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Re: Advice please - another bad patch

Posted by Beth on November 06, 2001 at 07:23:09:

In Reply to: Advice please - another bad patch posted by Lynne on November 06, 2001 at 00:13:46:

Hi Lynne,

Well, my insomnia was never as bad as yours and didn't last as many years, but I did experience some of what you wrote. I also seemed to have a window of opportunity to fall asleep, and when it passed, I would be awake all night. However, that did change, and the last few times I had to get up I was only up for an hour or two before getting sleepy and going back to bed. So when you are countering negative thoughts, remind yourself that the patterns you are experiencing now do not have to be permanent.

If I do have to get up, I do read, laying down, with very dim light (either a flashlight with a cloth over it or one of those little book lights set up on the couch and angled away a bit because they are actually too bright, in my opinion.) When my insomnia was very bad and my eyes would get so tired, I would just lay with my eyes closed and every now and then open them and try to read a bit. I tried watching TV or listening to books on tape, but felt that both of these made me feel more alert and kept me up. It does get really boring and frustrating. It helps if you have a really good book.

I wonder whether you actually might do better if you increased your time in bed by a little bit. Maybe allow yourself 6 1/2 hours instead of six. For a long time, I was afraid to rock the boat and add time in bed but eventually found the more sleep I got, the less anxiety I felt.

Sorry I can't offer much advice. Try to look back at how you were a year ago and realize how much progress you've made. Although you've had a lot of setbacks, overall it sounds as if you are doing much better. I would imagine that anyone who suffered from this as long as you have would take a long time to get over it. I only had it for about 2 years and I am amazed how persistent that fear is, even when I am doing great.

Take care and hang in there Lynne.

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