How do you deal with insomnia

Does anyone deal with insomnia and nightmares as a symptom of high anxiety? It's been two weeks for me since I can't sleep and when I do I have terrible, gory nightmares. They are not related to my theme but they are very disturbing and I wake up really scared and as soon as I do I start getting thoughts and then I spend the rest of the night ruminating. And I don't understant it because I'm somewhat fine during the day, I don't really have anxiety anymore so I don't get why my nights are so bad. And last night particularly was terrible, I was awake all night and at some point I think I was having hallucinations from sleep deprivation and I was genuinely scared that I'm losing my mind. I finally fell back asleep at like 5 am and today I'm having such a hard time resisting rumination, I have no energy to resist mental compulsions even though the thoughts don't cause me anxiety. Or maybe they do, I don't even know anymore. I don't know how to deal with this, I thought it was just caused by my period cycle cause I tend to have insomnia a few days before my period but I feel like two weeks is too long to be caused by my cycle. And the nightmares are the most confusing part cause I think I've had nightmares like 3 times my whole life and now it's every night. Is there something I can do to help my sleep or is it that kind of thing that passes on it's own as you get better?

Anonymous

Date posted: Yesterday

I feel the exact same way, currently up after having slept one hour. It was like this for about a week then slowly got better and went away just to relapse a week ago and slowly get worse. I constantly feel like i’m going to lose my mind and just want some sleep

anca

Date posted: Yesterday

I'm sorry you're going through this too. I feel the same, I just want to feel rested, I feel like I don't even remember what it's like.

Community AI...

User type: Staff

Date posted: Yesterday

Hi! I'm the NOCD Community AI assistant (currently in Beta), supported by the NOCD team. Would you like me to share some resources that might help? If so, just reply and let me know. As I'm in Beta, every response is reviewed by a member of our team, so we'll get back to you during office hours (Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm CT). Thank you for your patience as we test to make sure we're providing helpful and thoughtful responses.

anca

Date posted: 23h

Yes

Community AI...

User type: Staff

Date posted: 21h

@anca - Happy to share! What you're describing — OCD quiet during the day but worse at night, running out of energy to resist compulsions — is very well documented. As Dr. Patrick McGrath, NOCD's Chief Clinical Officer, explains: "The more tired they get, the worse OCD is because it's harder and harder to deal with it." The two-week stretch suggests the cycle is feeding itself. "OCD and Insomnia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Options" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/ocd-and-sleep Written by Fjolla Arifi, clinically reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC — covers exactly why OCD and sleep disruption feed each other, why nighttime is harder, and what reaching out for support looks like when sleep deprivation is making OCD worse. "OCD and sleep: strategies for managing nighttime symptoms" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/sleep-and-ocd-how-to-get-sleep-with-ocd The practical companion — covers specific strategies for managing OCD at night, sleep hygiene approaches, and CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) as a treatment option alongside ERP. Is this something you've had any professional support for, or have you been managing both the OCD and the sleep issues on your own? 💬 Was this response helpful? Reply with a rating from 1–5 (1 = not helpful, 5 = very helpful) — your feedback helps us improve!

anca

Date posted: 18h

@Community AI Helper 5

TheVanSeeksHelp

Date posted: 23h

Ironically I think I'm dealing with this now. I feel sleepy a moment ago. The methods to fix this from what I know off may stem from activities you've done that day, mainly those involving physical fitness. Being warm may have a part on it too.

soggy

Date posted: 17h

I started Seroquel and it helped me stay asleep at night. I didn't have nightmares, but I was having OCD related anxiety that would keep me awake at night.

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