, as bright light will tell your brain it's time to get up). If it's specific worries playing on your mind that are stopping you from sleeping, try writing them down and make an action plan for how you'll deal with them in the morning - sometimes putting worries down on paper helps to get them off your mind. The main thing is to reassure yourself that it's not the end of the world, that you'll get to sleep eventually - and if you have a bad night, you'll still cope tomorrow, and in time your sleep will improve. The more you get frustrated and down about it, the more tense you'll get and the harder it will be to sleep. Playing relaxing music can help, too - but try to avoid watching TV just before bed, that can make matters worse. Try to stop fighting your anxiety - we always empower the things we fight - when you fight it you give it strength. May sound mad, but if you can try to accept it, you may find it loses some of its power over you. Medication doesn't usually help much with insomnia - if you're not sleeping BECAUSE you're depressed, an anti-depressant might help, but if it's due to tension and anxiety medication is best avoided - sleeping tablets are likely to become a problem in themselves as you're likely to become addicted to them if you're on them for any length of time - you'll end up paying for short-term relief with a worse problem in the long term. I'm sure you have the resources in yourself to overcome this problem - you are greater than your anxiety. I wish you well - and some peaceful nights' sleep!