I've gotten only 4 hours of sleep tonight due to anxiety being so annoying and out of control. This sucks. I just wish anxiety was gone and I didn't have to worry about everything extensively. Sometimes though I feel like I do this to myself
I can empathize with you. Over the years I've gone through bouts of insomnia where I can't get more than 2-3 hours of sleep per night for multiple nights in a row. What I've learned is that all of those sleep hygiene tips and rules that you hear about (no screens before bed, keeping a set routine, journaling before bed, etc) are nice for people that are interested in improving their sleep, but if your primary cause of sleepless nights is anxiety, then they can actually be counter-productive. Why? Because the more things you do to improve your sleep, the more anxious and annoyed you feel when you're lying in bed awake. It's a vicious cycle, and OCD absolutely LOVES that kind of thing. My best advice is to focus on how you can improve your life during the daytime, and good sleep will happen naturally. You will have nights of terrible sleep now-and-then, and that's okay. Whatever thoughts you have while you're lying in bed awake are honestly irrelevant; all that matters is that you feel anxious, which is keeping your brain alert and awake. Nothing more, and nothing less. When it happens, don't be so hard on yourself. Instead, take it as an indication that it's time to make some changes in your life. So take some time to investigate the anxiety, and what is fueling it. Is it POCD? Therapy will help that over time. Is it work or school? Start developing a plan to reduce the stress caused by those things, whether it's talking to a teacher/manager, being honest with yourself how much work you can handle, or thinking about getting a new job. Is it related to friends/relationships? Find people you can talk to that you can trust, and work on resolving whatever conflicts are bothering you. And remember, anxiety will never 100% "go away," nor should it (it's an important emotion for our survival, after all). The idea here is to reduce the unnecessary anxiety caused by our modern way of living. Another thing that is proven to improve sleep, which is NEVER mentioned in any article or video about sleep, is to spend time helping other people. Whether that's talking to a friend who is feeling down, or doing some charity work, engaging in any sort of pro-social behavior is a natural way to increase your overall happiness and contentment with life. Make a habit of reflecting on the ways you've helped others as often as you can, and also reflect on the things you're grateful for. I know that sounds like a lot of fluff, but there is serious neuroscience that backs that stuff up. Hope some of this is helpful for you.
Idk whats going on tonight. I couldn't stay asleep for the life of me and kept having nightmares. Its currently about 5 am for me 😂 sheesh.
I'm three hours ahead of you. I had a night like that one a point. I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know if it's because of my current worry or if it's what always causes my insomnia
@BigGip09 Could be both. OCD messes with sleep more than we realize I think. But hey like the other person said get a nap in if you can, or a coffee ! Haha.
@Northern_Downpour Thankfully I've gotten a nap but it was only for two hours. So I guess technically I've slept for two hours.
I don't drink coffee. Hopefully I can get a nap in but I'm afraid that sinking feeling would just show up and mess with me. Now my worries are about being a horrible neighbor because they may have heard me make certain noises at certain points. Then I get thoughts that make this about POCD which makes it worse. Maybe that's why I can't sleep
I have barely slept in three days, maybe two hours a night. I feel so overwhelmed and uncomfortable right now. I cannot, for the life of me, stop confessing. I feel absolutely unforgivable, like no matter what it is, I am irredeemable. These waves of guilt and dread keep hitting me so hard. Every time I sleep, all I do is dream-ruminate. I analyze every tiny detail of whatever I am obsessing over, even in my sleep. It almost feels easier to stay awake, not that I have been able to do anything else. I feel so drained. I am scared to sleep. I hate my brain. I feel so anxious.
i’ve had pretty bad anxiety since about 10 tonight (it’s 2 am rn). i started really worrying because my head wouldn’t stop hurting even after i took a nap and two advil. then my stomach was hurting. then i took two more advil because my head kept going. then because i was worrying so bad i went into my mom’s room and she gave me a zofran. then i lied in there, watching the notebook to try and distract myself. and that started working and i started feeling better. but then i got hit with a second wave of anxiety, making me think i was gonna get sick even though i took a zofran. and i’m still dealing with it rn and can’t stop panicking. i have an ice pack on my neck to help alleviate the anxiety along with my heating pad and a movie playing on my computer. right now i’m freaking myself into having food poisoning. it just sucks when my nights are spent like this and i can’t get out of it.
I'm really frustrated right now because once again I feel like I can't keep up with my own brain and I just can't keep doing this. I'm so tired of doing this. My head is always going and going and going and I just want to unplug it. It makes me so stressed. It's like I have someone else in my head who won't shut up and is always pointing everything I do out. Like I'm walking on eggshells around myself so I don't trigger these thoughts. But if I walk on egg shells then it just goes on about something else and I feel like I'm going crazy.. I feel so bad because it makes me so snappy. I want to bash my head in because I'm so over it. The only thing I know that helps is anxiety meds, because I had one one time and it actually really helped me (it didn't even do it's job! Because of how bad my anxiety is!! I'm just so desperate at this point for relief) But the last time I brought up going on meds for anxiety with my mom she said I'll get addicted, like my dad, or my grandma, or whoever else in my family because everyone in my family is addicted to SOMETHING. I don't see the issue in trying though. I feel like I'm someone who could really benefit from anxiety meds. I don't talk about my feelings often BECAUSE of anxiety, so it seems like I'm just trying to go on meds for no reason. But it's like..my body hurts. All the time. And my brain never stops. My brain is so messed up. I feel like I could do so much more if I wasn't like this. It's never going away, I've tried and I've tried and I'm still a mess. I just want it to stop. I'm not asking for much. I just want the fear to stop and the intrusive thoughts to stop and the racing thoughts and the feelings of doom and the nervousness and and I actually want to feel okay in my own skin for fucking once. I've tried everything nothing works im losing patience and I'm losing hope. I feel like there's something wrong with me. I feel like my brain is broken and that makes me sad to be honest. I feel like everyone around me can work. Why can't my stupid brain work???? I try so hard. I try so hard all the time. And it still doesn't do what it needs to do. I hate myself so much.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
