sleeping problem....

m. gianforte · Post by **m. gianforte** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:44 pm

My anixety really starts at bed time......I have two kids and so by bed time I'm pretty exausted. When I think I'm going to relax and sleep......MY NIGHTMARE STARTS. I had this anixety symptoms for the first time when I was 4 months pregnant with my second child. I thought was a hormonal problem for being pregnant. I made use of benzodyazepan to help control my feelings but after my daughter was born and I stopped complete with the pills it all came back. She is 7 months now. Unfortunelly all that crazy , unconfortable symptoms started again and don't let me sleep at night .....sometimes take ours until I'm be able to fall sleep.....somebody has the same issues????

despina · Post by **despina** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:44 am

I have been sufferring from insomnia for quite a few years. I have the fear of going to bed, the "what if I don't sleep" keeps causing my anxiety. I am reading self-talk books but everytime I try to implement the technique my subconcious is racing to force in the negative. I have 3 young kids under 5, work full-time and I'm very tired. I sleep maybe 1/hr a night and I feel I'm at my wits end. I know I have to let go of the "what if" as this is causing me to stay awake. HELP....I'm on session 3 and still can't sleep..I feel like giving up.

Karmerri · Post by **Karmerri** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:49 am

The feeling of not being able to sleep and worse, being afraid of bedtime is absolutely one of the most awful feelings. You will sleep again, I promise. The first thing that helped me was, to be honest, ativan at night. After weeks of not sleeping, I landed in the emergency room feeling like I was going to die and my head was going to explode! I was put on an antidepressant and ativan at night until the AD kicked in. But, physically, that helped me get sleep but mentally, I still feared not being able to sleep on my own. All I could remember was feeling so alone. The program really helped me with that feeling because several discussions about sleep are in it. It's not a big deal. Your body will get it's sleep, but you do have to relax. I think if you are too busy all day and stressed your'e going to have problems and if you are bored all day and unsure of your'e life, that will cause you problems too! It's all about balance. One thing's for sure. Eventually you will get some sleep, it may not be a lot at first, but it'll come.

sleeplessMom · Post by **sleeplessMom** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:42 am

I can relate...I have been there so many times. You'll see from my screen name that when I found the program in 2006 I was so identified with my lack of sleep. It was awful, but I let it define me and obsessed about it and that made it worse. I was in bad shape, and for me the short and intermediate acting benzodiazapenes made my anxiety worse (rebound anxiety). I also got to the point where I was sleeping one hour a night, and admittedly it took a long acting benzo to get me on track (valium). I was so worried about taking a highly addictive drug, but in very small decreasing doses for a month or so it helped me get on track while I could focus on the program.

Sleep is odd in that it might take weeks after you start feeling better for your nighttime sleep to straighten out. The first thing is to try really hard not to care so much how much sleep you get. I know, I hear you saying "WHAT!!! BUT INSOMNIA IS AWFUL!!!" I know, but sleep is elusive. The more you grab at it, the more it will move just out of your reach.

Use the relaxation tape at least in the morning and before bed every day. Tell yourself it is OK if you just spend the night in a deep relaxation listening to the tape over and over. Tell yourself you have managed this long without sleep, you can do it for a while longer. You are a pro at it. It may not be fun, but you can do it.

Make sure you are doing all the sleep hygiene tips in the program: no caffeine, exercise every day but not too close to bedtime, if you are awake for ~30 minutes get out of bed and go read or listen to the relaxation tape in another room. No TV in the bedroom.

Good luck.
formerly sleeplessMom

Mary Wargo · Post by **Mary Wargo** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:52 am

This has been such a problem for so many of us I almost think they could use a special topic heading just for insomnia. I know the feeling of being afraid to go to bed because you're afraid you won't sleep. It can be such a combination of things that sometimes it's hard to pinpoint the reason. Stress, anxiety, diet, lack of exercise, constant worry, hormones, - can all play a part. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I thought my insomnia would never go away but it did. Mine was due to anxiety, diet, and hormones. Once I got these three things balanced my insomnia went away. I would also leave the relaxation tape play while I went to sleep, and sometimes put it on again in the middle of the night. I also had a list of positive statements next to my bed that I would read over before I tried to sleep. Going to bed with worrisome anxious thoughts is not a good idea. It also doesn't hurt to be checked by a doctor to make sure there isn't a physiological reason for the insomnia. Our insomnia is so unique to ourselves that it sometimes takes a while to customize our own cure. Don't give up, and try not to feel that this will never go away because it can and does.

PoetryLady · Post by **PoetryLady** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:17 am

Thanks, Mary, and all:
I still feel thta I do not get enough restful sleep. But I really can't get the exercise that i need, I suppose.
Anyway, I'm tryin gto be accepting of my situation.
I do get some sleep and it may be enough.
Once in awhile I sleep long enough but not too often.
Anyway, thanks to everyone's tips on this. They all help.
MJ