Stress Center Peer Support

Hi everyone...

For the past 3 nights I have had some serious trouble sleeping. It all started with me laying in bed trying to force myself to sleep because it was 2:30 in the morning and I had to be up by 6:30am. I stood in bed tossing and turning to the point I started to get that nervous feeling in the stomach. Well I didn't sleep much..maybe 3 hours on and off..Well now thanks to that night, I haven't been able to sleep for the fear of "not being able to sleep" and when I go to bed I start getting that anxious feeling and I start telling myself "I'm not sleepy" and that I can't sleep and I find myself looking at the time and panicing because it is so late and I'm not getting any sleep..and then I start to feel like "oh no--I'm going to go through the anxiety again after I thought I was over it.....I have the program and SHAME ON ME because I only did it upto lesson 5(that was about 2 years ago), and I know if I would have done it all the way, maybe I could handle this better....I started using the relaxation cd last night, but nothing...I felt relaxed but I didn't get to sleep and I'm still shaky and out of it as of right now......Please help!!! Any suggestions?

My insomnia comes and goes. I too have been struggling the last three or four nights. I turn my clock toward the wall so I can't look at it every five minutes. I feel drained today, but am thankful for what little sleep I did get. I keep telling myself the weekend is coming and I can get back on track then.

I am going through the same thing, I take melatonin to make me sleepy and sometimes still i just toss and turn i guess that trick is just telling your self that you will get what sleep you get and be okay with it. I had insomnia 2 years ago its what triggred my insomnia it resolved its self but it lasted a good 9 months so when i started not sleeping again i freaked and doubled the anxity. Also If you eat carbs late at night (after six) it takes your body a good 6-8 hours to digest that. eight hours takes you till about 2 in the morning that was part of my problem i found that i was able to sleep around 2 on good nights. Let me know if you find anything that works. I just stargted the program yesterday

I'm on a product that is wonderful for this. It also gives you the get up and go in the morning instead of the sluggish feeling I had in the past. I have a woman coming here tomorrow who has a sleep problem for years. If you are interested PM me with your phone number and the best time to call. I love getting help thru here, thru the nutrional products I have now, and the greatest now, helping others.

Well, I am back from a long time away from the forums with this same problem. I just switched jobs this week and since Sunday night I had a hard time getting to sleep. Insomnia really keys my anxiety and it seems like it can flare up when I am not ready. Most times I will have a rough night (2-3 hours of sleep...not bad at all!) and then I will sleep like a log the following night. Not so this week!

I can understand completely about the thoughts that keep you awake. I will lay down and a rush of "what-if" thoughts come clamoring in..."Hey! You aren't sleeping tonight!", "Hey! You aren't asleep yet?! What's the matter with you?", "Is that the sun coming up? Oh no! Look how TIRED and useless you are!"

These thoughts are almost automatic when I am stressed and missed a good night sleep before. I have actually gone through the program over a year and a half ago and with the lessons, practicing, medication and counseling I have pulled through and am completely med free and recovered.

I can say that but I also realize that I am especially sensitive to stress and can "relapse" when my life is out of balance. I see that with the job switch, my wife and I are trying to have our first baby (will I be a good dad?!?! ) and an upcoming move, I have a lot on my plate, so understanding why you have trouble sleeping is essentially a huge first step.

The next step is learning to not put so much pressure on yourself to get a complete night's sleep in. Think of trying to get to sleep as you would try putting together two magnets with the same polarity. They just squirt off and slide away from one another. Is it the magnets fault? How can we get back something that seems so natural in the first place? The trick I learned before is stop worrying about sleeping and turning your attention inward to relaxing.

By practicing relaxing every night, your brain will automatically be shutting down and ready for sleep in a very short while. The magnet will be flipped and sleep will skip right over to meet you faster than you could imagine.

I am not preaching, but more or less talking to you as I talk to myself. We will practice these lessons in the program again and by learning more about our unrealistic fears and expectations, we can also learn to let them go and be comfortable, relaxed...and...YAWAAWWHHNNN...sleepy.

Eric

Thank you so much for the answers....Please if any one else wants to leave other ideas...feel free

Hi Monica,

You might want to check out <A HREF="http://healthjourneys.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://healthjourneys.com/</A>

Good resources there.