[hunter47]

I am helping a family member who is suffering from insomnia. Presently she is going down drug therapy route in addition to CBT. I am totally worry about the side effects of drugs and read many differing views of therapeutic effects. I always have watched the negative side effects. Sleep is still disrupted and she is at her wits end.

[hiker]

Hi hunter47,

I hope she will consider looking over this website. She will discover she is not alone, and Martin has some good videos to check out. This includes his description of his CBT course.

Re drugs and side effects, it is best to check with a medical professional—especially pharmacists. Many physicians, even sleep medicine docs, just don’t know as much in this area. This is what pharmacists study and do all the time. People do experience different side effects, though over many years mine were not major.

There is no surefire drug cure for insomnia. If there were, we’d be lined up for miles to get it. All you can hope for is some temporary relief, without taking it so often you build up a resistance.

>>>>> “At her wit’s end” That describes very well what millions of us have gone through. And unfortunately, getting into the wit’s end rabbit hole makes it worse. Anxiety about sleep is understandable; it is also, in my opinion, the main reason the insomnia persists.

The following is not always easy to pull off, but it does at least change one’s attitude toward insomnia, even if it doesn’t guarantee a great sleep every night…..it is about our thoughts.

As an example, it turns out I did not sleep all that well last night. Beats me why not, just didn’t. And before I realized what I was up to, I started the old, familiar ruminating about why didn’t I sleep well, what if I don’t tonight and the night after that, and I wonder if this means I am going to have a huge relapse. And I am so sick of this, my life is veering sideways again, what’s the use. Etc. etc. etc.

And when I catch myself deep in this junk (and sometimes it takes a while to catch myself), I remember not to take my thoughts all that seriously. Especially when I haven’t slept well, all sorts of weird sh-t goes flying through my head. One analogy I use is that my thoughts are on twigs or branches that are floating down the river. I can just watch them drift by, without jumping into the river.

This is a standard type of analogy that pops up in discussions about mindfulness, which I have found works better with practice. Actually doing it, not just reading or talking about it. A couple of good, free websites (and I don’t work for either outfit): palousemindfulness.com and mindfulnessnorthwest.com

Please tell her a lot of people care about what she is going through. And it does not have to be a hopeless dead end at all, even though it can definitely seem that way when you’re exhausted.

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