Startled At The Feeling Of Drifting To Sleep

[EvenStrongerNow]

Hi,

Does anyone experience this? I do tell myself it is safe to go to sleep and that nothing bad will happen. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. When I feel myself drifting off to sleep, I feel afraid and feel a surge of alertness come on. It's over and over again. Also, every little sound I hear startles me. I put in ear plugs to help, but the feeling of drifting startles me too.

I know that it's trauma related because I was woken in the middle of the night a lot during it and also, bad things would happen when I went to sleep.

What do you guys do to cope with this if you experience it?

 

[billie]

I turn my fan on, then put on an ice climbing dvd because it has beautiful senes in it. it doesn't always work but it does calm me a little.

 

[ZebraWestie]

My husband takes sleeping pills, I try to relax by reading until sleep takes over (nothing exciting, which has the opposite effect) or playing soothing music quietly and try to visualise happy things.

 

[gtpgurl]

Oh my god this happens to me all the time! I never made the connection to my PTSD.Same thing for me sleep meant bad things would happen. I tried all sorts of sleeping pills. sometimes they work most of the time Im awake through it. When I start to doze off I get this really dizzy falling sensation and I pop right back awake every time. I don't really have any advice on what to do about it, its just crazy that I never made that connection.

a few things I know you can try to help stay calm is lavender scented oil, candles, lotions and Tea and valerian root I think they make tea of that too.

I hope you are able to get some sleep soon I know how much it sucks day after day of not being able to sleep.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

I don't just feel it consciously, even if I manage to calm myself down so I think that I can sleep I get a lot of hypnic jerks usually kicking the air or suddenly biting hard - enough that the noise'll wake me up if I don't bite my tongue. Apparently anxiety, caffeine, stress and strenuous activity are the most common causes, although hypnic jerks happen in all people. So the obvious, yet unhelpful advice for both conscious and unconscious pre-sleep nervousness would be: Be calm. Sometimes I hate those words :meh:

 

[keifer]

I've just stayed awake until exhausted to just crash. In the last month, every night is multiple dreams/nightmares. I feel my brain is trying to sort this out.

 

[Stanley Shi-Yume]

Absolutely absolutely. It's just about the defining feature of my comprehension of my condition. That moment when I am nothing... what should be a release, instead it is a falling off the edge. Can't handle it.

How I've always tried to counter it is listening to stories/books or music, or just some ambient sound like rain. The app I'm using Sleep Cycle has a good feature for that.

I also find that I get amazing rest if I take diphenhydramine. It slightly eases my mind into a drowsy place where the drop off isn't so intense.

 

[saoirserylyn]

I haven't found an answer to this for myself, but am really glad that I'm not the only one experiencing this problem. I've often told people since my trauma that falling asleep is the absolute scariest thing that happens to me. Maybe not actually falling asleep, but that feeling of slipping away - releasing control of your mind to actually sleep.

The only answer I'm considering is medication. I've tried just about everything else in the book. Every sound startles or annoys me at night, even those relaxing waterfall sounds. It's nuts.

 

[franciemarnie]

It's like a speeding train comes thru my bedroom a half hour after I fall asleep. Alert!! Alert!! Danger!!!

So tiring. Even though I expect it now - a shock to the system is still a shock to the system.

Bummer man.

PTSD symptom for sure.

 

[keifer]

One of the things when I'm in that twilight of falling asleep, its something I felt just before or near my event and I'm suddenly paralyzed again, just a thought.

 

[EvenStrongerNow]

Thanks for the responses. My hubby has been using snore strips and sleeping on his side so I can't really blame it on his snoring anymore lol.

I too have stayed awake until I'm so exhausted, but it makes it so much worse. I've used Benadryl. It works until I take it the 3rd night in a row, then my mind fights past the drowsy stage.

I will try the scents and music. I've done music before, but it keeps my husband awake so I'll try it in head phones with a really calm sound on repeat. Last time, I used Pandora and some tense piano piece came on and scared me awake.

It's not a dizzy or falling feeling. It's just the feeling of drifting off that startles me. Or, my ears will peel toward the slightest of a noise, pull it in and it creates fear within me, pulling me back out of any calm stage I've gotten to.

The fan seems like a great idea too. Thanks so much.

 

[Meghan87]

This happens to me ALL the time, I have started taking some medication that helps a bit but even with it I struggle sometimes, I find the combination of medication and doing something relaxing till I pass out helps, reading a therapy book usually :P You are not alone for sure! I think its all about finding what distracts and soothes your mind. I often try to think about what I am going to do tomorrow, a trip I want to take or a hobby I would like to pick up or all of them! Ha-ha... anything that will help me stop the feeling of fear...I have a fan too and a little waterfall with a light that I picked up for about $20.00, the sound of waterfalls soothes me.