Insomnia has destroyed me

[Guest_8303]

I have suffered for insomnia all my life. But I feel like the latest bout has defeated me. I am not a person anymore, I am not more than my disease. Insomnia defines me. It is more than me. 

i wish I could have found help for this. Everyone has a home remedy for insomnia. Everyone thinks you can just out think it. Maybe that is true for them but I cannot. I close my eyes, try to meditate whatever the sleep just doesn’t come. I try all the home remedies but there is no sleep. 

The lack of sleep makes me into a different person, a barely sane monster. Then people tell you little things that worked for them and get offended when you say you already tried. The idea that you might have a greater problem than they have experienced is offensive to them. 

It’s like if you had a physical disability and everyone just told you to think your way out of it. It’s hard. 

[Sophie_M]

Dear Guest_8303

We would like to thank you for finding the courage to post about your frustrations around insomnia and how people react to you. We hope we will be able to support you. We would like to ask that you please try to keep in mind that any thoughts and suggestions our community offers are coming from the place of caring and wanting to support you.

We understand that there are many different causes of insomnia. So, our first thought, which you have probably already heard, is have you discussed your insomnia with your GP? We understand that there may be medications for some causes of insomnia.

We are also aware that certain age groups often get insomnia at significantly higher rates than the rest of the population. This is especially true for people who are heading into their later years.

Also, environmental changes frequently cause insomnia to increase for people. Moving, changes in lifestyle, frequent arguments with partners and family, problems at work, and even dietary changes may increase insomnia for many people.

We would like to encourage you to call our experienced counsellors on 1300 22 4636. They may be able to help you work through various factors that may have caused an increase in insomnia. At the very least, they might be able to help you find local specialised services which might be able to help you figure out why insomnia is increasing.

We look forward to seeing what experiences our wonderfully supportive community has had and how they have dealt with it.

Warm regards,

Sophie M.
 

[Mark Z.]

Hi Guest_8303,

I'm very sorry, I can't imagine how hard it is for you.

When you say you have tried all the home remedies but nothing helped, do you want to share if you have tried to seek professional help? Including talking to your GP, seeing a psychologist, having any treatments or therapies. 

Mark

[Summer Rose]

Hi Guest 8303

I’m really sorry to learn of the challenges you’re experiencing due to insomnia. Hugs to you.

I care for a loved one with a chronic and debilitating mental health condition that people generally don’t understand, so I get how hard this is for you.

What I have learned over the past decade is that you never give up. As hard as it is, I encourage you to plough on for two reasons.

First, you are not insomnia despite how you currently feel. You are a unique and special human being who deserves the opportunity to live your best life. This is worth fighting for.

Second, while you and I don’t have the answers, somebody out there does. If you haven’t seen a GP, please make an appointment. If your GP is unhelpful, find another one. I’m not a doctor but I suggest you ask the GP about the possibility of undertaking a sleep study at a hospital properly equipped to help—meaning they have a clinic offering a multi-disciplinary approach—to try to get to the root cause of your condition. If you’ve already tried this, go back to square one and try it again. If your GP doesn’t think this will help ask what will.

I’m encouraging you to keep pushing because no one will do this for you and you are not the problem. The problem is that you haven’t yet encountered the right person to help you.

Please post any time and our community will do its best to support you.

Kind thoughts to you 

[Gls1]

Hi, my wife is going through the same as you. What ended up helping you?