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Re: Note to Tom-N-Texas

Posted by Tom-N-Texas on February 13, 2006 at 10:51:05:

In Reply to: Note to Tom-N-Texas posted by Gadgirl on February 13, 2006 at 07:22:43:

Gadgirl,

I'm so glad you find my posts helpful. My only hope is that I can help at least one person on here get past their demons like I was able to do. I've read your posts on here over the past many months and I can see how you are stuggling exactly like I used to do.

You asked if I still think about sleep day and night...? Well, yes and no. I still think about it in the sense that it has become a part of me. Having such an acute case of insomnia wrecked havok on my inner being. I guess it might be similar if someone was abused or had a difficult childhood. I don't know if you ever really forget about it or get over it. However, I've learned over the past couple of years to cope, survive and even triumph despite my obsessions. And that's what beating insomnia is all about: finding answers when there doesn't seem to be any, adapting to situations when it appears to be hopeless, and accepting situations in your life that have a tendency to alter it. So even though I still think about it, those negative thoughts don't effect me like they once did because they no longer have the power to make me change. You must know that I did not get through this by first eliminating my negative obsessions. That just simply could not happen because my obsessions were insurmountable. Instead I choose to focus on how I react to these thoughts. (I've learned that the thoughts themselves are harmless, it's my REACTION that counts.) You might be amazed at how your fears and obsessions diminsh when when you stop enabling them to do harm.

Your other question about falling back to sleep is an interesting one. Personally I find that initially going to sleep at night requires a certain amount of mental distraction, however going back to sleep in the middle of the night requires a QUIET BRAIN. For me it's easy for my brain to go a thousand different directions at 3:00 a.m....and when that happens, it makes falling back to sleep quite difficult. Unfortunately I haven't really come up with a good solution....(although I don't think going to sleep later is the answer.) I must say I don't personally run into this problem too often. My issue has always been at the onset....but my personal opinion about maintenance insomnia (and this is only my opinion) is that it does not manifest itself from anxiety...although it may eventually turn into that...I think it's more of an inner terrain problem. And by that I mean it's more of a digenerative health problem...much like depression or lupus or diabetes. (I'm not saying it's the SAME as these, I'm saying it may be a result of years of sugar/junk food/toxic medication overload.) Whatever the root cause is, the issue is not being resolved by doctors, so my hunch is that they've been looking in the wrong direction....and since doctors nowdays don't focus or emphasize nutrition, that may be why they're missing it. I would be curious to know if people back in ancient times had sleep problems like we do today...and for that matter Depression, lupus, and diabetes.

And one more thing, Gadgirl...I know the Trazadone helps you sleep some, but have you thought about the possibility that this medication may be altering your brain chemistry, which could actually be keeping you from falling back to sleep? I'm not saying for sure that this happening, but medications have a tendency to do that. I know there are no easy answers to this dilemma. Best of luck, Tom


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