Need help with sleep anxiety

[jalan]

Hi everyone. I am a new member, but a long-time sufferer. I have alway had a problem with insomnia. It has gotten to the point that the thought of getting to bed every night fills me with feelings of dread, to outright panic. I have read a lot on CBT programs, that tell me everything can be changed by positive thinking, Do sleep meds give you anything more than a temporary cure? I've tried Ambien and Lunesta. They help me sometimes, but I knowI red to get at the underlying anxiety. When those feelings of dread come over me, it makes me feel so weak, alone, and small. I just want to scream. I am surrounded by other people, but feel so isolated and afraid. Anyone have any personal advice or experience? I appreciate any help from anyone. Peace.

[Dahila]

I am sorry Jalan I had not seen your post. Maybe you should think about meditation. I will link you to guided meditation so you may see what it is about. I suffer with insomnia for years, for the last 7 years I had not sleep without the pill.
read me please (http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?27912-Guided-Meditation&highlight=guided+meditation)
click on the blue "read me please"
I had welcome you in the chat room :)

[AnxiousPsychGrad]

Meditation and medication were key for me. I went about two weeks sleeping only 30 minutes to 2 hours a day (& that was only because my body could not go anymore). I downloaded an app called HeadSpace -- someone on this forum suggested it -- and used it for 5 days and my sleeping began to increase tremendously. My doctor also prescribed Klonopin which I do not suggest taking unless absolutely needed. It's highly addictive. I try to limit myself to one pill a week at most.

You must realize that without sleep, your anxiety will only get worse. The thought of that makes you cringe, I know. Been there. Just know that this is all temporary... :)

[Exactice]

Hey Jalan, I had issues with sleep and it went away and even now it comes back, this is what helped and or helps now.

1) I had panic attacks of sleeping, I was worrying my self trying to force myself to sleep and that made it worse. The first step for me was taking the worrying out of sleep. Yes sleep is important, but I told myself, its ok if I dont sleep today, I know I will eventually get tired and just sleep.

2) Realizing that any type of sleep is good, At first I was trying to force 8 hours of sleep...... but that caused more stress and anxiety. So I told myself, if I can get 1/2hour, if I can get 2 hours, what ever amount of sleep I will be fine. Slowly but surely..... 1/2 hour turned into an hour, an hour turned into 2 and then I began sleep 6+ hours.

3) I sleep with music/earphones in, I like noise and it help, I have been sleeping with so "Hypnotherapy" lessons. 3 of them about 1/2hour each, I never make it past the first one as I fall asleep. Try it they have a bunch on youtube and many downloadable content!


Good luck my friend, dont force it, your body will rest eventually. 1/2 hour is better than nothing. It will take time!

[Prayer for Anxiety]

I just posted this on another thread, so sorry for the cut and paste:

For healthy sleep you should remember:

-Try to go to be and get up at the same time every day (the same waking time is especially important)
-Don't use phone, computer, tablet at least 15-30 minutes before bed (light stimulates the brain unnaturally at night)
-Try to get around 6.5 - 8.5 hours sleep each night
-Avoid caffeine, chocolate, sugar, and alcohol before bedtime
-Avoid naps over 25 minutes long during the day
-Sleeping pills are never as restorative as natural sleep
-Daily exercise leads to better sleep

Does this help?

[Dahila]

naps are ok as long as they are not taken later in the day. 1 pm is the latest. sleeping pills are a b***ch so avoid them, use meditation. or like EXactice said do what we do; sleep with the headphones on :))
Exercise and shower not on the evening cause you will not sleep. the best is in the morning. milk, or herbal teas are ok before bed, eat some fruit so your need for sugar will not keep you up. Good luck:))
Keep us posted please:)

[jalan]

Wow. I am really touched by the help everyone. I have decided to work on some CBT issues, like looking to ignore anxiety triggers and dispel some of the terrible rumors we tell ourselves about sleep. It is amazing how similar the lists are. If I don't sleep..... fill in the blank. Exactice, that is really good advice. I'm also trying to work on some better sleep hygiene things. What I hate are how those negative thoughts just creep up on you. I know you need to let them go, but it is so hard not to engage. I have been reacting poorly to those thoughts fro so many years, I wonder how long it will take to reprogram myself. Is it something I will always hear? Does my subconscious ever let up on those thoughts?

[raggamuffin]

You mention CBT but go into no fiurther detail. Have you practiced the daily exercises rigorously without fail? CBT takes a lot of time, commitment and willpower. But you then go straight to medications. They won't address roiot causes of anxiety, but CBT will. Meds are a band aid. I wouldn't be looking into a short term fix for insomnia as those sleeping aid medications can be addictive and you can build up tolerances. not only that, but when you come off them insomnia will be much worse.

CBT and meditation will be invaluable in helping you overcome anxiety, if you have the dedication and commitment to seeing it through to it's conclusion. This isn't an overnight cure or a quick fix like popping a pill. It will take many months of hard work.

Ed

[jalan]

raggamuffin,

No, I have not tried CBT in depth, nor have I tried meditation without fail. I have been suffering from this for a long time and am really just looking for advice as to how to start addressing it. I know it is going to take a long time. CBT seems to be pretty effective from what I have read, but I am under no illusion that it is a quick fix. I know I am in for a lot of hard work. I was just looking at this site as a forum of support for starting to tackle things. Thank you for your insights though Ed. I appreciate help from anyone who has gone through this.

[Dahila]

Jalan as the above gentlemen said hard work, dedication and finding good happy thoughts to replace the bad ones. focusing your energy is good but do it without effort but be consistent ,and you are going to be a master of that slave; Anxiety;))

[Rini18]

Hi Jalan I am also a new member! I understand your problems completely because I have the same ones. I also have extreme paranoia at night when I try to sleep. I didn't think you said you had that also. I also have a solution that helps me (as silly as it sounds): I have a stuffed Pokemon doll my boyfriend got me as a funny gift for Valentines Day. I decided to keep it in bed with me while I slept one night just to try it and it completely soothed me! It kinda smelled like his cologne and reminded me of him and I passed out! Now anytime I have sleep problems I use it and it always works!
So my suggestion is to find an item that is comforting. Whether it's something you just have yourself or someone meaningful has given it to you, it might just work! Or if you think I'm silly for doing this myself I can understand that! I'm sure a lot of people do lol! :)
Sorry for the long post and I hope things get better for you!

[Exactice]

Wow. I am really touched by the help everyone. I have decided to work on some CBT issues, like looking to ignore anxiety triggers and dispel some of the terrible rumors we tell ourselves about sleep. It is amazing how similar the lists are. If I don't sleep..... fill in the blank. Exactice, that is really good advice. I'm also trying to work on some better sleep hygiene things. What I hate are how those negative thoughts just creep up on you. I know you need to let them go, but it is so hard not to engage. I have been reacting poorly to those thoughts fro so many years, I wonder how long it will take to reprogram myself. Is it something I will always hear? Does my subconscious ever let up on those thoughts?

Hey Jalan, Awwww the negative thoughts that creep up. This one was a very tricky one for me but I learned an awesome technique. First, is having bad thoughts really bad? Seriously ask yourself? Is it really bad? Honestly I dont think it is. Bad thoughts are there to make you appreciate how good the good really is. What I mean is, we all and I mean everyone has bad, negative thoughts. Some thoughts are very difficult, but the reason it seems so much more is that we are more aware of them, and in stead of just accept they are there. We think something is wrong with, because we are thinking of them.

So when a negative thought comes on, dont automatically think OMG something is wrong with me! I have problems. You have to train yourself, to say, "awww man I have a negative thought". Something sucks and its making me think crappy, meh......its probably something stupid and you have to move along from it. Dont concentrate so hard on "WHY" you are having the thought, its very normal and nothing is wrong with you. Focus on what triggered it and then laugh as I realize that something did trigger it, a movie, a stupid client etc.......

Does your subconscious ever let up absolutely, the only difference is when you start to worry less about them do they not affect you. We have become so sensitive to every single thing that happens to our bodies now, that anything that seems out of place.... Automatically we think something is wrong with us. Imagine as a kid, we never knew about any of this stuff and why did it never bother us? Because we never focused on it?

Dont you remember be a fearless child, because innocently we didnt know any better. Only now we are more aware and put much more deeper thoughts.

So again.... Long story short.... dont focus on the fact that you are having negative thoughts something is WRONG. Nothing is wrong, but focus on what triggered it and laugh at the trigger and move on =)

Hang in there, slow is smooth, smooth is fast!!!