Sleep Problems with Obsessions
Hi friends! I have been really struggling with sleep problems lately because of my OCD. I either deal with nightmares related to my obsessions or unable to sleep with rumination. It seems like no matter what I try nothing helps. Has anyone else experienced this? Or have any suggestions to what has helped you? I appreciate you all 🙏🏼😊
I struggled with this for years, and occasionally still will. Reading before bed became an absolute game changer for me, because it occupies my brain with other information so I can redirect my focus. I've also learned to have a wind down period before bed with no technology, and I also try to do my planned exposures earlier in the day so my anxiety isn't as heightened at night. Hope this helps!
I sometimes have trouble getting to sleep and the calm app has helped for me. The app has sleep stories, nature sounds, and meditation sections.
Nightmares/dreams with intrusive themes — when I wake up, I recognize that I had a bad dream. I acknowledge what I am feeling (scared, disturbed, anxious etc). I also acknowledge that I don’t have any control over my dreams, just like thoughts. I can choose what meaning I assign to the dream. My therapist suggested that you can turn the theme of the dream into an exposure if you choose. Ruminating before sleep - erp around my themes has helped. Nonenagagement responses has also helped. But the thing that has helped me the most is doing cardio at least once a week and a simple bedtime routine (reading or listening to very drowsy podcasts)
I love the calm app too! I use it for meditation before bed. I really like meditation instructor Jeff Warren. I also like to read until I feel drowsy. For me, I can’t read anything too too exciting, otherwise I’ll stay awake reading. When I’m lying in bed trying to sleep, I like making up fiction stories/fairytales in my head or thinking about creative writing projects that I’m working on. This gives my brain something to chew on while my body drifts to sleep.
I struggle from insomnia due to my anxiety/ ocd. Unfortunately the only thing that has helped me is medication. I am on Zoloft and lorazepam but it helps.
What have you tried before/what is your current evening routine?
I have always suffered from OCD. It keeps changing from one thing to another. I take medication and I used to see an OCD therapist who helped me tremendously. My new OCD is that if I wake up around 4 am, I can’t go back to sleep. I have been fighting it for two months. My psychiatrist wants to increase or change my med. I’m not sure about that. Do you have any suggestions how to deal with this? Lack of sleep has interfered with life in such a horrible way.
Does anyone else worry and going to sleep so much that it's hard to go to sleep and stay asleep. Or how does ocd affect yalls sleep. I just found out that I had it after years of battling thought about my health and other things in my life now I'm obsessing over sleep.what makes it worse is when I have a clear mind after distracting myself I revert back to the slave mind and it feels again like a weight is in my mind.
I have intrusive thoughts in my mind practically every minute of my life. I exhaust myself fighting them. I dread the night. I cannot sleep . Most evenings I lay awake trying to distract my mind until the sun comes up. I am so very tired. I had OCD since I was a child. But back then I didn't think anything of it because I didn't know that something was wrong. I went to a doctor once. He prescribed medication that made me feel like a walking zombie and even that didn't work 100%.
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