So my question for everyone is do you ever get into a DEEP sleep, and wake up a few hours later, and are very anxious, and awake and find it hard to get back to sleep. I have had this sleeping pattern for about 8-9 months on and off, and lately I am not sure, but it is definitely getting worse, I am NOT sure if it is just my mindset-meaning i am on a overload with things that are in my mind. I have been feeling a lot better, but this getting up in middle of night, with anxiety and heart fluttering(palpitations?), it is getting old. I was on a great path to recovery, I did finish the program last September, just looking for ANY ADVICE. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do to get on a better pattern, PLEASE let me know.
Thank you
Aim
Sleep Patterns
-
Guest
aim,
well, i can't offer much for advice, but I can relate.
i have been having somewhat of the same issue for about 8-9 months too. mine is subsiding though.
i think ultimately, letting go is the most important thing. for 8-9 months, i had no idea how to even do that or what i was even hanging onto and would sometimes wake up at 4:00am (oftentimes, right on the nose at 4:00am sharp- how does the body know that?) and my mind would then jump into anxious thinking about nothing but drivel; no real threat, etc...
this past week, for the Christmas holiday, my wife and I drove home to Buffalo to be with family. I don't know if it was the change in scenery, or what, but this was the first time that I was rested after a vacation in years (methinks the old toxic job had more to do with that than anything- i quit back in march and have been healing since
).
i have not dreamt in like, 3 or 4 years on a consistent basis. Now, I've been told that I had to be dreaming, but I did not REMEMBER my dreams and that is odd for me.
Last week, I was a "dream machine", and this did wonders for my sleep and relaxation during the day as well.
I know, that I was not dreaming during my years at that toxic job. do that for 5 years, and no wonder i broke down into panic attacks (well, that, and being in a stressful environment where your job in threatened every day
).
You are not alone.
One thing that seems to be working for me, is try to do everything that can to relax prior to sleep (pray, read, take a hot bath, massage from a loved one, avoid caffeine after 12pm, vigorously EXERCISE, listen to the relaxation tape, all of the above!), and try to recapture a moment in your life where you were at your happiest. try to recreate the feeling if you can. a time when you were most at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
doing this and setting my mind like this for the past week, has really allowed me to "let go" and truly fall to sleep.
God Bless,
well, i can't offer much for advice, but I can relate.
i have been having somewhat of the same issue for about 8-9 months too. mine is subsiding though.
i think ultimately, letting go is the most important thing. for 8-9 months, i had no idea how to even do that or what i was even hanging onto and would sometimes wake up at 4:00am (oftentimes, right on the nose at 4:00am sharp- how does the body know that?) and my mind would then jump into anxious thinking about nothing but drivel; no real threat, etc...
this past week, for the Christmas holiday, my wife and I drove home to Buffalo to be with family. I don't know if it was the change in scenery, or what, but this was the first time that I was rested after a vacation in years (methinks the old toxic job had more to do with that than anything- i quit back in march and have been healing since
). i have not dreamt in like, 3 or 4 years on a consistent basis. Now, I've been told that I had to be dreaming, but I did not REMEMBER my dreams and that is odd for me.
Last week, I was a "dream machine", and this did wonders for my sleep and relaxation during the day as well.
I know, that I was not dreaming during my years at that toxic job. do that for 5 years, and no wonder i broke down into panic attacks (well, that, and being in a stressful environment where your job in threatened every day
).You are not alone.
One thing that seems to be working for me, is try to do everything that can to relax prior to sleep (pray, read, take a hot bath, massage from a loved one, avoid caffeine after 12pm, vigorously EXERCISE, listen to the relaxation tape, all of the above!), and try to recapture a moment in your life where you were at your happiest. try to recreate the feeling if you can. a time when you were most at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
doing this and setting my mind like this for the past week, has really allowed me to "let go" and truly fall to sleep.
God Bless,
-
Guest
Hello Aimee Sitting here waiting to try and help bail my sister out of problems again and happened to see your post (still waiting on her to call me) so thought I'd throw my 2cents in.
Welcome to the world of as Bry says, "growth spurts" or as I say "hurdles", you are now experiencing the weird things that happen to us who have completed the program. Ok so why you?
One you have a lot on your mind and don't tell me you don't cause I won't believe that. When you lay down at night you start to thinking about your job, your health, your problems with a certain 'desk', and all the other stuff that's going on in your life right now and even though you sleep your subconcious is still working on it. You drop into a deep sleep for a little while then suddenly that little ringer in your head goes off and your awake in a full blown panic.
Now, I'm not going to tell you to breathe cause you already know that part of it, what I am going to tell you is to forget about the daily problems and relax at least an hour before you close your eyes. Don't think about any of the above, don't talk about it in chat or on the phone, throw up the stop sign when the thoughts hit and just say no...not going there tonight.
Go take a long bath, drink some hot tea, put on some relaxing music or do whatever it is that relaxes you but do not think about todays problems. Yes mam'm that's an order and you know me well enough now to know where i'm coming from.
Slow down girl, your running at the speed of light here lately and it's starting to catch you. Take some quiet time for YOU, nobody else, just you and I think you'll sleep just fine if you do that. You can't fix the problems at night anyway so wait and take them on the next day. That's what I do and it works. Now I sleep like a log for 6 hrs and that's plenty for me, but 8 hrs of sleep is good to from what I hear. LOL
Be kind to Aimee for awhile and only Aimee.
Btw, tell the other side of that 'desk' to shut it for a few days.
David
Sitting here waiting to try and help bail my sister out of problems again and happened to see your post (still waiting on her to call me) so thought I'd throw my 2cents in. Welcome to the world of as Bry says, "growth spurts" or as I say "hurdles", you are now experiencing the weird things that happen to us who have completed the program. Ok so why you?
One you have a lot on your mind and don't tell me you don't cause I won't believe that. When you lay down at night you start to thinking about your job, your health, your problems with a certain 'desk', and all the other stuff that's going on in your life right now and even though you sleep your subconcious is still working on it. You drop into a deep sleep for a little while then suddenly that little ringer in your head goes off and your awake in a full blown panic.
Now, I'm not going to tell you to breathe cause you already know that part of it, what I am going to tell you is to forget about the daily problems and relax at least an hour before you close your eyes. Don't think about any of the above, don't talk about it in chat or on the phone, throw up the stop sign when the thoughts hit and just say no...not going there tonight.
Go take a long bath, drink some hot tea, put on some relaxing music or do whatever it is that relaxes you but do not think about todays problems. Yes mam'm that's an order and you know me well enough now to know where i'm coming from.
Slow down girl, your running at the speed of light here lately and it's starting to catch you. Take some quiet time for YOU, nobody else, just you and I think you'll sleep just fine if you do that. You can't fix the problems at night anyway so wait and take them on the next day. That's what I do and it works. Now I sleep like a log for 6 hrs and that's plenty for me, but 8 hrs of sleep is good to from what I hear. LOL
Be kind to Aimee for awhile and only Aimee.
Btw, tell the other side of that 'desk' to shut it for a few days.
David
I have sleep problems too, I can never get a good nights sleep. Find its always because I let my mind bounce around before bed. I've been listening to some guided imagery meditations for sleep before bed and it does help me fall asleep. Also it helps me calm down if I wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety. Which happens to me as well.
I found these mp3's on kaiser permanente's site, and I've been using the one for sleep and it does help me. They also have some other mp3's you can download for other meditation as well.
<A HREF="https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/redirects/listen/" TARGET=_blank>https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/re ... listen/</A>
Hope they help.
I found these mp3's on kaiser permanente's site, and I've been using the one for sleep and it does help me. They also have some other mp3's you can download for other meditation as well.
<A HREF="https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/redirects/listen/" TARGET=_blank>https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/re ... listen/</A>
Hope they help.
Sleep is one of my big issues too. A lot of it is my mind racing - sometimes anxious thoughts, sometimes just "stuff." I'll wake up in the middle of the night and my brain just kicks into overdrive. I'll sleep with the TV on so when I wake up I can be distracted by the program, then I'll nod off. It's not a great fix but if often works. Lately I've tried to just stop thinking when I wake up like this. I have to remind myself that there's nothing I can do about anything I'm thinking about in the middle of the night and, more importantly, I need the sleep more than anything. If there's something I need to deal with, I'll do it better during the day AFTER I've had a good night's sleep. Sometimes when I wake up in the night I will try to focus on my breathing - just breathing in and out in a deep and relaxed way. I'll even count my breaths up to 10 then start over. The breathing is relaxing and the counting occupies my mind. I'm still working on my sleep problems.
I'm hoping to become a better sleeper : )
I'm hoping to become a better sleeper : )
ATTITUDE -- The mind is like a parachute...it doesn't work unless it's open!!
-
Guest
Hi Aim,
I just recently signed up for the program and I was reading the posts of other people who are going through the same things I am. Actually, this is my first posting. I can relate to the sleep patterns you are having. Mine comes 3 to 4 times a night for the past 3 months now so I decided to get this program (also because of my panic attacks). I will fall into deep sleep; wake up feeling out of breath like I’m going to stop breathing. I will be so scared to go back to sleep for the fear of I might have some scariest nightmares and might not wake up. I am hoping through this program, that I will find answers to these feelings I’ve been having.
I am relieved that someone else can relate to how I’ve been feeling. I was beginning to think that I was going crazy. Hopefully, through this program and the support we get from other people, we can get past this.
Thank you
I just recently signed up for the program and I was reading the posts of other people who are going through the same things I am. Actually, this is my first posting. I can relate to the sleep patterns you are having. Mine comes 3 to 4 times a night for the past 3 months now so I decided to get this program (also because of my panic attacks). I will fall into deep sleep; wake up feeling out of breath like I’m going to stop breathing. I will be so scared to go back to sleep for the fear of I might have some scariest nightmares and might not wake up. I am hoping through this program, that I will find answers to these feelings I’ve been having.
I am relieved that someone else can relate to how I’ve been feeling. I was beginning to think that I was going crazy. Hopefully, through this program and the support we get from other people, we can get past this.
Thank you
-
Guest
Hi Aim-
I experienced this 6 months ago when I was stressed from my job. I would not be able to go to sleep and if I did I felt that I was waking within a few minutes and not resting at all. I would wake within the night and think about things and then my heart would race. I would get up and have major panic episodes. I have not experienced that in months but I am finding that over the past month I have been dealing with anxiety and depression and finding myself going to bed at night but waking in the mornings very tired and wanting to sleep longer and I am not actually getting up until like 10:00! That is odd for me. I usually want to get up around 8:30. I wonder if I am oversleeping? I pray that you rest better soon, but I will say that a change in environment can definitely make things better. My husband and I went out of town over the summer and I was dealing with anxiety pretty bad, and I was afraid to go someplace to stay because I had a fear that I would not feel well etc. I noticed that I got to the hotel and I ended up having the best time, and sleeping VERY WELL!!! I felt great the next morning and I thought...a change of scenery was just what I needed.
I experienced this 6 months ago when I was stressed from my job. I would not be able to go to sleep and if I did I felt that I was waking within a few minutes and not resting at all. I would wake within the night and think about things and then my heart would race. I would get up and have major panic episodes. I have not experienced that in months but I am finding that over the past month I have been dealing with anxiety and depression and finding myself going to bed at night but waking in the mornings very tired and wanting to sleep longer and I am not actually getting up until like 10:00! That is odd for me. I usually want to get up around 8:30. I wonder if I am oversleeping? I pray that you rest better soon, but I will say that a change in environment can definitely make things better. My husband and I went out of town over the summer and I was dealing with anxiety pretty bad, and I was afraid to go someplace to stay because I had a fear that I would not feel well etc. I noticed that I got to the hotel and I ended up having the best time, and sleeping VERY WELL!!! I felt great the next morning and I thought...a change of scenery was just what I needed.
-
Guest
Go to sleep at ! or 2 am. Finally go to sleep at 7:am, and sleep most of day; and wake up mad because daylight is almost over, and I have not accomplished anything. However, I bought one of those devices that plays different sounds such as rain, waves on seashore,etc., and have finally found something that helps me go to sleep earlier. So, now I am going to sleep soon after I go to bed; but I only sleep 4 or 5 hours.
-
Guest
The sleep disturbances are not uncommon as you can see with people who deal with anxiety and panic. I definatly don't have all the answers but I have been through the exact same thing. I will mention what helped me. I ask that you give it a try. First off, I was told by my therapist who has specialized in panic and anxiety for 20 years that the waking up was caused by hyperventilation in my sleep. It is not the hyperventilation you normally think of. It happens without you really being aware of it. Throughout the day you do a lot of chest breathing. When you retire to bed that doesn't change unless you conciously change it. You do that by breathing meditation and making sure you are breathing correctly..That is from your diaphram. I had no idea that was what it was. When she said what she did I thought she is full of it. Then I got fed up with the waking up with horrible palpitations and that would turn into panic and more anxiety. I decided to use a device I had previously purchased called the stress eraser. It is a handheld biofeedback device. It calculates if you are breathing properly. I used it for 15 minutes one night before bed and I slept through the night. So as time went on I used it every night. No more problems and when I do seem to fall back into that mode from time to time. I just revert back to the focus on my breathing. I can't tell you how surprised I was at how simple it was. I hope my post helps you. I truley know how frusturating it is. It is also very scary. Good luck to you and may you find peace
I wake up at 3am all the time...well, not all the time, I go through phases. When this starts happening I usually can't fall back asleep untill 6ish and I have two kids that naturally wake at that time so I don't have the luxury of staying asleep. The past few times I've had insomnia I've tried EFT and have been able to fall back asleep within 30-45 minutes! Go to <A HREF="http://www.emofree.com" TARGET=_blank>www.emofree.com</A> for the instructions. I know it looks weird, but if it works it works. The other two things I'd like to try are light therapy and dark therapy. Read about dark therapy here <A HREF="http://www.alternativedepressiontherapy ... tment.html" TARGET=_blank>www.alternativedepressiontherapy.com/al ... nt.html</A>