Extreme trouble sleeping and always feel like I'm living a dream
Posted , 3 users are following.
I've been stressed for about 3 years or so and have had constant anxiety. It's gotten to the point where I have almost completely depersonalized myself and feel like I'm dreaming 24/7. Like nothing matters at all and I'm living in some kind of simulation.
Now, I have so much trouble sleeping that I wake up almost immediately after drifting off and start to panic, feeling like I skipped a breath. I manage to keep myself under control, but my brain definitely tells me that it does not want to sleep. The only time I'm actually able to get to bed is when I'm dead tired. I'll wake up in a panic at least 3-4 times per night and it makes me fear actually going to bed.
0 likes, 2 replies
caz19600 MK2
Posted
I went to an anxiety evening class once who told me you should create rules for bedtime to help with your sleep patterns. These include:
- only using your bedroom for sleeping (i.e. don't sits and watch TV in their) so you associate the room with sleep
- no excercising in evening as adrenaline stays in your system for hours
- no caffeine after 6pm
- no blue light such as mobile phones
- if after 15 mins you're not asleep, get up. Do something else until you feel tired and then try again. If same thing happens repeat even if you've gone all night without sleep. Then get up and do your day. Try again that night.
- don't day nap
It's all about training the brain to associate sleep in a certain place and to associate it positively. It's on the mind website if you want more details. Right now you associate sleep with trouble and panic attacks because that's what you're experiencing so it's near impossible to sleep. You need to re-learn a sleep pattern.
giw672001 MK2
Posted
Maybe go try taking to a therapist & when I couldn’t sleep I took melatonin it’s s natural sleep supplement. Take it an hour before when you want to sleep.