Anxiety, Sleeping Problems, Constant Worrying. Not Myself. Lets help each other.

[SleepNathan]

Hello Everyone, My name is Nathan I'm new here. I'd thought I'd join this forum in the hopes of trying to help myself and others with other people. I'll keep it short as I'm limited on characters.

I have Anxiety and Sleeping problems. All started 6 weeks ago when I couldn't sleep for almost 4 days.

I have tried some pills to help me but do not like the side effects for Anxiety and for Sleeping. I'm cold turkey I want to train my mind to overcome what I'm going through.

I have constant worry/anxiety throughout the day most things/thoughts can increase my anxiety. I constantly struggle with sleep each night though I do get some Z's luckily.

I don't feel like myself I feel spaced out detached. Things that once brought me joy and happiness no longer do. I feel paralyzed sometimes. I panic easily. I'm in a constant battle with my own mind, I feel as though this will be my life from now on. Even though logically thinking it does not have to be.

I try to keep positivity alive within myself, it is hard and I do struggle. What terrifies me the most is not being able to sleep, sleep is on my mind nearly every minute of every day. And the little things that increase my Anxiety along with it. It seems to get worse at night because I dread not being able to sleep.

I worry about what time I should go to bed, what time to make dinner, should I eat dinner early 2-3pm to avoid and upset stomach, lack of appetite along with it. What time to have a shower, do chores around the house. I try to do all these things before nighttime as though I feel if I don't I'll feel terrible,horrible.

I just want to feel normal again, I've had small amounts of Anxiety in the past but nothing like this. I need help, reassurances anything and everything (besides Drugs).

I know I'm not alone in this and there are probably people who have it worse then I do and feel sorry and sad for everyone affected by this disgusting, hideous symptom and hope we all can talk to each other about it and help each other get through this.

I'm seeing a Psychologist today for CBT it's putting me at ease like a slight weight has been lifted, I look forward to it. I hate feeling this way.

Will, can, does it get better ? Any and all help is appreciated.

Thank you everyone, I hope you all have a great day and get through any and all problems you are currently facing.

[LavenderTea]

Hey Nathan,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the BB forums.

Sleeping seems to be a bit of a struggle, hey? I know that when I don't sleep properly, it affects my mood, my motivation, my appetite and a whole bunch of other things.

It sounds like you've got yourself in a bit of a cycle... Not sleeping well will increase your anxiety, which then increases your inability to sleep well... it must be a bit of a pain.

I'm glad to hear that you're getting some professional help for your anxiety, so I'll focus on some tips that might help you get a better sleep.

• Have a schedule. You say that you're trying to work out whether you should eat/shower/do chores and that this can cause a lot of worry for you. It's good that you are thinking about a schedule but it does seem to cause a lot of concern. Generally, adults aged 26-64 years should get approximately 7-9 hours of sleep. If you are getting between 6-10 this may be appropriate for you, but it sounds like you're getting much less. A thing to do is set a target (i.e. 7 hours) and work backwards from the time you need to get up the next morning - that might help you work a rough schedule out... writing it down might help too.
• Do something relaxing before bed... you seem to be worrying a whole lot about sleep. Hopefully having a rough schedule might help you get into a routine... HOWEVER, if you know that you're likely to worry about getting enough sleep, do something that relaxes you before bed.
• Change your sleeping environment: use your bedroom only for sleeping, do everything else outside of your bedroom so your brain will eventually associate that space with sleep
• Avoid screens in your room... Tv, phones, ipads, computers... ditch it all at the door.
• If you lay down for half an hour and cant get to sleep, get up and leave the room. Do something relaxing for a bit, then if you feel sleepy, try again.
• Exercise during the day - it doesn't have to be anything drastic, but any activity is better than nothing.

Hopefully this is somewhat helpful!

If you wanted more tips, a quick google search or youtube search for calming/relaxing/sleeping music might also be helpful.

LT.