Insomniacs?

[lilac-]

Hrm, where to start I suppose....

I've been diagnosed with insomnia since young. I seem to survive typically 48 hours without sleep normally for my standards. However up to 52 hours and I'm developing my classic panda eyes as per normal.
I'll probably crash it for a while soon finally! I'm just curious since I've been suggested this site how many others suffer from insomnia?
Typically during my processes of not sleeping I do projects some are helpful some I'm sure to others seem nutty the more sleep deprived I get.... but I'd rather learn than to lay in bed (for lack of better words) bored.

Though I despise sleep at the same time, I never feel like I truly get peace. I know I shouldn't condemn dreaming but it can get a little too much...

I'll spare you the more intimate details that have lead to this. I'm new to this site not particularly comfortable in sharing deals. However this is a pstd forum so I suppose it goes without saying.

Thanks for reading.
Kind Regards

 

[Heather]

I feel for you. My sleep has been horrible lately. Some nights I am up until 8 a.m. and then only manage to get 3 hours sleep.

Sorry you are going through this.

 

[NoWhereKnowWhere]

I use to be quite bad going for days with just 20 mins here and there. It got so bad I was having auditory hallucinations. I've never been as bad as that again (touch wood)that was a few years ago, before I was diagnosed. I'll sleep every other night quite regularly but mostly it's the other extreme now, I generally sleep too much.

I really feel for you it sucks balls and I understand the want to be productive. It's soo dull laying in bed staring at the wall for 8 hrs but then the longer you've been without sleep the less productive you can be, my mind just turns to mush.

Oh man the sleeping tablets didn't help so then I was still awake but stoned the whole night. :eek:

I can totally get the not wanting to sleep when the nightmares are bad. And everyone's an expert on what helps to get you to sleep. :banghead: Every single thing people suggested I was like yeah done it. If I can stay awake with sleeping tablets what do you think valerian roots gonna do, but yeah I've tried it, and everything else. :rolleyes:

 

[Poofycat]

I've had insomnia as long as I can remember. It's the worst. It's mostly under control now, but some nights (like last night) are bad. I've gotten into adult coloring books, so now that's what I do when I'm up in the middle of the night. It's very calming.

 

[The Black Phoenix]

Slept three hours last night, I feel your pain. Once I'm up, I'm up. Yet I'm desperately tired.

 

[ShodokanJenn]

I can only sleep about an hour a night. I don't nap but at night I do lie in bed very relaxed with my eyes closed, and for right now that has to be enough.

 

[Panda Bear]

Insomnia comes in waves. Depending on the time of year, I will have a terrible time falling asleep. Seeing maybe 2-3hrs of sleep a night. I was a terrible insomniac as a child to, post trauma.

I tent to cycle on my sleep/nightmares.

 

[lil_fighter]

Over the past month I have been really struggling to sleep. I will lay there for hours but my brain is alert. I try listening to meditation audios, I drink herbal tea, I make my room as dark as possible. It gets to 7am and still, I'm awake. My head feels strange, a buzzing sensation. I find that eventually I might sleep for a couple of hours but only when morning comes and it is bright outside. A strange thing is that I feel on edge at night because I think someone is going to come into my room and hit me over the head or do something to hurt me. This is not something that has happened to me in real life, so I don't know where this is coming from. The only thing I can think of is my medication, as a side effect is paranoia. I am on 40mg of Citalopram. I did have trouble sleeping over 3 years ago just after the traumatic event, I was not on any medication then. This is the first time since then that the sleep issue has come up again.

Lilac, are you on any medication? I understand that you have had insomnia for a long time but wondered if anything else is keeping you alert and unable to sleep at night. I really feel for you, especially as you have had to deal with this for so long. I can relate to what you said about not feeling that you get peace but can only imagine what it must be like to have insomnia for so long. I hope that you can find peace soon :hug:

 

[goingonhope]

I too suffer the inability to fall asleep and no matter how exhausted I am. This has been so, off and on, for 30 years. Also, if I do fall asleep, I can sleep through the night now, however if somehow, or by family I'm really awoken, nine out of 10 times I will not be able to fall back to sleep. It's all very difficult to deal with and has sometimes led to other symptoms that night emerging. For some examples: anxiety, generalized body pains, panic, headache, worry, depression, fear, helplessness, the start of intrusive traumatic memories and grief, regression.