Psssst.
This is one for the few that stay up until 05.30am like myself. Oh, it's just me? Awks.
A few months ago I actually tried to sleep at a normal time, I really did. But there are only so many days you can lie in bed with thoughts racing around your head, and next thing you know it's 6am and you're still not asleep.
This is such a drastic change for me; every single person that knows me will tell you that I'm the laziest fucker in the world. Sleeping has always been my talent. After school I had naps as soon as I got home, right up until my mum woke me up for dinner. Then at sixth form I would pull a few chairs together and sleep in my free periods, I literally needed about 16 hours of sleep a day to function.
You might be surprised by this but if you knew my dad then you wouldn't be. It's his fault. There's been times where he's fallen asleep in restaurants only to wake up and find that he's been left on his one with a bill on the table. Thank god I never did that.
The difference is that I suffer from generalised anxiety/panic disorder with depression (I will probably write a blog about this at some point), which I am on medication for and I'm also having therapy once a week. So no it isn't because I've messed my sleeping pattern up - even if I don't sleep for over 24 hours I still can't sleep at night. I've tried listening to music, sleep hypnosis, muscle relaxation techniques but nothing seems to work. The weird thing is that I spend hours thinking about situations that haven't even happened; I'm not stressed out, my brain just likes to make things up. But at least I can use myself as a case study for my psychology degree!
Also on the plus side, from 10pm onwards this has been one of the most productive days I've had in a while! Revision done, part-wrote an essay, then Christmas shopping... I'm on a role. Pity it's now 06:09am. Some people are actually waking up now, wow.
I guess I should try and get my head down now so I don't completely miss daylight... again.
Let me know if anyone has had any similar experiences, or if any of y'all have any tips or techniques for drifting off! Believe me I'd love to try them.
Night! (Well, morning...)
x
The main reason I can never sleep is because I will make up situations in my head. Somewhat like short stories or worst case scenarios and by the time my brain finally calms down and I'm about to go to bed, it's already 1-2 am. I've been looking into going to therapy for a while now. I used to go as a kid because I have panic/anxiety and a bit of depression. I live in the U.S. so I'm not sure if you have these but I use ZzzQuil and drink Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime herbal tea and those will usually help me fall asleep in about 1-2 hours. I don't really wake up drowsy.
ReplyDeleteSounds similar to my situation! Apart from it's 06:40am here and I'm still awake... I should probably research some over the counter drugs but was resisting because I'm not sure if I'm suppose to take anything with the medication I'm already on. I'll have a word with my doctor. Thanks for the comment! Hope you're ok x
DeleteI've found that one the most helpful for me, if you find it and are able to take it, I do recommend it! I've tried so many other o.t.c. drugs and none have worked as good as this one! I'm hanging in there, taking it day by day. Take care! :)
DeleteASMR (Autonomous sensory meridian response) always does it for me, there are loads of people on YouTube dedicated to ASMR.. They speak or whisper and make sounds that relax you or help you fall asleep and I always put a video on and when I'm wide awake at 4 in the morning and can't fall asleep
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ReplyDelete..and it helps a lot, I suffer from panic/anxiety as well plus I live alone so I try to keep myself relaxed as I don't want to have a freak out all alone in the middle of the night all the time and ASMR really seems to do the trick, I know it doesn't cure anything but at least it helps to calm down and relax :)
ReplyDeleteTake care! xx
My brother told me to search ASMR vids too actually. I tried them but I just find that the thoughts in my head are louder than whatever I'm listening to so I don't even notice their relaxing voices! Might give it another shot though.
DeleteThanks for the comment, hope you're okay xx
I also have anxiety. Sometimes my brain just doesn't like to switch off which makes it tough for me to sleep OR the opposite all I want to do is sleep to make it go away. I hope it sorts out soon so you can have a decent nights sleep!
ReplyDeleteAmanda / Amanda's Escape
In exactly the same boat! Where you want to sleep all the time but can't. So frustrating.
DeleteTake care
x
I have GAD and panic disorder with depression too! I write for Young Minds about my anxiety and depression and the tablets that I take and have found that writing about it makes it easier for me to cope with. I found it very hard to sleep too until I was prescribed citalopram which has completely controlled things for me! It doesn't work for everyone though but certainly for me it's controlling my depression enough that I can sleep at night. Hope things get better for you :) ps: love your blog so much!! xxxx
ReplyDeleteOoo that sound interesting, might have to search that. I agree, writing can be so therapeutic; that's one of the reasons that I started my blog actually. That's good that you've found something that helps :) I might have to see if I can try out another antidepressant, but the doctors on my uni campus are so rubbish. Take care! Thank you! Thank you for reading and commenting xxx
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