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It sounds like part of your stress is the decision on whether or not to take sleep meds. I suggest perhaps making this decision one week at a time. One week, maybe try taking the same amount of sleep med every day. Then perhaps another week, commit to taking no sleep meds all week. I think either one is OK, what you want to do is release yourself from the struggle of having to make the decision each day.
I think that’s right. It’s like pushing down on the beach ball. If you try to push these memories away, that would only increase your struggle. Accept that these memories are part of you, and part of your thoughts. Have you tried any of the visualizations, like clouds in the sky?
Two sleepless nights is a row is terrible. But the only way out is to accept that you cannot make your body sleep. It will sleep when it is ready and when you are able to relax enough to get out of the way.
That’s why it’s usually best to focus on anything besides sleep, try to go about your normal day as much as possible.I think everyone has some bad nights. That’s normal. The problem with us insomniacs is that we start to obsess about it and feel like we have to fix it the next night. Just accept that your body will eventually get the sleep it needs. Everybody has anxious nights sometimes!
It’s true that in general sleep affects my quality of life. However, even on a day with poor sleep, I can have some good hours and good experiences. I try to be in the moment and accept how things are. Sometimes I will even have a good day after poor sleep. On the other hand, if I am exhausted and unable to concentrate, I try to accept that and treat myself gently. I may go home from work early (I have a flexible job), rest and take it easy.
I think you should accept that you might not be able to sleep well before either of these events. The more pressure you feel to sleep well on particular days, the more difficult sleep will be. Instead, try to formulate a back up plan of what you will do in case you don’t sleep well.
For the two-hour drive, you can probably do that just by having some caffeine right before, even if you don’t sleep at all.
For the five-hour drive, maybe you can stop and take a nap somewhere if you get really sleepy during the drive. Is there anyone you can share the driving with?
I know these plans are not ideal, but I think if you start thinking about how you will cope by making realistic back-up plans, it will reduce the amount of pressure you are putting on yourself.
