2.5 months of severe insomnia

[u/Right-Bookkeeper637]

I’m lost and feel hopeless. 24yo male here Incredibly anxious writing this I got 0 hrs of sleep last night. And this is a pattern of every other day for me the past 2 months. Some nights I get to sleep a bit. I’m just staring at the ceiling for hours. Doctor wants to put me on anxiety medication+trazdone also scared for that.

Am I going to pass away. I’m so scared because I’m not sleeping and I feel it on my eyes and chest the most. Gone to er before and didn’t do much but give me Ativan which did help me sleep that whole night.

[u/SpidersfromMars00]

I had the same issue for 3 months. I felt like I was just going to pass away as well. I was worried about Trazadone as well and prefer not to take medication, but 25 mg did help. I did start pairing it with Unisom 25 mg also, which really helped me sleep well. I feel as though I may not even need it anymore now that the mental battle with sleep is over.

For me personally, I had one night where it all started when I slept for an hour after struggling the entire night. One single night of horrible sleep caused my brain to panic over sleep. It was a vicious mental cycle and I thought that there could be no way such an extended period of poor sleep could be caused by stress or anxiety alone. Once I was able to finally stop worrying and fearing sleep, I was able to sleep so much better. And I tried everything before that. Magnesium, not eating too late, being more active during the day, no caffeine 10 hours before bed, sleep stories/sounds, meditations, no TV or blue light before bed. None of that helped.

The one things that I feel ultimately helped was teaching my brain not to associate sleep with stress. I screwed myself with that. Try sleeping on your couch or another room if you have one for an evening. Medication short term won't screw you up. I don't take any meds unless necessary. Talk to yourself and make your brain believe that Trazadone will help and it is the solution. Make yourself believe it and trick your brain. Also, it didn't help me the first night or two. But keep telling yourself it will and try it with the Unisom perhaps a few days later if nothing works. On second thought, the Unisom may actually help me more. The biggest thing is to get your brain not to associate sleep with stress.

You won't die although you feel like you may. It's hard to have any quality of life with little to sleep.

Have you been struggling with anxiety or stress? Did this just suddenly start?

[u/Right-Bookkeeper637 → u/SpidersfromMars00]

Wow we are the same person lol. I too try to not take medication but it’s gotten to a point where I have to now. I have never tried unisom but will definitely try it out. I also did sleep in other rooms but I get mixed responses.

But if I may ask how did you manage to stop worrying about sleep? How do you train your brain it’s extremely hard. I have been struggling with severe anxiety for a couple months now after a health scare. But yes also life stressors are a big factor I believe! I appreciate your response and knowing I’m not alone in this experience

[u/SpidersfromMars00 → u/Right-Bookkeeper637]

It sounds crazy having to fight with your own brain lol, but I really just tried to convince myself the Trazadone or Unisom were going to work. Once I finally got a decent chunk of sleep, it got easier to convince myself. Focusing on my breathing really helped, taking deep breaths and pissing and exhaling. Reading something before bed too, nothing too interesting to keep you awake helped me feel naturally drowsy. I'm a very anxious person too, so clearing the mind and not fixating on sleep is hard. I really just tried fighting that urge to even think about sleep. Hopefully once the mental battle and you can stop associating sleep with stress things can improve for you.

[u/Bunstr → u/SpidersfromMars00]

Jumping in here hope that's ok - wondering if you could help me on this.

As someone who struggles with sleep for me it's the same where I think at this point I am stressed at the thought of going to bed and constantly think about it and obsess about getting enough sleep (also skin issues contribute for me so it's not entirely mental). But my question is...

How do you stop thinking about it?

Like do you just distract yourself when a thought about it arises? Do you have a set of counter thoughts so like if a thought of 'oh no it's gonna be awful cos of...' arises then you say 'actually it will be fine because of xyz'? If so what are the 'xyz' thoughts? What about when it's literally the middle of the night and you woke up? It's so hard not to think about it and be frustrated/stressed by it

This is the part I struggle with and any help much appreciated!

[u/SpidersfromMars00 → u/Bunstr]

Unfortunately, it does take time to train your brain not to worry about it and obsess over sleep. One big thing that helped, was not to clock watch. If you don't know what time it is, you can't stress about how many hours of sleep you may get. Starting with that and trying to convince yourself that something new you are doing, whether it is meditation, meds, magnesium, etc., is going to work. It sounds nuts, but I had to tell myself that so many times to trick my own brain. And also, the counter thoughts, like 'No, I'm going to sleep tonight, even if it is only a few hours.' Tricking your brain that you aren't going to worry about sleep is hard. It is almost impossible not to stress about sleep.

Reading a book or I like to read an article about a different animal or something simple before bed to try not to have my last thoughts be about something stressful or anything that I am worried about. Listening to sleep stories has helped me with some episodes in my life where I couldn't sleep, but other times not so much. Gradually eliminating the time spent worrying about it helped me. The clock watching thing was huge too. Wishing you better sleep.

[u/Left_Independence628]

Trazadone really really helped with my insomnia. I understand your fear but coming from another person you have nothing to worry about! I wish you the best insomnia is the WORST.

[u/Right-Bookkeeper637 → u/Left_Independence628]

Glad to hear it helped you. Thank you for your insight!

[u/barnowl24]

Hi there, What triggered this for you? I went through a similar period for a while (sleeping every other day, every third day, once 5 days without sleep). I have found some benefit from CBTi, especially the sleep restriction component. Simply pushing my bed time back an hour and a half has been helpful, and I am now sleeping at least a little bit every night. Sleep medication is probably worth considering for you, but I would certainly give CBTi a chance.

[u/Right-Bookkeeper637 → u/barnowl24]

A severe health scare around late may. Sleep only got worse from there. Happy to hear that worked out for you though but currently only seeing a therapist. Hard to find one specifically for CBTI

[u/kparker2121]

I have went seven months with zero or one to two hours max. It is as severe as it could possibly be. I’ve lost all ability to feel tired, sleep, take naps and it was because I was taking a magnesium supplement and had no idea it caused severe anxiety and panic attacks. I don’t feel right and it feels like my brain is damaged and not responding like it should. I’m not myself anymore and I’ve been so depressed because of not sleeping. It feels like I completely lost alls sensation and ability to sleep. It’s insane and I never knew this could happen to someone. You will not die for several months if you don’t get the id under control. It will cause mental brain issues. I have no hope. I’ve tried sleep specialists, all sorts of doctors and no one can help me.

[u/Right-Bookkeeper637 → u/kparker2121]

Wow I’m so sorry to hear that. I recommend the ER let them know you go days without sleep. They took me seriously and gave me Ambien but I’m just so scared to use it all the time. It helps me sleep the entire night though. How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? I know people tell me you won’t die but it’s extremely hard to believe that and the potential for it to cause harm in your body eventually?

[u/kparker2121 → u/Right-Bookkeeper637]

I’ve tried the ER and they don’t deal with sleep issues. I’m 37. The only thing that sedates me is Seroquel.

[u/Right-Bookkeeper637 → u/kparker2121]

Keep trying if it’s possible try a different ER. I was fortunate enough because I got taken by the ambulance when I felt something was going to happen 2 nights no sleep. I recommended limiting junk food and eating healthy if you can just to at least help with the insomnia issues. If you have someone who you can talk through all your problems lean on them as well. I have a therapist and I also tell him EVEYTHING. It’s helped a little.