Insomnia

[featherynscale]

I was wondering why I whine so much about things like not being able to sleep in my journal. This morning, I realized it was so that when I'm wondering how long it's been since I last got any decent sleep, I could go back and check. Clever, me. So apparently it's been a few days longer than I thought, since I first started talking about not sleeping on the 30th December. Six days, not two or three. No wonder I'm tired. No wonder I wanted to cry this morning when triadruid came in to get me out of bed.

Something needs to change in this game. Normally when I can't sleep, it's because I can't breathe. I wake up startled and fuzzy-minded, and immediately go back to sleep. This is not that. I wake up fully present, and can't go back to sleep for 15-30 minutes. I thought it was the cold meds (stimulants, after all), but I haven't had any cold meds for a couple of days now, and still, not the sleeping.

Next thing I know, I'll be getting night jobs as a projectionist, or sitting up all night writing goetic evocations of Snuffleuphagus (or not - I'm pretty sure that knowing a spirit's true name and nature are prerequisites for evocation, and not only do I not know how to spell the name of the beast, I had a difference of opinion with triadruid last night over whether it was intended to be a mammoth or an anteater.)

Comments

Insomnia IS a Bitch

[drummel.livejournal.com]

You have my sympathies, for I too once suffered the frustration of sleepless nights. What eventually helped me was the purchase of a small fan that created an ambient noise to which I could focus my attention, and perhaps briefly escape the barage of thoughts attempting to get attention like a small child banging a pot..But it wasn't that easy. It was at this point that I honed in my focus on meditation; I'm sure you've come accross many methods, yet what I use is also a self-hypnosis technique. I will strongly visualize a black board with chalk and an eraser. Then choose a number to count down from.. visualize the chalk slowly writing that number, hearing the noise as well. Then take the eraser and again see and hear the number being erased, with chalk dust and residue remaining as well. Continue to do so, while suggesting the idea that you falling asleep.. If you start being interrupted by other thoughts try a thought Stop method. Which is basically...as mentally loud as possible you yell. STOP! Then in the brief moment you have peace..immediately focus on your visualization again..or the fan. Also consider your insomnia may also be the effects of hormones caused by wrong medication dosage.. My mother, who is bi-polar, often has to have her medication tweaked many times throughout the year, as the level of stress or perhaps just a major change in weather could effect her moods. I hope you are able to get some rest soon, BOTE.

[malvito.livejournal.com]

Do you kick yourself awake, grind your teeth, or wake up feeling fuzzy-minded with headaches a lot? This is a shot in the dark, and may have nothing to do with your situation, but I had all of these symptoms, and testing in a sleep clinic diagnosed me with sleep apnea. I now get plenty of sleep due to the presence of a machine that forces air into my lungs, which is a very funky feeling at first and makes me look like one of those patients in the movie COMA except for the fact that I am not being suspended from the ceiling with scheming doctors salivating over the thought of parceling out my internal organs to the highest bidder. (If you haven't seen the movie yet ... well, funky movie. Creepy.) I don't know what kind of medical insurance you might have, but, unless I am completely off the mark, that might be worth checking out.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Snuffleupagus is definitely some kind of mammoth... :)
Sorry you're not sleeping, I'm getting a lot of that myself right now, but at least I don't have to get up for work or whatever so can catch up in the daytime. No clue what might cause yours, in my case its often food allergies, I did a lot better with the fuzzy feeling when i started sleeping with the window open and now even a fan blowing all night long, seems the extra air helps me, also having enough to drink overnight so I don't dry out too.

Poetic evocations of Sesame Street characters are sadly lacking in this humdrum world of ours, I definitly think you should write some :)

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Actually, I do have apnea. It generally doesn't bother me all that much, though, and I haven't had anything done about it as the whole mask thing kind of freaks me the hell out. This is a different game though - I wake up feeling perfectly clear, like I ought to get out of bed and do something, just so, so tired. I don't know what it's about.

He's a Mammoth. *grin*

[senset.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry your are not sleeping well. What works for me is when I start really exercising. I seems to regulate my sleep cycle. *hugs*

Re: Insomnia IS a Bitch

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Actually, doing some sort of hardcore ritual/mental work was on my agenda for this evening - it does have the feeling of over-processing/mind ramble, and I was thinking that if I worked the mental faculties to exhaustion before going to sleep it might help. Or not :)
The meds are probably not the issue - I'm not on anything psychotropic, and my hormone pills are a steady-dose replacement for a gland I no longer have, and I don't have any of the other constellation of symptoms that imbalance in dosage causes.
Thanks for sharing your exercise, I've been remiss on my meditative practices of late (read: for a few months now) and need to get my ass back on the road.

Re: He's a Mammoth. *grin*

[senset.livejournal.com]

P.S Did you get my message from Eric Simson at the New years party?

Re: He's a Mammoth. *grin*

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Yes, actually. :) The posting about the reminding worked very well (as you can see, since there are pictures). Him giving me the message from you made me giggle excessively - "Yay! People who aren't even here are trying to help me out!"

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the thoughts :)
Food allergies could be a factor - we've been eating a lot of odd things lately. I was thinking of having an allergy profile done at one point, but, ack! So many needles.

Re: He's a Mammoth. *grin*

[senset.livejournal.com]

LOL I thought you would appreciate the humor in that. I certainly did. *grin*

[liquidfun.livejournal.com]

Exercise is usually a good thing ... I know I could use some (a lot) in order to help with stiffness and to aid in sleeping.

Hopefully the tedium of a regular work/sleep schedule will help as well.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Could not possibly hurt.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I prefer the exclusion diet thing, or at least taking what you eat back to a baseline then keeping a diary as you add stuff and observe - or if you';ve eaten anything unusual for you, or can spot patterns between the food and the problem (takes about 36 hours to work its way to your system).

[kcwitch.livejournal.com]

it's a mammoth. :)
when i find that i am not sleeping as well as i need to there are several different questions which i ask myself.
am i stressed?
have i been eating right?
am i exercising?
is there something bothering me? (different than stress believe me)
am i ill?

generally if i break it down like that i can figure out what is going on and then become proactive in creating a solution.
if it is stress than meditation, yoga, etc...might help.
if it is my eating habits i will look at the foods that i might be lacking. if there are certain things i crave then i make sure i go out and get that which i crave.
if i find that it has been awhile since i exercised (walking, using the air strider, stair stepper, etc...) then i make it a point to work out for at least 10 to 20 mins. 3 times (or more) a week. exercise helps you sleep better and gives you more energy in the day. just don't work out right before bed. i never work out less than 2 hours before bedtime unless i am having sex which is awholenother way of working out and relaxing (puts me to sleep) :)
of course if something is bothering you, talking about it always helps. even if you talk to a perfect stranger.
being ill, there isn't much you can do about that until you actually get well again. so i don't know if my rambling has helped at all but i figure it couldn't hurt. :)
of course if all else fails i just go shopping. :)