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DothemoSenior Contributor
In response to: Sleeping too much?
BrogleyCasual Contributor
Dear friend, I have bi polar disorder and when it is hard to live with, I have in the past, coped by sleeping alot, up to 12 hours a day. It was an action to keep myself safe when depair paralized me. I also used to sleep in the car, say, for an hour or more after dropping the grandchildren at school. It helped me by shortening the day and 'resetting' my mood.
Since the middle of last year after a life threatening crisis I have been on a new medication regime that has provided me with a quality of life I thought was lost and gone forever. Even so, the desire to go to bed or stay there can be strong when my brain processes hit turbulence, (usually from over blown negative worrying). By way of example I recently decided that I had somehow offended a very dear friend and went into a mental decline; my mood slipped and I realized that medication alone will not solve all my problems. I need to deal with my negative self talk.
I am now keenly aware that I cannot rely on my brain to think for me by itself because my brain has learned to embrace failure over time. To regain control of who and what I am, I am working on congnative behaviour strategies; I am learning that I can direct my brain into positive territory by thinking about the way I am thinking. For me it is about not letting my negative impulses and thoughts get the better of me. The other day I was feeling depressed and I thought I should go to bed and hibernate; fortunately I could 'see' that my brain was advising me to accept defeat (yet again).I didn't go to bed and after succeeding at a few mundane tasks I was firing on all cylinders again.
I am also trying something new; I have purchased an audio book on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy which turns out to be material for academic study in the US. Very impressive line up of professionals and presented in a way that is fairly easy to understand. I have only listened to the first hour of outline of the course but I am keen to hear more and will make time to do so every day or so. I am determined to make my brain do what I say. I am in charge of my life and need to constantly remind myself (my brain) of that.
Not sure that you were expecting a major rant in response to your question about sleeping a lot, but I suspect that your question stems from you suspecting that depression is the culprit for wanting to over sleep.
I wish you well and urge you to share whats happening to you (anonomously if you like) with others who live with depression; we can make dealing with illness a lot less threatening by swapping stories. I for one would welcome hearing more from you about the challenges you are facing. Best wishes B
In response to: Sleeping too much?
DothemoSenior Contributor
In response to: Re: Sleeping too much?
MazaritaSenior Contributor
Hi @Brogley, welcome to the forum. I too have bipolar and can relate to some of what you said in your interesting post.
Good morning, @Dothemo. Yes, sleeping too much can be part of depression. There are physical conditions that can give rise to it too.
The most extreme instance of sleeping too much for me, was several months in 2008-2009 when I was sleeping close to 20 hours a day. I still fall down week-to-week with sleeping too much, and then on other days sleeping too little, often at the 'wrong' hours of the day.
For basic CBT I went to MoodGym which I found really helpful last year, even though it's geared to people younger than me, such as students (the resource comes from the Australian National University). A thread on the forum that helps me with daily motivation is this one.
In response to: Re: Sleeping too much?
Unknown userMember
Hello @Dothemo,
That sounds really hard sleeping that much and feeling a bit stuck in that pattern, I like @Mazarita ideas about Mood Gym and basic CBT there is also Mindspot who does a similar online program you might like to try -
Mindspot
1800 61 44 34
https://mindspot.org.au/about-depression
Keep us updated @Dothemo, it must be really hard and challenging feeling that way right now
Lunar
In response to: Sleeping too much?
DothemoSenior Contributor
In response to: Sleeping too much?
DothemoSenior Contributor
In response to: Re: Sleeping too much?
MazaritaSenior Contributor
Hi @Dothemo, the Topic Tuesday discussion about recognising and managing bipolar mania was last night. I found it worthwhile reading after the event (couldn't participate because I was out). I'm unwell at the moment so unable to respond in more detail just now. Hope your day is going well.
In response to: Sleeping too much?
DothemoSenior Contributor
In response to: Re: Sleeping too much?
MazaritaSenior Contributor
Thanks, @Dothemo, much better today. 
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Help us push aside the stigma and discrimination surrounding complex mental health and change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.
SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
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