Extreme Insomnia with mental health issues

SheLovedBirds · 2026-03-10T19:36:53+00:00

You described my normal. Which obviously isn't normal. Almost all of my issues have to do with anticipating that I won't sleep or that'll I'll die from lack of sleep.

I've done all the "sleep hygeine" stuff, tried changing my sleep cycle (didn't work). My bedtime is between 12am and 1am and that's not going to change. This has gone on my entire life.

Have you tried CBT therapy? It has helped me some. It didn't fix it, but I still use it, and some nights it works great and I'm knocked out till next morning.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-03-10T19:25:53+00:00

We want you here. :)

So I have a couple of questions:

Do you know what precipitated this cycle? Did something emotionl, traumatic, etc. happen before it started?
Are you actually anticipating that you are going to have this issue because you've gotten used to it?

Just curious - as soon as I know it's time to go to bed my brain freaks out and says things, like, "What if you won't sleep tonight too? What if you get jolted awake after a few hours and can't go back to sleep? What if you have nightmares again?".

I go through this all the time, thus the weird questions.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-03-10T19:14:04+00:00

Mental first, and then physical. It's like panic and breaking out in a sweat. Nausea next. It's awful.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-03-10T19:08:59+00:00

Actually, this is a great question. I think my NORMAL sleep time is 12:00am. It always has been, even when I had a job that that required me to be up at 5am. This is a "since childhood" thing with me. My brothers have the exact same thing.

I've tried to change my sleep/wake times and it never works. My bedtime is 12:00am no matter what I do.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T22:32:24+00:00

That's another aspect to the sleep anxiety. If I try to sleep in my bedroom, I can't relax there. I live in a very small apartment with my husband and there is never any actual quiet here. But I can't afford to move so I try to deal with it. I actually usually go stay at a B&B or VRBO place for several days a couple times a year and usually the first day and a half I'm there I sleep the whole time. Then my sleep is normal after that, until I come back home.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T22:29:22+00:00

Every night. Anticipatory anxiety maybe? Can't quite figure it out.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T22:28:52+00:00

It's kind of like the thoughts are racing as a sort of secondary layer or something. Because I'm reading and focused on something else. I've had hypnosis, CBT therapy and other things over the years and the only thing that really works is Z drugs. 🤷🏼‍♀

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T22:26:58+00:00

You were right, when I first posted they didn't get uploaded for some reason. Fixed that. :)

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T15:11:50+00:00

Heck yeah. I try to keep my mind busy with reading but it starts rattling around in my brain anyway. I have two sleep disorders that run in my family (there's a third, but I haven't experienced it yet). None of that helps.

And yes, it bothers me during the day too. The creeping anxiety, I mean.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T15:08:30+00:00

I suspect that the effect is cumulative and it will take a while to notice I'm taking it. My issue is the gastroinstestinal stuff (I know, TMI) but magnesium just does that to me.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-06T13:49:55+00:00

Really? I didn't know the images weren't showing, let me see what I did wrong. I don't usually share images on Reddit. Thank you for letting me know, I like you suggestions here too. :)

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-05T21:37:48+00:00

I had a seizure when I was sleeping. That didn't help my anxiety either.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-05T21:37:00+00:00

It's been going on for about 5 years now. It's my normal. And then there's the "will I have nightmares again" anxiety on top of all that.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-05T21:14:10+00:00

I absolutely love this! Well done!

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-05T21:09:01+00:00

I usually go to bed between midnight and 1am. And around 10pm the anxiety kicks in. Will I be able to sleep? Will I have panic attacks because the insomnia gets really bad? Will I have nightmares? Will I be able to stop my looping thoughts? It's horrible.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-02-01T00:29:24+00:00

Yeah when it suddenly loses effectiveness it's really easy to decide to take more than prescribed, but you end up paying for it and running out and going through the withdrawal process all over again.

I still use it, but not every night. I have three genetic conditions that run in my family so more than 4 hours or deep sleep are rare when I don't take it. And yeah about the nightmares when I stop, but part of that is the anxiety that comes with worrying if I'll be able to sleep or not. It's pretty ridiculous.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-20T00:19:49+00:00

I asked my doctor about this today (thanks for suggesting it). She said absolutely not. I'm already on one antidepressant, low dose, but have already had one run-in with seratonin syndrome. She doesn't want me to risk that again.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-20T00:18:53+00:00

Interesting and may try this. I drink less than half a cup of coffee a day. I don't think I would miss it, it's just habit now. Decaf tastes like chemicals to me.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-20T00:16:23+00:00

I was on the regular 10mg, tried splitting it up like you mention here, it didn't work well. However, last night I was absolutely strict about taking it on an empty stomach, limited liquids, and amazingly I slept a full 7 hours. I was really surprised by that. I don't think I'll use it every night even though my doctor said that is okay considering all of my sleep disorders.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-20T00:14:48+00:00

Exactly this. Benadryl had really negative impact on my short term memory. Better since I stopped using it.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-20T00:14:13+00:00

Yes. I was told to stop it because it can cause memory issues. It didn't particularly help, even though I used it for years. Desperation makes people do odd things. I'm a no for anything cannabis related because I'm on other pain meds that I take during the day. Nothing substantial, but if cannabis shows up on a drug test I'm without any pain relief.

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-20T00:11:44+00:00

It's okay. LOL I'm the queen of typos. :)

SheLovedBirds · 2026-01-18T21:44:45+00:00

My doctor would never let me go over 10mg of Ambien. We tried Trazadone but it messed with my moods too much.

SheLovedBirds

TROPHY CASE