Being Woken From A Deep Sleep

[ButterflyBean]

Hello,

I took a break from the site after writing a post and feeling unsupported. However, some very unexpected medical situations have triggered my PTSD. I do not wish to get into details, except to say that I was in the hospital, which is one of my biggest triggers. There are many reasons, but when I am able to fall asleep, it is very deep. There are times when I need to be woken up for medical appointments or medication, but I am having trouble finding the best way for people to wake me up without becoming scared or disoriented. There are also times when I cannot fall asleep due to fear, and I need someone to sit with me until I fall asleep. Sometimes I have nightmares, and even though they are distressing, I am just talking about being woken up from a deep sleep when absolutely necessary. The people who are with me know I don't want to be woken up unless I have to be, and the best thing to do is let me sleep if possible.

Are there any tips you have for being woken up out of a deep sleep? How do you have people do it, and what do they do after you wake up to reduce the fear and/or disorientation?

 

[Changing4Best]

I sleep very deeply also. I have found that if I set the alarm on my cell phone to repeat every 3 minutes until I turn it off, and then place the cell phone in a room which is a ways from where I sleep, that eventually I do wake up and go out there to turn it off. I don't have anyone living with me, so this is how I have to do it. I will also set my alarm clock if it is very urgent for me to get up as well as the phone. That might be if I need to wake up at 3AM to catch a plane at 5AM or something.

I get triggered at a lot of the stuff you mentioned too, except the hospital. I kind of can deal with that pretty well, if I have a decent roommate. However, if I have a roommate that is annoying, I can get triggered, yes. All in all, though, I deal with it OK, as I know I need help.

PS. I am so sorry that you did not feel supported here before. That rarely happens to me here!

 

[Friday]

Don't have others do it, period.

It's a no win for them, and crazy stress on both y'all, because there will quite simply be times when you can't be woken up, and when you can't be woken up without an anxiety attack. So remove the target for your anger, & wake your own self up.

Ditto going to sleep. Is it nice to have a security blanket? For sure. But it's not fair on another person to make them responsible for your being able to go to sleep. In no small part because it won't work all the time, and there will also be times when the other person is simply unable to be there. Again, it creates an unhealthy target for your emotions to blame if you're having any kind of problem... And with PTSD? Problems happen. Period.

So while both may help in the short term? In the long term it's both learned helplessness & pretty much guaranteed to destroy any relationship you have with this person. Which leaves you having to figure it out on your own, anyway, after weeks/months of teaching yourself bad habits. Which means months & years of displaced anger & resentment & an even harder time waking and sleeping than you have right now.

 

[Go Hungry]

I have a friend who sleeps very deeply, and as his past was fraught with trouble, has to be woken up very carefully, else he'll start flailing away at whoever is waking him. In his case, we kick him in his foot until he wakes (he refuses to sleep anywhere but the floor.) It's a little weird but, it works and isn't trouble for anybody.

 

[joeylittle]

There are times when I need to be woken up for medical appointments or medication, but I am having trouble finding the best way for people to wake me up without becoming scared or disoriented.

When I'm just on my own, at home, I use multiple clocks with different snooze options all set about 15 minutes apart. I plan on the process taking about 30 minutes to an hour. (I go through deep sleep periods, but I really do it when I've taken something before bed, so that's what I need it for).

Are you talking about being woken in the hospital? That's a little different. In the past, I've made sure to know my dosing times, slept with headphones on, and been able to wake up that way, with the sound right in my ear (I use music for that instead of an alarm). That way, you don't disturb the rest of the floor, esp. if not everyone is getting meds at 4am or something. You can also ask the nurses to put a note in your chart. A random idea that just crossed my mind, is you could ask them to try waking you with smelling salts.

Sleeping in the hospital is hard. I don't have any good suggestions for that one.

 

[Pencil]

Are there any tips you have for being woken up out of a deep sleep?

My mother seemed to get a terrible fright when she was woken up, and was totally disoriented for a few seconds. Somehow we got the following advice that worked perfectly: People sleep with their hands relaxed and therefore curled / furled / closed (depending on how relaxed they are). To wake a person, simply straighten their fingers - very slowly and gently, and they seem to wake 'naturally', as if coming out of sleep by themselves. Ask someone to try it with you and see if it works.