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Help please, sleep tricks required.

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A little lost

Confident
I can't sleep, I can't stop my head running 100 miles an hour replaying stuff. I can't shut off the visuals +audio when I shut my eyes
I've tried :
  • Music -just seems to be adding a backing track not matter genre.
  • Consciously breathing (don't know if that's supposed to work, but tried it anyway)
  • Reading....can't concentrate on it
  • Jigsaw -driving me even further down, can't focus long enough.
  • Milky drink
  • 6 minute audio meditation type track - can't get into it, I'm still listening to every noise in the house. Still hypervigilent and isn't breaking through.
Is there anything anyone could suggest please?
I'm supposed to be up in a little over 3 hours , at this rate it's going to be a night of no sleep.
Even if I can't use your suggestions tonight, I can try them tomorrow.
 
When I was seeing a therapist she told me (and I'm paraphrasing here) that our brains started this lovely bedtime nonsense to ensure our survival *during* our trauma, in order to keep us active/alert in the event there might be imminent danger. Sort of the same survival mechanism that kicks in your first night of vacation when you're sleeping in a new environment/hotel that causes you to wake up frequently. Except on vacation, that goes away the second night. With PTSD your brain has trained itself to NOT shut off in order to keep you active/alert because it WORKED to ensure your survival. So your brain thinks if it doesn't shut off, you'll stay safe...even if you're now NOT in the traumatic/dangerous situation.

My therapists advice was to 'retrain my brain' and FORCE myself to think of a happy/good thought every time a bad one slipped in. This 'retraining' takes some time and doesn't always work...but sometimes it works. She also recommended journaling before bed to 'get it all out' but I find that doesn't work for me as it tends to only make me think of the bad things more.
 
I'd suggest getting an audiobook of a story you have already read. Put it on just loud enough to hear and just try to enjoy it.

You already know how it will turn out, so it doesn't matter if you nod off and miss some chapters. It won't take as much concentration as meditation either.

That's what I do anyway.
 
I have found that doing yoga regularly really improves my sleep, even though I don't do it at bedtime. I can tell the difference on days when I do and days when I don't -- it's like my body just starts shutting down at bedtime and I'm out like a rock.

I have a really hard time calming my thoughts and meditating too and I think yoga is able to trick me into doing it because it gives me something physical to focus on. Not sure if it's the activity or the accidental-meditative quality, but it always does help.
 
I do prayer (but know that's not for everybody). Last night I prayed quietly in bed for over 35 minutes which is a lot for me because I have sleep apnea. I had a mentor about 15 years ago tell me that if I can't sleep, that it's because God wants to commune with me. She believed it... and it helped me to believe that she believed it so I made it a habit. Now I believe it. If I REALLY can't sleep, I have a recliner and a small reading lamp with some inspirational short stories or quotes and I read quietly. I avoid turning on anything... music, net or tv. It does work more often than not though I may not have gotten enough sleep the next day.
 
Thank you all for the help and advice, it is much appreciated. I'll certainly give your suggestions a good go and see what will work for me.
 
The one that worked for me, was to learn to clear my mind. I still have to do it today at times... mostly its just automatic. Sometimes my mind wanders at sleep and keeps me up, then I have to focus.

Its like a mediative focus, literally focusing on achieving zero thoughts or images in your head. Initially learning it, it tired me out and I ended up sleeping anyway. But I eventually got it down pat, where I choose to want to sleep, thus tell my mind to clear, it goes black, I don't remember going to sleep.

It took me some time and effort to master, but still 10 years on, I still use it today, just mostly automated though and happens instinctively for me when going to sleep.
 
The one that worked for me, was to learn to clear my mind. I still have to do it today at times... mostly i...
Thank you. Can I ask please, is there any trick to bring able to do it, or do you just mentally try to push the thoughts away.?
I definitely want to try to give this a try! I'm running on fumes at the moment, no real sleep more than a total of 6 or so hours since Monday.
 
There is no trick to it, just time and practice. Its like literally focusing on a blank, empty, space in your mind. When you have it, you hold it, and before you know it, you're asleep with an empty mind.

It was how I also stopped my nightmares, in combination with working through my trauma to lessen overall duress on my brain.
 
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