I Don’t Sleep

One more question for y’all! I’m sure this is many of us, but I literally cannot sleep. If I do fall asleep, I maybe drift off for an hour or two. Then, I’m startled awake….intrusive thoughts running wild, heart racing….and then I lie awake the rest of the night. Just stuck in panic mode until the sun comes up. Then I have to start the day…already being in the rabbit hole for hours. I’ve tried every natural “remedy” nothing works. I’ve tried the pharmaceutical route…that also doesn’t work! Sleep has now become the enemy and I’d rather just stay awake all night. Does anyone have anything that helps them?? I’m desperate. The body/mind can’t heal without proper sleep. Also…and maybe folks can speak to this too. I’m back on my SSRI (3.5 weeks in) after being off for a few months (mistake). It’s torture waiting for the effects to kick in.

Username: MalisimoMalisimo

Date posted: 46w ago

Get some Ativan until they kick in, that should put you to sleep. Works for me even when very anxious.

Username: ConfusedDrewConfusedDrew

Date posted: 46w ago

I also have this problem big time and I'm working on ways to treat this. so far going to bed having established a good mindset already, has helped the most but sometimes it's unavoidable. I want to look into a way to recover from the thoughts to go back to sleep but so far nothing too substantial in severe cases. taking a warm shower followed by a little meditation has had the most success however. you can meditate in the shower too. taking deep breaths feeling your lungs expand shift your focus from the thought to your physical body, ground yourself in reality and feel your heart beat, sense your nose, fingers and toes, do this in bed too, close your eyes and breath and sense all parts of your body, your mind will naturally drift during this process hopefully brining you back to sleep.

Username: BuffbuffBuffbuff

Date posted: 46w ago

I had the same thing when I was starting with SSRI again. Sleep problems and OCD. Give it time and ask doctor for higher dose if it doesn't work.

Username: jamesconnorjamesconnor

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 46w ago

SSRIs make it difficult to sleep at first as you probably know .. it will get better! I like to put on meditation music at a low volume or follow a deep sleep guided meditation when my insomnia is really bad. Sometimes just having some noise play in the background keeps your mind from running off on its own

Username: jamesconnorjamesconnor

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 46w ago

Trust me I faced this when first starting Prozac about a month ago I had the worst nightmares ever but it eventually subsided and now I actually enjoy sleeping bc it’s like the one time I can turn my brain off lol

Username: RileyAdams55RileyAdams55

Date posted: 46w ago

i'm so sorry to hear that you're experiencing this, sleep really is important and i can feel your frustration and desperation. sleep disruptions due to OCD is a tough place to be. by the way, have you heard about this new AI-powered OCD therapy tool called 'unstuck?' i've been where you are before and what really helped me was this free AI OCD therapy tool called 'unstuck' (unstuckmyocd.com/try) that my NOCD therapist recommended to me. i think it'll be especially helpful for you because it's designed to provide step-by-step support when OCD gets tough even during sleepless nights. i hate when people promote stuff, but i really think it can help you because it's changed my life. lmk if you have Qs or just want to talk more! <3

Username: micahbec

Date posted: 1y ago

I can’t sleep at night

Ever since I started 5th grade I’ve had a lot of trouble sleeping. At one point I could sleep up to 15 hours at once because it was like my mind trapped me there and my whole body and thought process was frozen outside of the real world. At another point in time I was obsessed with getting exactly 8 hours. Now, I cannot sleep at night no matter how tired I am. It’s as if sleeping when it’s dark outside makes my intrusive thoughts worse. But as soon as the sun starts to rise, I pass out and stay asleep forever and just like before, I get stuck in my sleep. My dreams become awful, endless nightmares (I’ve had these since I was 4 or 5 but they’ve somehow gotten worse). Like I have no idea what I’m going to do once the nights get longer during fall and winter and I have to go to classes during the day. Part of it may be medication or my other medical condition but a lot of it seems like it’s a part of my OCD or another mental illness. Has anyone else had a sleep problem like this?

Username: Alyssa1995

Date posted: 44w ago

Sleep anxiety

Has anyone experienced fear of not falling asleep? I have never had sleep issues before but after a bout of jet lag 3 months ago, my sleep has been terrible. This last week, I’ve only managed to sleep 3-5 hours a night because I’m just so SCARED of not sleeping. I’m unable to function because I’m obsessing about not sleeping and the terrifying effects it has on the mind and body. I’m afraid I’m going to end up losing my mind from not sleeping. Last night I was able to get 4 hours of deep sleep, but I was in bed for a total of 14 hours and just tossed and turned. Can anyone relate to this? I’m so scared I’ve been vomiting and nonstop crying 💔😭

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 36w ago

Haven’t slept in a week

Hi I haven’t slept in a week because I’m so afraid of my thoughts and not being able to control them or work through them by ruminating. I’ve slept a few hours here and there but I wake up with this really scary fear response/adrenaline rush because i feel like I know I was thinking something really disturbing in my sleep but I wasn’t conscious enough to remember it and the adrenaline is so intense that I feel like if I can’t remember what the dreams were I don’t know what I will do. Sometimes I run to the shower and turn on the water and just rock back and forth on the floor because I’m so afraid of my thoughts. I have such a hard time letting myself relax enough to fall asleep because I can feel myself losing control over my thoughts in my half asleep state and it feels like I’m tripping or something. Does anyone else feel like this? How do you get yourself to fall asleep? Any advice? Thank you

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I Don’t Sleep

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