Have I slept!??

[dlou84]

Right didnt no where to put this so feel free to move it.. doesnt seem to be a section for insomnia.. anyway.. last week i was sleeping great going to bed and waking up in the morning. fine.. then over the wknd i didnt sleep once due to panic/anxiety.. now when i sleep i live my dreams i have no control over the dream like random things will happen but after i remember everything... i dont no whats going on.. am i actually sleeping when im dreaming like that? and why do i wake up after each time? is this normal/has this happened to anyone else? i feel as ok as i could be i mean better than when i have no sleep at all! but i also wanted to no if this sleep was giving me the rest and repairing my body etc from the day before.. i seem to be having very restless sleep at the moment and im trying to get back into a pattern like before.. im a very different person when ive slept and when i havent.. i suffer from severe anxiety and PA's but when ive slept im great i go out with my GF and i feel amazing and when i havent everything gets to much!! id like to hear everyones views on this.. Dan

[Fly2Freedom]

I havent slept through the night since July.
I feel its affected my physical health.
My doctors didnt even give me a short course of sleeping pills.
What did your doctor say about it?

Love & light to you x


http://www.youarethelightmovie.com/

[sandie]

Hi Guys

This sleep thing (or rather the lack of sleep), has fast become a disaster area for me.

I've tried everything in recent weeks and I have been given sleeping tablets - although they don't work. My best night for almost 3 months was last night when I actually had 5 hours sleep - I think I would have slept longer but my husband disturbed me badly when he got up at 5.amm

Strangely enough, I haven't had a sleeping tablet for the last 3 nights. They don't seem to work anyway, and I know my GP won't give me anymore after this prescription is finished.

Having persistently tried drinking warm milk, lavendar oil, conscious relaxation techniques etc, I now find it easier to just go with the flow. But I do sympathise, its awful when you only manage 2 or 3 hours sleep - it really upsets my day and I get even more depressed and suffer worse panic attacks.

I'm sort of hoping that my insomina is waning - I sense it might be, but I just have to wait with fingers crossed.

Hope your sleep sorts itself out soon.

Sandie

[dlou84]

yeh mine isnt normally that bad.. but went 3 days without a few weeks ago then 9 days perfect (so i no i can do it!) and then bk to no sleep again!! i jst want to no if i am getting sleep through this way.. i mean i feel like a spectator watching my dreams though i have no control over any aspect of them but i always wake up and no everything.. Dan

[Rachel Ball]

Hi there Dan
I have had this on and off during the course of my anxiety and panic. I remember once when I was pregnant begging the people who were in my dreams to let me get to sleep! I felt full y conscious whilst dreaming which was very weird. It always seems to get me when im extremely anxious or totally exhausted. It's like your body is just so aware of everything that it can't seem to switch off. Mine just dissapeared though im sure it will rear its ugly head at some point! good luck

[sandie]

Hi everyone

Is it really any wonder that sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture!!??

Its a basic human need - like food, if we go too long without it, it will have a detrimental effect.

Regrettably, all too often I start the day sooooooo tired I long for the day to pass quickly so that I can go back to bed.

I've had to make a HUGE conscious effort not to get so hung up on the sleepthing it becomes an obsession, and I work hard not to be tempted to try to nap during the day. Actually, that's not true, in the early stages of my anxiety/insomnia, I did try at lunchtime, but I couldn't relax enough to sleep anyway, so there was no point.

I haven't dreamt recently; with the exception of a nightmare which resulted in an early hours panic attack. I am convinced it was Nitol reacting with my meds, resulting in just 2 hours sleep on that occasion.

Hope everyone has a good night tonight - happy dreams!

Sandie

[dlou84]

i had the worst night last night didnt sleep at all... its so upsetting im now really low and dont no what to do.. i cant go on anymore like this!! im lying in bed now have done all day.. i dont no what im going to do Dan

[net]

the less we sleep the more anxious we get and worrying about not sleeping makes us not sleep

i found once i stopped bothering whether i slept or not i started sleeping better i know that sometimes i'm fine then others i'm not



netty


the dreams of the future are better than the history of the past

[sandie]

Apparently Margaret Thatcher ran this country on about 4 1/2 hours sleep each night. We are all supposed to need less and less as we get older - although at 53 I'm don't consider I've reached that stage yet.

I had 3 1/2 hours last night. Yet I seem to have got quite a lot done. I wasn't so shivery this morning either. Maybe my body is getting used to it? I think its worse when you are lying next to someone who is sleeping gently. I wanted to cuddle up for some reassurance last night, as my panic attack had been bad, but the last thing I wanted was to disturb my husband - he worries more than enough about me.

I also think that the more we get hung up about sleep, the more of an obsession it becomes and we risk that adding to the problem.

I really sympathise with you - I couldn't cope without sleep for 3 nights in a row - I'd be a total wreck. But you know you can have a good nights sleep eventually, so do take heart from that.

Happy dreams.

Sandie

[dlou84]

i have a fear of dying and this adds to it so much.. in fact i always think im going to go from this alone.. i dunno i want to live but i dont want to live like this! Dan

[dlou84]

last night was bad went to bed at 9 i slept for abit and then woke up not sure on the time about 12-1 and didnt get back to sleep til after 5am then woke at 9am.. all this without deep sleep. ive since found out that im getting to stage 3 and staying there.. instead of going to stage 4 the deeper sleep.. but aleast im sleeping right? so i got like 4hours in the morning and about 2-3 when i 1st went to bed so about 6 hours broken sleep. dont feel that bad today but still.. "Poor sleep quality is caused by the individual not reaching stage 4 or delta sleep which has restorative properties. There are, however, people who are unable to achieve stage 4 sleep due to brain damage that still lead perfectly normal lives" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insomnia#Insomnia_versus_poor_sleep_quality

[keepemlaughing]

Dan, I sympathize with you mate. When i go through periods when i don't sleep good, i feel horrible. i can't wait until the moment i can go back to bed. i used drugs (meth) for many years so I was used to being up nights. breaking that habit took a long time and many sleepless nights. i felt like relapsing so many times because i would be awake thinking too much. and the dreams would be outrageous. i have had the ones where you feel like you are actully awake and observing the dreams. i have had the dreams where you are looking down as your body seems to soar higher and higher over the earth and the higher i would go the faster i would start to go and i would freak out and wake up in a sweat. those dreams were soo real i can still feel that feeling when i talk about it. and the dreams where you cannot move or talk and you feel so paralyzed and panic wanting someone to shake you. at the present time, my doctor has me on several meds for anxiety and depression, but he gave me seroquel for sleep. it is working wonderful except now I don't dream at all. I have always been a very avid and very vivid dreamer, so i miss them. it is too bad that you can't relax enough to enjoy the dreams. i am interested to know if you have had any of the ones i have described.

Good luck mate.:D

Sheryl

Always expect a train.

[dlou84]

last night was real bad.. didnt sleep at all now im crying like a baby.. look like ive gone ten rounds with mike tyson. yes i share many of your experiences i live out my dreams but this is only when im having a ruff time.. i also refuse to take drugs from the doctors cus im scared to i check my pulse and all my vital signs i shouldnt be living like this but i dont no how to stop it.. when i sleep im fine on top of the world when i dont that world comes crashing down!

[sandie]

Hi Dan

Thnis whole sleep thing can really rule your life can't it.

I have sleeping tablets but haven't used them now for almost a week. They weren't really working any way. My norm is between 3 and 4 hours sleep per night.

The things I find have helped to achieve even the 3 or 4 hours that I get are:

The warm glass of milk
Lavendar oil on pillow
Melatonin tablets (only available in the USA where it is licenced and on the internet))
Last night I used Bachs Flower Cherry Plum - a few drops in water. I'm actually sipping a glass now and shall continue to do so all day. I think its making me calmer; the calmer I am, the more relaxed maybe I become. If I am relaxed at bedtime, it will surely help me sleep better.

Some or all of these are certainly worth a try. The Bachs Cherry Plum was £5.65 from Holland and Barrett.

Believe me I do understand and sympathise; yesterday I felt DREADFUL - the lack of sleep really makes me so low some days, it magnefies all of my negative thoughts, feelings, loneliness and does almost drive you top the edge. Its only after a half-reasonable night (like last night for me), and realising the next day that it is lack of sleep that is making life so unbearable, that you realise you AREN'T CRAZY.

I really hope for you and me that the sleep gets better on a more regular basis. We have to just keep trying and hanging on in there.

Sandie

[dlou84]

yeh i know.. its just so hard... i now have made myself accept that theres nuthing physically wrong with me. (i have been certain there was for about two years) and that its just the sleep.. thats sort of made me a lil happier.. but its still really hard. im going to do everything i can to sleep well tonight as im ment to be seeing my GF tommorrow and i keep cancelling on her because of this.. and thats a stronge reason for me to get a good nights rest.. Dan x

[feels_like_home]

Hi Dan,

I can understand what the lack of sleep can do to a person. I have no problem falling asleep, but wake up every so many hours and wonder if I have slept at all. I don't think I am in a deep sleep and maybe that is why I am so tired all the time. I find the more I think about being able to sleep the harder it is to get some sleep. My anxiety is so much worse when I don't sleep well. It is a horrible cycle. You are not alone. I hope you are able to get a good nights rest and see your GP tomorrow.

Take care,
Michelle

[keepemlaughing]

Hi Dan, I am so sorry you are not feeling better. Please see your doctor, you can't keep going like this. I wish you were here, i would give you one of my tablets and stay right there until you were snoring logs. I just know how horrible it is to not sleep, the next day you have such high hopes that perhaps today will be the day I DO sleep. Try some of Sandie's Seroquel, I usually get a good 6-7 hours. I do hope that you find something that will help soon. My heart goes out to you. I will keep you in my prayers.

Sheryl

Always expect a train.

[Alexocelix]

Sleeping problems suck! I'm sleeping reasonably at the moment, a good six hours or so, but always permeated with nightmares, and never deep sleep. Plus, If I feel nice and comfy in the morning, and I'm not in at work, I will always try a lie in. This always seems to go wrong because as soon as I'm semi-awake I tend to be worrying, so as I slip off into a weird 5 second dream, I will immediately wake up and wonder why I was dreaming about whatever I was dreaming about...

[dlou84]

Wow ten years on, and I still have the same problem! Except I lost the GF

[CHANDTIP]

I havent slept through the night since Sep. My doctors didnt dont prescribe anything for me