I'd say that if your having occasional bouts of insomnia, try a sleep aid. Its not taking the easy way out, occasional bouts of insomnia is common with PTSD (not saying you have it, but I'd be willing to bet that statistically most of us do, if that's not too bold to say). You can get through it with the sleep aid help if you need.

I have sleep disturbances as well, but mine are constant, so I don't use a sleep aid because I don't want to become dependent (longer time of use). I know I'm dealing with my PTSD through therapy so I am hoping that work will eventually spill over into relief of the sleep disturbance issue related to the PTSD.

Just my 2 cents ;)

Devin

I can join this club too. I have not slept the entire night through in 15 years. These past 2 months have been worse. I am lucky if I get a 2 -4 hrs of sleep a night. I think you are very lucky that you can go back to sleep!! I only wish I could.

Only thing I can think to ask you is if anything has changed in your life? I know when something changes, it shows up even more in my dreams.

I've had lots of sleep problems since starting therapy. (I've decided that therapy is ruining my otherwise happy life. I told my therapist this, and he just laughed and said, "Yeah, right. Everything was just fine until you came here.") One of the things that I know from previous bouts of sleep problems is that I need to feel some level of safety in order to be able to sleep. For a few years after the rape, that meant the bedroom could never be dark, I had to have my bed in a certain place, could only sleep in certain positions, etc. Some of that stuff has carried over to today. Unfortunately, much as I'd like to leave the lights on these days, my husband isn't too keen on the idea.

On nights when I'm having an especially bad time, I listen to music on my iPod. I can sleep with the earbuds in and so far have not strangled myself. Sometimes, around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, I just give up, admit I'll never get back to sleep, and go out in the living room to read or to write in my journal.

scubagirl, I do indeed have PTSD. Some symptoms are waning with others spiking. They seem to take turns. I had real trouble sleeping for about 9 months averaging 1-2 hours for the first 3 and then about 3-4 hours out of 8, constantly interrupted in spurts, then I had a break for a few months and started to sleep better. I'm now in a cycle of having sleep problems again. I may talk to my nurse practitioner about a sleep aid. She knows about the rape and has been helping to monitor my PTSD along with my therapist.

Solstice, there have been some changes recently. Two months ago I started a new job which puts me in contact with about 20 women on a daily basis in my office, including two I report to and two who report to me. I am one of a half dozen men on the job. As my rapist was a woman, the anxiety can seem overwhelming at times. I get through it by taking a walk outside for a few minutes, breathing exercises, distracting myself with work, etc. In addition, I take Celexa daily and therapy every three weeks.

StehtFest, I'm sorry that you can't get back to sleep. I usually can, but only for a while before I'm up again. Some nights I do give up and I'm up the rest of the night. I'm often done trying around 3:00 am and then I finally doze off at 5:30, only to be awoken by the alarm at 5:45. It doesn't matter if I go to bed at 8:00 pm or midnight. the result is always the same.

I wonder if part of it is due to the fact that I raped at night, in bed and I was unconscious for the majority of it. I wish I knew what to change...

I understand. I am in your same position right now. I do take a sleep aid in a great while when I've had especially hard times and I know I can devote several hours to sleep, but way more often than not, I don't take one.

I don't know what to change either. People tell me that through counseling and such, things will get better, but it sure sucks waiting, doesn't it? That's why I still suggest a sleep aid. Your MD can help cause you are doing your part (allowing medications to help you and counseling). Give yourself a break. We all can use em now and then... And congrats on managing your stress throughout the day with good coping mechanisms. Sounds like you're on your way :)

oh, by the way. I have anxiety about the thought of even going to bed. After hearing my account, my T has wanted me to try to sleep on the couch one time to see if maybe the PTSD symptom is related to the fact I was raped on a bed as well. You could have a similar association, so you could be right.