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...
I had been doing pretty well when I started sleep restriction. But then I got cocky, going to bed earlier, staying in bed later, taking 2 hour naps during the day. Which was great at first.... It felt like this insomnia had passed. How wrong I was.
I'm going back on tonight.... Doing it for my wife and son. Ive become much less of a husband and father since struggling with this.
I feel very low right now...helpless.
I look at my wife and son and it cuts through me that I'm not "there" for them.
So this time it's for them and me.
12 in bed.
6 out of bed.
No napping during the day.
Out of bed if not asleep in30 minutes.
Who's with me?
I'm going back on tonight.... Doing it for my wife and son. Ive become much less of a husband and father since struggling with this.
I feel very low right now...helpless.
I look at my wife and son and it cuts through me that I'm not "there" for them.
So this time it's for them and me.
12 in bed.
6 out of bed.
No napping during the day.
Out of bed if not asleep in30 minutes.
Who's with me?
Unfortunately my insomnia returned without a significant depression or anxiety episode. I haven't been "clinically depressed" for months now, yet my sleep has continued to deteriorate.
It takes a long time to get to sleep in bed (sometimes hours, even though I could easily fall to sleep on the couch in front of the TV). I wake up frequently at night. A lot of anxiety associated with going to sleep and I seem to wake up (even get hot), after my head hits the pillow for the night.
So, I'll try the sleep restriction/compression once again as I feel I have no choice. I feel either the CBT-I solutions will work, or I will need periodic medication.
This sure is a unpleasant condition...
This includes a number of practices recommended in CBT, including a consistent sleep schedule, sleep hygiene, daily exercise, a sleep-supportive bedroom environment, and especially important is reducing negative sleep thoughts.
If anyone finds anxiety to be overwhelming or debilitating at times, then there is no shame in seeking professional help for that. To the contrary, it's a sign of strength. A sign of determination and wanting to help yourself. And drug therapy could be part of the solution in that case.
The majority of us I suspect do not have debilitating anxiety, but rather normal anxiety. We all have it to some degree, it's just an unavoidable part of being human. It's there, but manageable. In these cases, CBT methods can be very effective, drug-free, and permanent.
Good luck to you. Thanks for keeping us posted.