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Help with insomnia

Posted , 4 users are following.

mike81648
mike81648

Hello all, back in late June I got in a car accident. For the first 5 days after that I got around 11 hours of sleep. After that, five straight days I slept normally. 8 hours, no sleep aids or anything. Since Monday 7/9, I can barely sleep at all. No matter what I do I can’t hit REM sleep. I was given Xanax and that helps but I don’t wanna get hooked on it. I’ve battled with health anxiety for around 4 months now but never had issues sleeping until now. Do you guys recommend I just wait until I crash out to sleep naturally, although I’m scared that could take like 5 days. Or continue with the Xanax? 

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • christine66659
    christine66659 mike81648

    Posted

    Hi mike..like yourself I developed health anxiety after a serious of tests on body earlier this year...triggered insomnia big time waiting for results ... I actually was awake 36hrs sleeping 12 for nearly two weeks..it was awful.my sleep is coming back on it’s own now..didn’t take meds.. just had some councilling and stopped worrying about sleep.. have you thought you may have ptsd after being in an accident..as it was a life threatening situation and I’m not surprised you are not sleeping..maybe write down your thoughts and feelings ..good luck
    • mike81648
      mike81648 christine66659

      Posted

      Hey Christine, I’ve never thought of the PTSD aspect of it. Did you have similar symptoms? My doc says my brain has associated sleep with something bad which is why this is happening. I feel like no matter how long I keep my eyes closed I never hit REM (unless on Xanax). Did this happen for you? I’m about 3 weeks in 
    • christine66659
      christine66659 mike81648

      Posted

      Hi Mike I developed sleep dread were as I feared going to sleep because of not being able to sleep..I developed PTSD after the deaths of two of my children and have had insomnia on and of most of my life..I manage my symptoms well after having council ling and CBT. Any trauma or life threatening event will automatically trigger our fight or flight or make us question our mortality whether days weeks months sometimes years later..one day at at a time Mike..and try not to think to much about sleep..it will come
    • mike81648
      mike81648 christine66659

      Posted

      Sorry to hear of this, thanks for the help. I don’t feel as it’s PTSD, I have no problem getting in a car or driving. I was afraid to fall asleep that night cause I got into an accident and thought i had a concussion, and my anxiety jolted me awake. 
    • christine66659
      christine66659 mike81648

      Posted

      Hi I'm not saying it is deffo PTSD...my friend was ok driving after her accident but she said she couldn't sleep at night thinking about if it had been a different outcome...she's okay now and was ok straight after accident..it worried her weeks later...I said same to her maybe anxiety form of PTSD and best thing is to keep getting in car. Which she did....our subconscious is very powerful x

  • lily65668
    lily65668 mike81648

    Posted

    Just wait it out, Mike. You're not doing yourself any harm at all by not reaching REM sleep. It was proved years ago that it's not essential. I also wonder how you know you're not getting into REM sleep anyway. We don't always remember our dreams, and this may especially be the case when they're traumatic, which yours could be following the accident. Finally, I'm even more surprised that you feel you're getting more REM sleep when you take Xanax, as it's a known REM-sleep suppressant!

    As Christine says, get some counselling for the PTSD if you feel you need it, otherwise just let nature take its course. Lack of sleep will make you feel rough but it won't actually harm you. I was a poor sleeper right through my working life but am still in perfectly good health now, in my 70s.

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