[rvlad89]

Hello,

I have been dealing with anxiety and insomnia on and off ( but mostly on) for a couple of years. I understand acceptance, befriend wakefulness, self kindness after a bad night etc… The only problem is it is a little hard for me because I don’t feel tired after a bad night, I actually feel very weird, sometimes on the edge of panick. In the beginning it even started with dpdr and very strong anxiety. I understand logicaly a bad night is a bad night but my amygdala seems to have a different opinion about how I should cope after a bad night and tries to give me to much anxiety. They kinda started în the same time, with this pattern. How do I approach this vicious cycle without letting them feed each other so hard?
Thank you

[hiker]

Hi rvlad89, I can relate to your situation. It is one thing to understand how to deal with insomnia logically, but quite another emotionally. The anxiety just barrels on through: as you put it, the amygdala seems to have a different opinion regardless of our intellectual understanding of the issue.

I wish I had a magic solution, but I don’t think there is any solution, in the sense like you can solve the problem of a glass tipping off the edge of a table by placing it closer to the center of the table. My best approach, when I remember, is to just observe whatever is happening, like how anxious I am getting about whether I will sleep better tonight…hopefully, without diving into the anxiety and swimming in it.

Side point: On tiredness, there is a difference, as I’m sure you know, between being tired and being sleepy. After a bad night, I am tired but not necessarily sleepy. I never even attempt a short nap if I’m not sleepy.

I have actually had poor sleep the last few nights. Right now, I’m at the point of recalling that this isn’t my first rodeo; I’d like to sleep better tonight; I can’t control whether I do; and whatever happens, happens. That might sound passive, but I think that’s what all this boils down to.

[Author]

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