[Needsomesleep]

Hi all
I have been struggling with extreme insomnia the past 3 weeks and it has turned my life upside down. I have just been through 3 nights of zero sleep and only finally slept for a few hours on the 4th night by taking promethazine. I have lost all confidence I will be able to sleep by myself and am already panicking about tonight. Can anyone give me hope that they went so long on zero sleep and were able to sleep again by themselves as I dont want to take the medication again as it makes me feel drugged in the morning but I am beyond exhausted

[sleep]

I had insomnia for 2 years. I was on trazadone and then got off that and went on benadryl but after a while I built up tolerance and that did not help. I like you went 3 nights and days without any sleep and was scared to death. I found this website and it made such a difference in my life. I listened to the podcasts on here and got the 2 week emails and learned that I would sleep eventually, I was not going to have a heart attack or stroke and die which I did catastrophize but I was just so miserable.

I started just living my life and not leaving places because I had not slept the night before. I told myself I would sleep eventually and I just went to bed and relaxed. I do feel very fortunate, I slept from 12 until 6am and sometimes 7. I have been sleeping good for almost a year which it will be in April. I know now my sleep drive will build up eventually and I will sleep but I cant control it. In the beginning I took an ibuprofen if I woke up but this only happened a few times. I sleep really good now, I was such a mess for a long time but there is hope because I cant believe it myself how good I am sleeping.

[Chee2308]

Do not believe what your mind is telling you. This is what everyone who recovered eventually found out. Your mind is only trying to keep you safe and thinks poor sleep is bad and extremely dangerous, the narrative your mind keeps presenting to you, is like you are trying to sleep inside a lion’s den, but it is not! So in a way, insomnia is a state of confusion where your mind cannot tell between a real and perceived threat (but the perceived threat is actually safe and just a false alarm) Because you are sleeping in perhaps the safest place in the world, in your own bed in your own home and surrounded by people who love and cherish you.

You and indeed many people can break out of this cycle often by slowly disbelieving what your monkey mind keeps telling you. This is often called creating a distance between you and your own thoughts. Eventually, you don’t take them seriously anymore, you just let them flow away like leaves being carried away by currents in a stream, as thoughts and feelings are temporary in nature, and they change all the time so it’s never productive to keep entertaining them. Eventually, you settle down and accept these unhelpful thoughts as your mind pinging you with useless crap and you are no longer afraid of them. You might even laugh at yourself at the end of this!

Sleep is independent of thoughts. You can think about anything or be scared of anything or take meds but sleep will always happen in the end. Sleep only responds to routine not thoughts or efforts. Getting into and out of bed at regular times is all you need to beat insomnia. And consistency plus discipline remains key. Instead of seeking to keep running away from the discomfort, go the other way and actually get comfortable with any discomfort. If you do these steps, slowly but surely, there is almost no way you won’t recover because millions have. Slowly leaving this state of fear and confusion will inevitably lead to liberation and recovery. Good luck.

[Needsomesleep]

Thanks all that does give me hope, my problem is sleep onset insomnia. I can feel exhausted and even sleepy but as soon as I get into bed I’m anxious and my brain is telling me I wont be able to fall asleep and then if I do drop off as im Reading or something and my phone drops, my mind immediately kicks me back awake. Im still taking the promethezine and really want to stop but honestly feel like my body is broken and it is now physically impossible for me to fall asleep naturally.
Is sleep onset insomnia harder to treat?! When I get to sleep easily (which hasnt happened for awhile!!) then I feel relaxed the rest of the night even if I cant go back to sleep and somethings relaxed enough to at least doze. The not getting tk sleep initially sends me into a panic

[Chee2308]

All insomnia problems are the same. Everyone’s insomnia is the same. You are completely discounting the possiblity of change. Change happens all the time. Your cells renew all the time so everything can reset, including your sleep system. It is robust enough to survive anything including nights of not sleeping and all kinds of stress you find yourself in, including extreme stress over poor sleep.

Try not to focus too much on sleep at this time. Enjoy the other aspects of going to bed. Getting comfortable in a comfortable bed and snuggling under the comfortable sheets. Having a roof over your head. Living in a safe home in a safe neighborhood with caring neighbors and family. These are aspects all insomniacs ignore because they are overly focused on one aspect: sleep, sleep, sleep. Leave it alone and your insomnia will leave you alone. Don’t chase it, let it chase you!

Your sleep system will reset when you consistently keep to a regular bedtime schedule. Start feeling the joy of feeling sleepy again. You will begin nodding off sometime before bedtime or anytime during the day. Don’t be alarmed, this is a sure-fire sign your sleep system is working perfectly. As you sleep better, you will start waking up more as well, don’t be alarmed either, this is another sure-fire sign of sleeping well. In the end, stop focusing obsessively on sleep and you will recover. Be patient, don’t set a target or deadline. It will work itself out, just trust the process. Have you any idea how your body makes you sleepy or fall asleep?? What, how, when and why. Can you give comprehensive answer how sleep works? If you can’t, then why are taking on the heavy responsibility of micro managing it when you have next to no idea how it works? In the end, everyone will have to leave it alone because nobody can or ever control it anyway!

[Author]

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