Argh, I'm having insomnia again and nothing is working.
Things I have tried:
- Exercise (more exercise than usual)
- Limiting caffeine (I'm reduced to a single up of tea, always before noon)
- Listening to audiobooks until I fall asleep (this used to work but no longer)
- No screens after nine p.m. (useless)
- Hot milk with herbal tea
- A hot bath
- Melatonin tablets (useless) (they did used to work, but no more)
I am trying to avoid sleep medications, since recent research is showing they are bad for you long term, but last night -- for example -- I lay in bed listening to a audiobook for two hours, then got up and drank the warm milk, and then lay down again to try for sleep without the audiobook, and then finally got up and did the dishes and laundry. Did not fall asleep until six a.m.
UGH.
5 comments:
As a fellow sufferer, I offer deep sympathies. Not sleeping is bad for you long-term, too, so maybe drugs wouldn't be such a bad idea. But when you're tired enough it can be hard to make up your mind to take them (at least it is for me). I hope tonight is better.
Thank you.
I may have to take up the sleep drugs again. We'll give it a week or so and see!
This may be too personal... but for you right now, I wonder if maybe your current insomnia is part of how your grief is showing up. It may be why none of your usual strategies are working: because recent loss is the sort of cause that can't really be addressed with the everyday approaches.
I know that for me when life gets unhappy, I can be handling things as best I can, but insomnia or other physical stress-response symptoms will always tell the truth about my level of internal struggle. Even I don't consciously realize the level of struggle until my body starts getting cranky. Acknowledging that there's a legitimate cause behind insomnia doesn't generally make it go away for me... but sometimes the recognition of "well yes, of course I can't sleep," makes it easier to live with while it's lasting.
No real advice... just sympathy and a hope that things improve soon.
I'm not sure if you're asking for advice, and I'm not sure if this would work for you, but progressive muscle relaxation knocks me out. It doesn't keep me asleep, but the first time I tried it I fell asleep in the therapist's office.
Anonymous: That's an excellent and insightful point. I hadn't considered that, though one reason I'm having trouble sleeping is, indeed, intrusive thoughts about everyone I've lost. I just hadn't connected it.
N&M: You're the second one to recommend this! I need to look into it.
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