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no sleep all year

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor17 Dec 2020, 1:52 am AEDT

no sleep all year

Hi all,

i'm new here and thought i'd try make a post to meet some ppl here and find out how this place works 🙂

I've always been a poor sleeper but this year I have become phobic about sleep, obsessed with past trumatic events which I keep reliving on loop, and am terrified to even get in my bed -

When I do sleep it's usually from sheer exhaustion and I collapse into a muddy, heavy sleep with horrible nightmares.
Have tried to get help but feel misudnerstood and upset somtimes when my experience is simplified. Like i'm not trying or am broken just because I can't sleep. I haven't really shared this struggle with any friends.
I work on very little sleep and also have no choice but to drive etc.
Every so often I go somewhere on a holiday or trip and somehow feel safe and protected from my life and problems, and maange to sleep okay for a few nights until I get home and the bad cycle starts again. Thanks for reading. Hope everyone's having a good night

30 replies

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In response to: no sleep all year

PlantLoverSenior Contributor18 Apr 2021, 8:35 pm AEST

Re: no sleep all year

Thanks @Shaz51

Are you doing okay at the moment?

In response to: no sleep all year

Dark_OlenaSenior Contributor23 Apr 2021, 5:11 pm AEST

Re: no sleep all year

Hi @EternalFlower,
I just wanted to add, the 'Insight Timer' app. Sarah Blondin is so caressing to the mind and her voice lulls me to the parasympathetic state which induces relax and sleep. She calls me 'Dear One' .There is so much helpful advice on here. So many lovely members.

In response to: Re: no sleep all year

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor15 Sept 2021, 11:08 pm AEST

Re: no sleep all year

i'm sorry i suck at using this space, i was scared by the tagging and felt i would stuff it up!

but here i am!

yay.

insight timer, what is it exactly? ive had it recommended to me by a few ppl on helplines.... would love to hear ur thoughts

sending big hugs to all.

In response to: no sleep all year

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor17 Mar 2022, 10:30 pm AEDT

Re: no sleep all year

Hi there

Just popping back

Still sleepless, did see a sleep specialist which has confirmed and validated mh concerns...

It's scary as I'm feeling like a weirdo

Ie why can't I sleep....what's wrong with me?

In response to: Re: no sleep all year

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor18 Mar 2022, 11:41 pm AEDT

Re: no sleep all year

Hi all

I'm really grateful for u all for welcoming me when I came here!

I still hate my bedroom but can see I have moved from where I was at...

I take an anti psychotic now which was mentioned here as helpful for sleep, somehow I ended up being prescribed it in the Ed once when I was suicidal...and it was helpful, so I kept taking it.

I have a psychiatrist and did a sleep study.

The sleep study said that I'm in weird place between sleep and awake at night, wirh a very active mind, when I should be resting

I have been upset about this.

This is what I felt, that even when I do get sleep, it's not really sleep, I don't get that calm benefit and experience panic even when asleep

I feel unsafe in my messy apartment wirh little privacy and i feel like mentally at rest time my mind is like old school flight mode, running from a perceived tiger...

Hope Ur all OK

In response to: Re: no sleep all year

Shaz51Senior Contributor19 Mar 2022, 2:04 pm AEDT

Re: no sleep all year

hello @EternalFlower , @Dark_Olena , @PlantLover , @Surfer37 , @Otter

how are you going today , we are here for you

In response to: Re: no sleep all year

Lola2000Casual Contributor24 Sept 2022, 8:26 pm AEST

Re: no sleep all year

I totally get it. Sleeps such a natural thing why can’t I just sleep?

In response to: Re: no sleep all year

Lola2000Casual Contributor24 Sept 2022, 8:28 pm AEST

Re: no sleep all year

Sorry you are struggling. Insomnia and anxiety are a horrible mix. Hope you are getting some sleep

In response to: Re: no sleep all year

tymeModerator24 Sept 2022, 9:15 pm AEST

Re: no sleep all year

Dear @Lola2000 ,

I hear you on this! I was an insomniac for years! Yes, sleep in natural, but I had to re-learn to sleep.

After stressful events in my life, I would lie awake in bed day after day after day. The more I wanted to sleep, the less sleep i got. My MH deteriorated to the point where I was barely functioning.

In the end, a cocktail of meds knocked me out (not the best way). By having these meds at a particular time each evening, I began developing a sleep routine. This went on for years. After, my meds were reduced, then changed so I no longer had the 'knock-out' effect. But I was determined to make this work. I had PRN meds in case I couldn't sleep for days on end, but really, my body was much better trained.

Now, I have maintenance meds which do somewhat aid sleeping, but doesn't knock me out. All in all, my sleep is much better. During some stressful periods, I might need a prn med, but I certainly do not rely on it.

If sleep routines and sleep hygiene hasn't helped, and your sleepless nights are affecting your functioning, I would encourage you to seek medical advice.

Otherwise, maybe some specific sleep strategies can help such as not having caffeine after a certain time, reducing blue light etc.

All the best,

tyme

In response to: no sleep all year

JadejContributor30 Sept 2022, 5:26 am AEST

Re: no sleep all year

Hi I really relate...i feel like I'm being robbed. And of course it compounds other problems. The nightmares are a real difficulty. They are so destructive. Like you I uses to look forward to a ZZZ but now I dread. I run. It helps. I know I've helped create this cycle I think we have to uncreate it?

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