Can't sleep !!!

Hi @Tchef
Not being able to sleep Is one of the worst parts of everything for me, it makes everything else so much harder to deal with. And not going to give you the list of sleep hygiene and tips etc because i've tried everything and it doesnt work for me and is sometimes so frustrating to hear :). I hope that you are able to get some naps or rests in today though!
Take care

Hey @Former-Member
I'm so exhausted but everytime I lay down I get panic attack, so I can't get to the stage where I can use the breathing excerises, can't even think straight but yet I can't stop my brain from going on over drive, makes me want to scream!

I can understand that frustration. I have bad nightmares most nights and its very hard to try and relax at night enough to try and sleep, knowing that i will soon be awake again with that stuff. I often try to stay distracted in different ways until im so exhausted i might fall asleep a bit quicker but.... its still tough. I wish there was an 'easy' solution...

@Tchef - I get something similar when I'm really wound up. Lying down seems to make the anxiety worse. Have you ever tried to do breathing exercises while walking. It might not work for you, but for me going on a really big walk and concentrating on breathing deeply helps me. But when I was doing this I was lucky to live in a place where I could safely walk around at night. It might help?

Hi @Tchef - I hear you re: sleep issues. I have one suggestion that might help. Have you thought about setting a period of time aside, say 15mins to half hour as Worry Time? You sit down and do nothing but write down your worries of today only, worries of tommorow & maybe some strategies to help. You can do it like journal writing, bullet points or whatever works best for you. Get a really nice notebook that's specifically for this purpose. Once that time is done, you're not supposed to spend any more time on it. Let me know your thoughts on whether this helps.

Hi@5-HT
The thing is that I'm exhausted ( very sleepy) and when thinking great I can fall asleep then as soon as I lay down that's when my demons come. When I walk around, I literally fall asleep standing but as soon as I lay I get panic attack and feel like I can't breathe. Starting lithium tonight, god I hope this works. I'm getting so sick of dealing with this, if wasn't for my kids (dogs), I would have thrown in the towel

Looks like it's going to be night 2 of no sleep!!! Yay not !! So sick of this shit

here with you 😞 @Tchef

sorry to hear that your not sleeping properly . it must be hard for you. have you tried having a shower before going to bed or reading @Tchef

Hey bubbles3
I've tried a few different techniques, nothing seems to work, I'm so exhausted, and the fricken demons come out at night!!!!!