Insomnia really does suck. I am 39 and mine started in my teens. I too scared to take sleeping pills though. I have no real advice other than i can relate.

Hi, good post. Sorry to hear you're going through all this. Want to ask you about CBT methods.

Are you still using them? Did you learn how to tune out the negative sleep thoughts like feeling "helpless", and "can't calm down". These are irrational fears that you can in fact control, and your CBT tools will help you do that.

My suggestion would be to review your CBT methods, particularly cognitive restructuring. I can tell you from experience you've got to use these methods for them to work. And keep on using them, especially with these pesky negative thoughts. Either you control them or they will control you.

There's many, many things you can do to make this better that do not involve drugs. Be confident and reject the pessimism.

Hi christina, so what you are saying is that you cant sleep without ambien? Have you tried sleeping without ambien? and did you sleep? I cant sleep without ambien at all and i dont know why but i guess i just have to accept it. anyways i hope it gets better for you.

I know the feeling of being hopeless. I used to have panic attacks from just lying in my bed being perfectly safe no threats in sight, but just not able to fall asleep triggered a bigger fear than any other. One night would turn into 5. At that point i was a zombie felling so lost and would contemplate taking all the sleeping pills and having one big sleep. With a ton of research I discovered that my internal clock was all frigged up. From taking sleeping pills for so long my body didn't know when to fall asleep or when to wake up. I tried "sleep restriction" and it only worked if i was super strict with it no matter how much it sucked. Eventually it worked after about two weeks and the anxiety slipped away. I would suggest you research sleep restriction and your circadian rhythm. I hope this helps in some way. You will sleep again, unfortunately for us it just takes a bit more work. Sleeping pills are not the answer. Good luck

Hey Christina, just wanted to say I totally feel your pain. It's been 15 months for me now of insomnia and it is the worst--I've also tried everything. I've spent over $10,000 trying different things from counselling, to high performance neurofeedback, to acupuncture, massage, essential oils, all kinds of supplements, yoga, sleep schedule, different prescription sleep aids, and a whole bunch of witchy things that really just don't work. The only thing that consistently helps me is zopiclone (I think it's just a Canadian version of zopiclone). My career has fallen to the wayside and my partner is currently supporting me in the hopes that I can be stress-free and heal. I have seen some progress and I've gotten better VERY very slowly over time. The naturopath also seemed to help, I got some hormone testing done and turns out I have very low progesterone which is part of the problem and also adrenal fatigue. They've given me supplements, which I think are helping but again, recovery is very slow. I do believe I'll get better, and I think you will too. Our bodies want to heal themselves but it takes a fucking loooooong time sometimes. Wishing you all the best on your journey.

I had similar situation when I was searching for a method to get asleep faster. Yoga and meditation didn't work too but audio is my saviour. Guys from https://sleephypnopill.com created great programs for any situation. You can try. At least it won't cause anything else.

I have been on ambien for like 10 years. I tried every other sleeping med. prescription and non prescription. my next step is the nuerologist. my psychiatrist said that they can do a sleep study to see what's going on. I go in December

Look at the stressors in your life. Look at which ones you can reduce and which ones you can eliminate all together. This,in combination with your med.s,ought to help.

Hi Christina! I am 20 and have been on Ambien for about 7-8 years now. I feel your struggle: I have started CBT with my therapist, tried teas, used essential oils, and used breathing techniques. I have been trying the last few months to get off Ambien by tapering, and its been a struggle at times. I started at 10 mg and now am on 5 mg. I am nervous about cutting down more, because I haven't found a solid technique or remedy that works just as well. I think the comfort for me in using Ambien is that I can fall asleep pretty quickly, and I get frustrated when I can't get that same result with the other techniques. I also noticed that as I am cutting down more I wake up more frequently during the night as well. So I'm hoping to find something that I can stick with instead of medication. Despite all this I think just trying to stay positive, and if you don't want to use prescription to sleep to make a plan and just keep trying. Just know that I can relate to you!