Insomnia.. any tips??

[Myles5]

Hi guys. I'm sure there will be a few that can relate.

Im a 24yo male in Melbourne, And have been suffering from chronic anxiety for the last 2 years. And one of the biggest killers for me is the insomnia. It seems to be getting worse too.

It is a bad cycle, I can't sleep because I'm anxious, and when I don't sleep the symptoms of anxiety and the dizziness are much worse.

I feel that my lack of sleep every night is preventing me from getting any better and I just want to sort it out.

A common night for me is lay there for 2-3 hours trying to get to sleep, then once I'm asleep waking up every hour or so with bad anxiety in the middle of the night. I try to tire myself out during the day physically but I can just never seem to feel tired. It is so frustrating, I get more anxious as it gets later in the day as I know I will have to go to bed soon.

I have been taking medication for the last 6 weeks. But have had the same sleep problems long before taking medication so I know it's not that

if anyone has any advice or can share on their experience that would be greatly appreciated

thanks

myles

[BballJ]

Hi Myles5,

How have you been since you last posted?

My best,

Jay

[hairclip]

Hi Myles5,

I have the same problem, I've tried medications and it hasn't helped. So far I find it helpful to quit caffeine for the time being. If you MUST have caffeine, don't have it after 11pm. I've found establishing a regular bed time is pretty helpful (not 100% effective though).

I find listening to podcasts to be effective as well, the more boring and monotone it is the better it is. However, don't try any podcasts that could make you anxious (e.g: murder, history, mystery etc)

Hope this helps

All the best 🙂

[Blythe]

I have experienced terrible insomnia in the past - my absolute saviour has been Harry Potter audiobooks read by Stephen Fry - there's something about the timbre of his voice that helps so much. I have the audiobooks on an old school iPod so there's no screen or internet temptation. If I wake in the middle of the night and feel my brain try to click into panic/anxiety mode, I pop the headphones back in and generally, it interrupts that anxiety cycle enough that I can get back to sleep. The audiobooks have really helped me so much. My other tip is to not have a clock in your room. You can download an audiobook for free on Audible so it might be worth a try.

[Ggrand]

Hello Myles5 and everyone else,

When my depression and anxiety hit me hard, I go days without sleep, then of course MH hits harder still. What I do is I first do guided meditation, followed by relaxation mindfulness music, I'm not saying it works all the time or will work for anyone, but it does sometimes works for me.

I haven't tried the audio books but I definitely give them a try . thank you all for your great posts.

Kindness only,

Karen

[smallwolf]

I'm with Karen on the meditation and other exercises. I use relax melodies. The only comment I will make on guided meditations is (1) need to be open to some of the suggestions in the meditation and (2) you have to like the voice speaking to you. I tried a couple of the apps and could not get past the voice. I noticed in a previous post a mention of Steven Fry's voice. Might seem minor but can have a big effect on the success or otherwise of a meditation. And I will always do these meditations every night before sleep.

Not a salesman, but they also have a meditation for insomnia.

[Ggrand]

Hello smallwolf, and everyone,

I found a new app, it's called insight timer,

It has lots, and I mean lots of different meditation for just about everything, it also has lots of relaxation mindfulness music to select from.

I like the app as it's an all in one app, Has anyone tried this app, if so what do you think of it.

Kindness only,

Grandy.