Crazy random thoughts when trying to sleep?

[Lilharry]

Lately I have been experiencing crazy random thoughts when I close my eyes to go to sleep. It really scares me. I watch tv or a movie every night to help get me off to sleep, but it's not working because as soon as I close my eyes all these words just start popping into my head. They're so loud and weird and it scares me so much I open my eyes. I feel like I"m going completely insane and I hate it. Where do all these thoughts come from? I am going through a high period of stress at the moment due to a cancer scare. The thoughts are seriously crazy - like a stream of consciousness and make no sense. Sometimes it's just a list of words or a whole lot of nonsensical sentences.

Does anyone get this? Any advice or reassurance?

Also, would propranolol or nortryptiline help with these thoughts? I'm too scared to take either of them, but I'm getting desperate.

[inCOGnito]

Hey lilharry. That is unpleasant and its a complete bugger at night cuz you just want to sleep. I don't think watching a movie at night is best particularly if its violent or scary. Movies are stimulation for the mind.

To offer a bit of reassurance thoughts are representations of activated memories and imagination. And also the voice of commentary which analyses and interprets those thoughts. Doing stimulating things stimulates the mind and thus thoughts.

You are also experiencing stress and anxiety so your mind has been thrown into 'high alert' mode looking for danger and trying to keep you safe (doesnt feel like it tho eh!), and so it increases the general activity of the brain and thus the number of thoughts. so then it interprets these things through the high alert mode filter.

So you're not going crazy. The mind makes a lot if abstract connections and being anxious means that sometimes they can be unpleasant. You could try some chamomile tea before bed and so something relaxing like yoga or meditation see if that helps.

[Linzi29]

hi Lilharry,

I have allot of trouble with thoughts, especially trying to fall asleep when there in ur head its awful, but this is what I do, it doesn't work all the time but a majority of the time it does:

I lay there and close my eyes and start to make my own story, I think of me living in a big house and having a successful career and then play out my story like; better pack my things as I we have a plane to catch, were going to the Carribean, sun, sea, sand etc...

I continue the story and eventually without realizing I fall asleep..

Also if your one of those people who find it hard to picture a story or a nice calm place, go on Google images and search for beach, nature, anyplace you would like to relax in the real world and your mental imagery will take a picture of that and u ca use t whenever your stressed or before you go to sleep to create your story, you don't have to, but there's no harm in trying it out :)

[Lilharry]

Thank you so much for the reassurance and tips. Incognito - you are a mine of information!

I remembered that I had taken some codeine earlier on in the day, hoping it would make me feel better, but it probably made me feel worse - I'm pretty sensitive to anything that induces anxiety.

[PanchoGoz]

I wake up with these racing mad thoughts...they are annoying. Will settle down when the anxiety settles down, try not to pay much attention to it. It is worrying when part of you is falling asleep and the other part isn't :S

[tommy1982]

Its very common some really good suggestions above, if it gets too bad and you cant cope there is med out there to help with this before bed. Talk to your doctor its a form of anti psyc drug given to anxiety suffers before bed.

The problem is when your drifting off your mind is just running wild very common with anxiety.

[PanchoGoz]

You've reminded me of a few times when I would hear conversations in my head that flowed perfectly smoothly but made not a word of sense, I could just shoot them off and let go off on their own...I thought it was really amusing how that would happen, and quite cool :D

[Lilharry]

Thanks for the reassurance.

Pancho- that's what its like, random voices saying things that make absolutely no sense. Sometimes whole sentences and sometimes just words. And I have no control over them, the just start happening. I think the codeine made it worse, as I didn't have them last night.

[Oatcake]

No wonder you're worried, that sounds enough to induce anxiety. Lack of sleep does not help either, and I bet your experiences put you off sleep too! If you're thinking of the medication route, I'm on hydroxyzine to help me sleep. It's an old antihistamine tablet with sedative effects. Not addictive, so the doctor had no problem prescribing it for me, and I now go off to sleep much better. Hope you are able to get some rest soon :)