The racing mind=no sleep

[toavfd25]

Well I couldn't fall asleep last night so I took more of my sleeping meds. Tonight i'm in the same boat. Although it felt good to finally get some sleep I was also not happy I slept til 4pm. The thoughts running through my head every night is getting pretty annoying. So just to be knocked out with pills is a sigh of relief but also not a good thing to do. I'm sooo tired but my mind just won't shut off.

[Nathalie99 Partner]

I'm really sorry about the disturbed sleep/lack of sleep, toavfd25.This is very common with PTSD and can lead to problems over time.

I had a different reason for not being able to sleep, I developed nightmares that made it impossible to sleep more than 1-2 hours per 24 has. It lasted for 6 months. My body gave up, I got sick.

Whatever the cause, insomnia is really serious.

I know many people "brag" about how little sleep they are getting and how productive/overworked they are but they don't realise just how dangerous lack of sleep is to health.

For me the only way was doing some form of trauma therapy and then changing my life's circumstances, both of which are extremely painful but lead to a big change.

I hope you can find a therapist that specialises in sleep and PTSD and maybe a sleep study?

Sending support as I've been there...

[Marnie22 Volunteer]

Try the YouTube channel of Caroline McCready. There are lots of videos that could help, some for very specific things. She has short and longer videos. Here is a link to a sleep video.

youtu.be/a1j2Uhzc08s(Not working as expected?)

BTW, you will wake up in a better frame of mind if you are really relaxed when you go to sleep.

Best wishes. 🌼

[Daveacr1959]

45 minutes of daily cardio exercise to produce endorphins that battle your anxiety and depression. And help tire you out for sleep. A new game changer for me 2 months ago, is a 10 minute pure cold shower daily. I am doing 2 of them it’s so helpful. You can go barely cold at first. Then each week go a bit colder. It releases stuff in the body to keep it from building up. And releases stuff we need that we might be short on. Hormones and such. Google cold shower therapy for mental health. I’m doing it twice a day now.

[designguy]

When I was having sleep issues I switched to decaf and took magnesium glycinate, ashwaghanda and phosphatidyl serine before bedtime to lower cortisol. I also took melatonin. When we are stressed and anxious we have elevated levels of cortisol so doing what you can to lower them really helps.

In my state, cbd is legal and I found a cbd tincture with herbs for insomnia which helped but it is apparently bad for glaucoma which I have, so I quit it.

The other thing which is a challenge, is to try to not worry too much about not sleeping and relax knowing that your body will naturally reset itself in time.

[Dolphin14 Moderator]

I slept in a chair for a year. I can't say it was a good sleep and it was a hard rocking chair. My mind was constantly on overdrive and the minute I would lay day I would jump up with anxiety.

I found meditation. I have been meditating for years now. I have learned so much through guided meditation and relaxation techniques. I know it's not for everyone but no meds worked for me.

I hope you find your answer. Not sleeping is very unhealthy for the body as Nathalie said.

🐬