Anxiety About Sleeping - Need help!

[8damien8]

Hey guys,

I am having a lot of problems falling asleep at night. I just don't feel like I can "shut off".

It all started back in December, right after getting married, and moving into a house with my wife for the first time. The first couple of weeks, I was having a lot of trouble sleeping, most, falling asleep.

Then my doctor gave me a script for Zopiclone, and I basically used it (2.5-5mg) every night for a month. I was feeling really dependent on the drug, so I decided to try sleeping without out. NOTHING! Couldn't get to sleep at all.

So I went back to it. Since then, I sometimes try using Ativan, Klonopin, and Seroquel.

I've been using these sleep meds for roughly 3 months now, on a nightly basis, and I'm starting to get worried.

I want off them, and I want to sleep naturally, but I just can't seem to "shut off". I'm super anxious about sleep now as well, so as it approached, I get nervous, and even get hot flashes and anxiety while I'm in bed.

Has anyone been here?

[mellymel]

Have you tried any deep breathing or meditation? That always helps me, I usually fall asleep before my guided meditation is over.

[AliasEQ]

Hey Damien,

Yeah I had this problem too. What you need to do:

Exercise - Make sure you train hard to burn all of them stress hormones.

B-vitamins and magnesium - The B-vitamins will make you sleep like a baby. Magnesium will help to control your central nervous system.

Breathing techniques/meditation - Sounds like "meehh". But really give it a try, in 1-2 weeks, you'll actually see a difference. Here's a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8rkznuoHBs

Cut back on all the caffeine/alcohol/sugar - Just for now, cut back on the caffeine/sugar/alcohol.

Use the bed only for two things - Sleep and making luuuv. Nothing else. It's a place where you're supposed to relax.

I hope this helps :)

Elias

[Kabukicho]

The only effective (okay, semi-effective, really) non-pharmaceutical options are, I believe: Hard daily exercise, no caffeine, no nicotine, no alcohol, and mindfulness / meditation / "Not being afraid of insomnia."

But doing all of those only cuts into my insomnia by maybe 25%.

I take Xanax to sleep. I am addicted to it, and that's scary, but it makes me very functional and very happy and I sleep like a baby.

[socaltouch14]

Damien i have same problem since i had my panic attack last week. Im on med fo sleep but its choppy sleep and i question if i even sleep. My wife says i toss and turn a lot and even sleep with my eyes open, which is somethig i did on occasions b4 all this mess started. Try magnesium it could help, ive had it 2 days and it helps a lil i suppose.

[Chatative]

Google sleep hygiene.

I have had varying degrees of insomnia since I was a teenager & if it wasn't for my good bedtime routine, I'd probably rarely get a good nights sleep. Apart from the past few months, I've actually slept extremely well by doing this.

AliasEQ has covered many things that help but things which help me are:

Low Light - Light can inhibit Melatonin production which will make it harder to get to & stay asleep. I have always used low lighting in the evenings... I can't stand having the main lights on in a room! Blue light from Laptops, iPads, iPhones etc. can have a small impact too, so try to avoid them immediately before bed or if you can't sleep.

Winding down - have a routine. If your mind is active then you will have trouble sleeping. You may think watching TV is restful but it is quite stimulating for your mind. Try reading for 30 mins to an hour before bed. This works wonders for me. If I read over 2 hours in an evening, I sleep like a baby!


Worrying if you will get a good nights sleep in & of itself will make it harder to sleep. A good piece of advice I found is to try not to check what time it is constantly if you can't get to sleep or if you have woken up. I've always checked what time it is upon waking all my life, so it's too hard for me to stop but I know at least not to stress about it.

I have no experience of dependence on medication to sleep, I'm sure that has an impact but I've always been of the opinion that it generally makes things worse if used over the long term. If you continue to rely on medication to sleep, your problems will only get worse... it's no different to being dependent on recreational drugs in many respects.

[TB1]

As someone who recently suffered from a few bad months of sleep anxiety, I feel for you. I had a talk about this with my counselor today, and I can feel it trying to flare up in me again. I don't know if this will help you exactly, but try to look into yourself and see what exactly makes you so anxious about not being able to fall asleep at night. Are you specifically or primarily scared of the health problems associated with insomnia? Do you think the next day will fall apart because you can't get to sleep? Is it the thought of losing control of yourself that's keeping you up? Finding the root cause of your problems can help you come up with a plan to deal with them.

And definitely look into what the other people in this thread are saying, especially regarding the deep-breathing exercises and the natural supplements.