OCD about sleep?

[IStillHaveHope]

Hello. I was wondering if this seemed like OCD and if so, if anyone knew anything that helped.

For a long time I've had trouble with sleep. I'm afraid if I don't get enough I'll feel terrible and have more OCD episodes. Lately however, I've been having insomnia, most likely due to a med change. I've been waking up at about 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and really struggling to get back to sleep. Of course this raises my anxiety.

I guess I'm not sure what to do. My psychiatrist prescribed Ambien and I take an Ativan at night. I've also tried eating less at night, getting sun in the morning and excercizing a bit during the day.

I've just been struggling with this since it has been impacting my ability to work and do ERP. As always I appreciate any feedback you have.

[Eli_E]

Hi there! I'm sorry you are experiencing this. I've had something similar. When I first started having severe OCD episodes I was barely sleeping at all, and when I did fall asleep, I would also wake up between 2 and 3 and have a really hard time going to sleep. I'll admit that once I started a low dose of lexapro, my body calmed down enough that I was able to sleep better. However, it took a while for me to really be able to sleep through the night. I think a combo of meditating, drinking teas, making sure I'm unplugged helped (also finally getting an ocd therapist). However, I think the real issue was learning to not be afraid of bedtime and to tell my OCD maybe I will sleep, maybe I won't but I'm going to breathe and rest. I basically had to treat going to bed as its own exposure. It took a few months, but I can now sleep through the night and my fear of not being able to sleep has lessened considerably. I'm not sure if this will be the most helpful, but I wanted to at least let you know that you are not alone!

[IStillHaveHope in reply to Eli_E]

Thank you for your kind reply. It sounds like you had a similar experience as me. When my OCD gets bad I tend to fixate on my sleep. I'm hoping the medicine change will help me be a bit calmer.

I think you're right though about treating it as an exposure. I think I also have to work better at getting unplugged before bed. Maybe doing some sleep meditations will help too.

Thank you for the support. It really helps, and I'm glad there are people out there who take the time to do it

🙂

[nkotbjoeymc]

I Take Seroquel To Sleep.

[Sesa79 in reply to nkotbjoeymc]

I take quetiapine (seroquel ) as well it really helps me and calms me before bed.

I’ve decided this week though I’m going to do some breathing exercises as well as Im always looking at my phone.

[nkotbjoeymc in reply to Sesa79]

It Help’s Me With My OCD Too But Only If Taking With Prozac.