TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

Ocd thoughts directed towards sleep

Hello guys. Is there anyone like me whose intrusive thoughts is caused by fear of not getting sleep? I read in some articles that when we have ocd thoughts, we should let it go and feel the anxiety to increase our tolerance to that thought. But what if you’re trying to sleep? Will the anxiety not let you sleep? Should I push through the anxiety and try to sleep? Or just postpone the thoughts to my next worry time schedule? Please help.😢

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

I struggle with this as well and recently made some progress. The best way through this anxiety is to carry on with your day even if you don’t sleep well. Don’t cancel plans or call in sick. Teach yourself that being tired is nothing to be afraid of. It’s a bit uncomfortable but that’s all. Say to yourself ‘Maybe I’ll get a good night’s rest tonight, and maybe I won’t. Oh well it doesn’t matter.’ The anxiety will eventually start to subside and you’ll sleep better because there’s less pressure. There’s all sort of sleep hygiene advice out there but personally trying to do all that stuff just makes it harder to sleep. I’d say just live your life and trust that your body knows how to sleep. Don’t make turn sleep into a big deal. Expose yourself to your fear of being tired or sleeplessness by doing fun or productive things even if you feel a bit groggy. I’d also recommend The Sleep Book by Dr Guy Meadows which I think is the best book on insomnia for people with OCD

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 Hi Adam, thank you so much for taking time to reply me.🥺 This definitely helps!! It’s also comforting to know that I’m not the only one who has this kind of OCD.Thank you so much.

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

You’re welcome. Let everyone know how you get on

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 Heyyy, I started reading the sleep book by guy meadows and I think it really helps!!! It gave me hope that I can overcome this.. but I just have a question, like it says that we have to welcome an intrusive thought even when we’re about to sleep, but is it okay if for now, I will postpone the thoughts and think about them in the morning(during my worry schedule)? Because I think my anxiety level is still so high to expose myself to thoughts. Maybe give time for my anxiety level to go down first. I only slept like an hour a day for the past few days.

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@TrustinGod I mean I’ve been applying the things you said like be okay with not getting sleep and it really helps but sometimes I still have other intrusive thoughts like guilt thoughts like if I do this or that I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I feel extremely guilty.

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

When you realise you don’t need a perfect night’s sleep to enjoy your life or do the things you care about you’ll stop being so anxious about it. For example, I slept quite badly last night, but instead of planning on going to bed really early today I’m going to see a friend in the evening and prove to myself that it actually doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ll yawn a bit or my eyes will hurt. But so what? It’s better to see a friend than worry about getting a perfect night’s sleep

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

If doing a worry schedule works for you then carry on! It might take some trial and error before you realise what works for you as an individual

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 Thank you! How are you doing?

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 Last night, I tried to do mindfulness while laying in bed and I was falling asleep while doing it and I was worried if it’s okay to fall asleep while doing the noticing exercise so I always wake up. I think it’s because Dr. Guy said that the exercise is not to get me to sleep but to prepare for sleep and to increase my willingness to experience trouble. Do you think I should finish doing the exercise until the end before sleeping or can I fall asleep while doing the exercise?

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

@TrustinGod I’m struggling with different OCD themes at the moment which are making things difficult for me, but I start therapy next week

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

@TrustinGod Don’t worry about following exercises to the letter. Treat the book as a catalogue of helpful suggestions and see what works for you. Don’t make sleep the main subject of your life: pursue other goals and eventually sleep will come back to you

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 Your words are always helpful to me. Thank you!

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 When did you realize that you have OCD?

AdamLeonard94

Date posted: 1y

About 7 years ago. I received treatment and it almost entirely went away for many years. Unfortunately it came back this year (financial and housing insecurity have made me vulnerable) and I’m trying to get through it again

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 Hello! It’s me again. Sorry for my super late reply. I’m sorry to hear that your ocd came back this year. How are you doing lately? It’s been weeks since you started treatment, right? I also started to see a psychiatrist again..

TrustinGod

Date posted: 1y

@AdamLeonard94 By the way, this thought kept bothering me and was wondering if you could tell me your perspective about what Dr. Guy said. Regarding the breathing exercises or mindfulness exercises when trying to sleep, do you think he was saying we can fall asleep while doing the exercise but just not think that it is the main solution to sleep? Or was he saying we shouldn’t fall asleep while doing the exercises?

viluamorim

Date posted: 24w

Can you guys meditate or/and sit in silence?

My ocd gets so loud in the silence and right before bed when there’s no distractions. I always struggled with anxiety since my teens and guided meditation used to help… until OCD. First time trying guided meditation with OCD I had an intrusive thought of “what if you actually lose control and can’t follow these instructions?” And got even more anxious 🫠🫠🫠 had to stop, and haven’t tried to meditate ever since. Just curious to know. Sometimes I feel like I have the worst type of OCD. It will latch onto anything to make me anxious!

baukje

Date posted: 11w

Erp for insomnia ?

I have, alongside my other OCD themes, an intense fear of insomnia. Although this has been improving somewhat — partly thanks to medication and The sleep school on YouTube — I still find myself ruminating about it throughout the day when I have something important the next day, I get stuck in the fear that everything will be ruined — for both myself and others — because my mind is so preoccupied with sleep. + a fear of depression coming back. It honestly feels like a form of sleep OCD. I'm not sure if that’s an official thing, but that’s how it feels to me. A form of erp is the idea of befriending wakefulness. That works great tbh. Things like sleep hygiene, meditation, etc. — tend to backfire because my OCD latches onto them and becomes too obsessive about “doing them right.” I’m genuinely wondering whether ERP — for example in the form of a worst-case-scenario audio loop (imaginal exposure) — could be helpful in this case. I’m hesitant to start unless I know it can actually help. Is there anyone who has experience with this or thoughts about it? I’m not looking for reassurance or tips to fall asleep — only for ideas on how ERP might be applied in this situation.

CrazyLizardLady

Date posted: 11w

Does anyone struggle the worst at night?

I feel like it’s just me. But at night when I start to fall asleep, play on my phone, or watch TV; I’ll get major intrusive thoughts and a butt load of anxiety. Has anyone felt the same about this? How have you managed it? It’s getting exhausting and even causes me to sleep-less.

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Ocd thoughts directed towards sleep

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