Unfortunately, insomnia can be an ongoing issue for some. But there are ways of at least minimising, if not completely eliminated, including therapy.
Printable View
[QUOTE=NervousKel;1904920
I've ordered a self-help book on anxiety that should be arriving today. I also plan to read a few self-help books on insomnia.[/QUOTE]
Hey,
What book did you order in the end? I hope you manage to get on top of the insomnia. Did you go up to 20mg in the end? Let us know how you go with the GP.
I'm going back today as I'm so tired of this constant nervousness and agitation I feel - there's never a quick fix out there!
Good luck!
The book I bought is called Feeling Good by David Burns. It's based on CBT, and a lot of people say it's helped them. I just started it, and it's definitely giving me a lot to think about.
I'm still at 15 mg. I'll probably wait until January to increase, in the hopes this blip will run it's course. In the meantime, I'm going to read up on CBT, Mindfulness, etc. It's becoming very clear to me that I need more than just the meds to handle anxiety.
The insomnia has now turned into sleep anxiety, which is very typical for me when I have anxiety. I took a trazodone last night in order to fall asleep, which now has me thinking negative thoughts such as "I'm going to have to be on sleep meds the rest of my life" and I'm generally just in a low and anxious mood. I put so much pressure on myself to sleep naturally that it totally backfires. I'm hoping to pick up some tips on how to deal with that through reading self-help books.
Just like to say thanks for your thread, very interesting to read and following your journey
Hi, all! I hope everyone is doing well.
After two years of doing really well (only the typical worry that everyone will experience from time to time), I’m in yet another rough patch.
It started maybe 3 weeks ago, and has slowly gotten a bit worse. All the typical stuff I experience: sleep issues, no appetite (lost 10 pounds so far), worries about anxiety, sleep, and the future.
My two daughters joined the military several months back, and both were sent overseas to separate countries. They are doing fine, but I really miss them, and worry about them. I did fine at first, but now the stress and sadness seems to be catching up with me.
I’m still on the 15 mg of escitalopram. I don’t plan to increase at this time, mostly because then I’ll be on the highest dose with no room to move up. It’s ridiculous I even worry about that, but here we are!
I think it's completely natural to be feeling a little lost with both your daughters going away. When my son first went off to university I really struggled, it was a real loss. In fact both me and my husband felt it quite badly and there were many rows and tears. You do get used to it and emotionally you do start to feel better.
Thanks for the kind words, Catkins!
It is a big adjustment having them overseas.
I’m still blipping along. I’m going to force myself to go for a walk later. Starting to seriously consider upping my meds next month.
OTOH, there seems no point taking an AD at a dose that isn't fully effective. You could ask your doctor to add a small dose of buspirone (Buspar). This is a GAD specific med which works well for some, but not for most, however, small doses, 10-30mg, can increase the effectiveness of SSRIs and SNRIs and ease some of their side-effects too.