[tschopm]

My name is Mike, and I'm an insomniac!

Just graduated from college with a degree in music therapy…hoping to get an internship in the very near future.

My insomnia isn't chronic, but more along the lines of episodic, I guess? I'll have it very bad for a week or two, and then it might disappear for a month. I've been struggling with insomnia my entire life, but I think the cyclical nature of the insomnia episodes has to do with the diagnosis of Bipolar II I received a few months ago. Interested to see if anyone else here struggles with similar mood disorder-induced insomnia.

Anyway, hi!

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the community, Mike – thanks for joining us, and thanks for introducing yourself.

The music therapy degree sounds interesting – please tell us more; do you see music as therapy for specific ailments? Insomnia, perhaps?!

I look forward to getting to know you – our other members will drop by before long and welcome you aboard, I'm sure.

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[tschopm]

'Martin' wrote on '26:

The music therapy degree sounds interesting – please tell us more; do you see music as therapy for specific ailments? Insomnia, perhaps?!

I've used music-assisted relaxation with teens with “anger management” issues…many of them use music to express their feelings, and I gave them some songs with more positive messages to listen to to calm them down instead of hype them up. That, and I would routinely lead them through progressive muscle relaxation (http://www.guidetopsychology.com/pmr.htm) It doesn't necessary help with insomnia, but it does help with anxiety. Most of what I learned about relaxation through music has already been said several times in this forum – it all depends on personal preference. I don't think Enya would have calmed those teens down :-p

[emmaree]

Hi Mike welcome, I look forward to reading your post. The music therapy you are involved with sounds interesting. Do you work or have you worked with kids ,, who are excessively active?

[tschopm]

'emmaree' wrote on '27:

Hi Mike welcome, I look forward to reading your post. The music therapy you are involved with sounds interesting. Do you work or have you worked with kids ,, who are excessively active?

Yes, I have! I've worked with kids on the autism spectrum, with ADD/ADHD, and medical trauma. Once, I worked with two kids in one group – one with autism, and another with pervasive developmental disorder (but the diagnosis changed to ADHD by the end of the semester). Boy, was it a challenge. They made some awesome progress throughout, though. Some of my goals for them dealt with impulse control, understanding of emotions through feeling words, and teaching appropriate phrases to be used in social situations. It was all done through music, which was super motivating for them…by the end of the semester, they were actually waiting over 15 seconds to hop on medicine balls and play instruments they chose. They increased their feeling word vocabulary from 0 to about 5 or 6. They learned a few different hello and goodbye phrases. They still ran around like bats outta hell after the session was over, but they were able to control themselves for 30 minutes, which was a huge step forward for them.

As far as the kids in the hospital, they really loved coming down to the music group I led. They're so isolated, so it was a real treat to participate. None of them were ever rowdy, but they certainly got a good dose of social interaction and release of anxiety from the music group. With them, I did a lot of sing-alongs, movement to music (think hokey pokey-type songs), instrument playing (solo and with partners), turn taking, etc.

I love it 🙂

[seenafterscene]

Congrats, Mike. Welcome to Insomnia Land. And also, it appears we are members of the same “club.” Sadly, it is not the Black Card club, the Diner's Club, or even Costco club…it is the awful insomnia and bipolar club (and in my case more, as I suspect may be the case with you.) I dated a physician, not a psychiatrist–but they confirmed what my psychiatrist, therapists, and friends had been telling me for years and already know. The two: insomnia & bipolar feed themselves so exhaustably back-and-forth that it's pretty hard to differentiate. Ex: Is this horrible insomnia period because I'm depressed, or manic and not needing sleep but still deprived…or is this manic/depressed phase because I haven't been sleeping well???

The answer I have found time and time again, is that it is both.

Again, nice to have you here. Welcome.

[Author]

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