[Miki]

I dunno how to start this so here goes; hey, my name’s Mike, and I’ve been dealing with insomnia for most of my life, and my best honest advice? Don’t anticipate sleep. It’s hard to do, trust me I know, but it’s like when you go to a doctor for a blood draw; the more you think about it, the worse it feels, so when sleep doesn’t come? Get up and do something; work on a hobby, clean up something, take a shower, watch a movie, read, whatever suits your fancy. Sometimes the “distractions” will help you sleep sometimes they won’t, and that’s okay; you’ll either get the rest you absolutely deserve or at the very least know you weren’t staring at the ceiling all night (I find this very comforting, at least it doesn’t feel like “time wasted”).

Also here to tell you that the “psychotic breaks” everyone speaks about when talking of sleep deprivation is, by my estimate, likely very rare; I’ve been “sleeping” like shit for well over a decade (treatment-resistant terminal insomnia + night terror disorder, not a desirable combo) and only ever had 1 psychotic episode after being up for over 60 hours straight. And that is far from the only time I was up for absurdly long.

Some home/natural remedies you could try (if you haven’t already) are chamomile, anise, lavender, and valerian root (it smells really bad but it has helped me at times).

I would advise speaking to a local therapist and/or psychiatrist (if physically/financially possible of course) before reaching for melatonin gummies and pills, those can be a slippery slope even when guided by a professional but especially when on your own. And who knows, maybe they’ll prescribe you something that helps! Different people react differently to each treatment, human bodies are weird like that.

-Best wishes for you and your family, try not to let the big bad wolf we call insomnia break your spirit (if you can raise and care for tiny humans and not die in the process, you can do anything),
Mike

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