[Ada30]

Hello,

My insomnia started due to anxiety 1,5 months ago, I started to feel dizzy and started to get scared I have a more serious condition (which I don’t, confirmed by all the medical checkups I did, including an MRI).

By nature I am a more anxious person, worrying about everything but never had generalized anxiety or problems sleeping because of it.. until 1.5 months ago one night I couldn’t sleep at all, than second night the same, my anxiety was through the roof at this point , after 3 sleepless nights I end up at the emergency room , they have me oxazepam, they told me to take it for a few days and make some serious life changes. I took the oxazepam , slept like 3 hours .. I never took any drugs in my life, didn’t know what to expect, second day felt like a walking zombie with no feelings at all.. started to panic because I couldn’t feel love for my own kid (2.5 years old).. absolutely horrible.

The oxazepan was working for a few days but was not really helping much so I end up again at the emergency room .. this time they gave me trazodone .. I started taking it and it kind of worked for 10 days but once I tried to get off it the insomnia was back, the anxiety worst .. the side effects of this drug are just horrible, from constant dizziness to blurred vision to all kind of weird things, like pressure headache. After my 4th visit to the hospital they recommended to put the does up to 150 mg , I absolutely refused. I am currently taking 50 mg (putting the doe down from 100) and I do sleep 5-6 hours, it’s not a nice sleep, it’s an induced sleep and I am afraid of the day when I will give it up completely that I will not be able to sleep in my own.

In this 1,5 month of insomnia and anxiety I did a lot of mistakes, tried to sleep in a diffrent room, stopped breastfeeding my son because of the pills that also had a huge impact emotionally on me, started to meditate, stopped watching TV, stopped drinking coffee, stopped making plans (long or short therm), took off from work to fix the sleep problem and so on. Now I know it’s not ok and trying to get on with my life but it’s really difficult .. I’m living with a constant anxiety and I’m really afraid I became dependent on pills.

I would take any advice, I don;t know if the CBTi will work on me if the insomnia is caused by an underling condition as anxiety, can CBTi address both of this issues?

Thank you

[Martin Reed]

What you are going though is really difficult — I appreciate you sharing your experience. Since difficulties with anxiety is common, and since your experience with insomnia doesn’t sound unique or unusual, I see no reason why you wouldn’t find it helpful to practice some new habits that might make conditions better for sleep and help reduce the influence of difficult thoughts and feelings (such as anxiety).

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

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