Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
In October of 2012 I developed insomnia after what I considered to be a "nervous breakdown." My insomnia happened every night for about 5 straight weeks. I have suffered with anxiety for years and one morning my heart was beating extremely fast when I woke up and I pretty much lost it. I had a full blown panic attack, felt shaky, uneasy, and nauseous for a good three days straight.
On the first night of the "breakdown" I couldn't sleep. This was very unusual for me, as I've always been a good sleeper. After four nights of very little sleep, I ended up sitting in my doctor's office crying, asking if it was possible that I could die from lack of sleep (yup, I literally asked that). She prescribed me Xanax, which I took small doses of and then decided I wanted to try natural approaches to sleep.
Stopping the Xanax was hard. I hadn't been taking it long enough to become addicted, but emotionally it was hard to not rely on my trusty, old Xanax for sleep. I had a very hard two weeks off Xanax, but I'm so glad I stuck with it.
The thing that practically cured my insomnia was the book "Say Good Night to Insomnia" by Dr. Gregg Jacobs. There was a whole chapter on the misconceptions of how not getting enough sleep will lead to diseases, severe impairment, etc... (which, ultimately, was my worst fear all along).
He said the media severely sensationalizes the need for a perfect 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He said that isn't the case at all (think of all the new mothers who go months on little, interrupted sleep after having a baby). He also said in his studies he found that it's healthier to receive less sleep as opposed to more (like he'd rather a patient sleep 6 hours every night as opposed to 10).
Reading all of this calmed my worries and almost immediately the pressure to sleep was taken off. I no longer cared if I only got 4 hours of sleep because doing so wasn't even as dire as I thought- and BOOM, I eventually returned to my old sleeping habits.
I'm not saying I sleep perfectly every night. I still have nights where anxiety gets the best of me. The difference is I now no longer care.
I would highly recommend reading "Say Good Night to Insomnia." I hope my post can give some people hope on not giving up. Stay strong!
On the first night of the "breakdown" I couldn't sleep. This was very unusual for me, as I've always been a good sleeper. After four nights of very little sleep, I ended up sitting in my doctor's office crying, asking if it was possible that I could die from lack of sleep (yup, I literally asked that). She prescribed me Xanax, which I took small doses of and then decided I wanted to try natural approaches to sleep.
Stopping the Xanax was hard. I hadn't been taking it long enough to become addicted, but emotionally it was hard to not rely on my trusty, old Xanax for sleep. I had a very hard two weeks off Xanax, but I'm so glad I stuck with it.
The thing that practically cured my insomnia was the book "Say Good Night to Insomnia" by Dr. Gregg Jacobs. There was a whole chapter on the misconceptions of how not getting enough sleep will lead to diseases, severe impairment, etc... (which, ultimately, was my worst fear all along).
He said the media severely sensationalizes the need for a perfect 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He said that isn't the case at all (think of all the new mothers who go months on little, interrupted sleep after having a baby). He also said in his studies he found that it's healthier to receive less sleep as opposed to more (like he'd rather a patient sleep 6 hours every night as opposed to 10).
Reading all of this calmed my worries and almost immediately the pressure to sleep was taken off. I no longer cared if I only got 4 hours of sleep because doing so wasn't even as dire as I thought- and BOOM, I eventually returned to my old sleeping habits.
I'm not saying I sleep perfectly every night. I still have nights where anxiety gets the best of me. The difference is I now no longer care.
I would highly recommend reading "Say Good Night to Insomnia." I hope my post can give some people hope on not giving up. Stay strong!
Your story is a perfect example of how much insomnia is fueled by worry and negative thoughts about sleep. Cut off that negative energy, and sleep tends to improve.
Terrific news to hear you're sleeping better Courtney, thank you for sharing it.
It's our anxious thoughts about sleep combined with unhealthy behavioral coping mechanisms (e.g. staying in bed much longer than we sleep) that latch on to nearly all of us and turn transient insomnia into full-blown chronic insomnia.
You addressed your thought patterns (and perhaps some behavioral as well) which addressed the root cause of your insomnia persisting!!
3 cheers for Courtney!!
My take is to try to identify and understand the underlying thoughts leading to the frustration. If it's about sleep and you're in bed, just letting these thoughts go may help. Courtney's experience is instructive.
She describes this like "so what if I'm up? I'll survive and probably function just fine tomorrow anyway." Getting upset or frustrated about it only takes you the opposite direction you want to go; toward a state of worried wakefulness.
But if and when you're in bed wanting to sleep and can see these recurring patterns of worried thought emerging, you can learn to recognize them and then let them go (yes it can be done). By doing so you may be able to help yourself move toward a more relaxed and drowsy state conducive to falling back asleep.
It is frustrating what you describe. This happened to me too.....not any more however.
If I woke up during the night and couldn't get back to sleep within about 15 mins of perceived time (no clock watching!), I would get out of bed, go downstairs and read a book in low light until I got drowsy...then went back to bed. I repeated as often as it took to break the cycle. Still....no clock watching at all.
It took several days of doing this to break the cycle. The key is to do something that will distract your mind from thinking about not sleeping when you wake up.
Wishing you well!