Feel like i need to share this story as a guidance and help for those new sufferer It is my personal experience, i am not a doctor/professional But still i feel this might be helpful as THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF TUNNEL (actually you accidentally build that tunnel!) The Story: I suffered from insomnia last November 2018 coincidentally this happened after a period of heavy stress from work it started really weird, i only slept for 4 hours for the first few nights then when i try to sleep longer, i basically just sleep for an hour there were nights that i dont sleep at all after 2 nights of non sleeping, i suffered from panic attack in the middle of the night (its like there is a burst of warm in my chest, my heart was racing and i thought i had a heart attack) The Problem: Well, like you guys.. i started to find the cure on internet melatonin/chamomile, taking a bath before sleep, workout at gym... i am telling you.. nothing seems to be working, it only got worse the worst thing was when i am dead tired from gym and can't sleep there were moment i feel like i am going to become zombie to make matter worse, i went on a group travel to japan/taiwan during these time as i bought cheap ticket months before and couldnt cancel it you can imagine i was looking at mount fuji beauty, feeling all dead inside from lack of sleep The Science: the back of our mind is BLESSED with amygdala (almond shape size back brain) this is to make us afraid during danger, fight/flight instinct these mechanism protect our ancestors from danger such as tiger, storms etc now can you imagine our ancestor sleeping when there is a tiger, he will be history therefore an active amygdala basically prioritize survival rather than sleep but what happen if we subconciously activate it by being in a dangerous situation or so we thought ask yourself this question, have you been in a stressfull/fearful situation recently? which trigger your sleeping problem, if you do then this mean INSOMNIA = OVERACTIVE AMYGDALA The Solution (WHAT NOT TO DO): One thing i can tell you is TO STAY THE MOON AWAY FROM PILL your brain is way stronger than the pill, after a while it became useless but you become dependent on it the quality of sleep you get from the pill is fake knockoff version i mean knockoff version of designer clothing is fine, sleep maybe not so much Don't bother working out, taking a bath before sleep some genius was telling me when you take a hot bath before sleep your body temperature drop which signal to the brain you are falling asleep its an absolute BS, it only make my sleeping problem worse just do what you use to do, watch tv, browse internet if you love to workout then its fine but DO NOT DO IT so you can fall asleep basically DO NOTHING AT ALL The Solution (WHAT TO DO): Just "REST" When you lay down, don't bother trying to sleep just think of it as YOU ARE JUST RESTING Not sleeping is fine, basically you are just trying to conserve energy I mean its the second best thing after all if you can't sleep then you gotta REST Meditation (Breathing) there is something about meditation meditation does not mean sitting down and daydreaming it mean try to focus on your breathing (basically to discipline your mind) you can look at reserach with monk's amygdala that does meditation it is basically smaller than average population something about meditation remove us from anxiety and quieten amygdala you don't have to sit down for 2 hours meditating every day 15 minutes a day will do After a few weeks, your anxiety will basically begin to go away and hopefully you will have a good sleep :) *My insomnia went away after 6 months
Hi man, I am going through tough time for about 2 months. I had a stressful event which caused insomnia. the stressor is long gone. I only sleep 2-3 hours and sometimes 0. I am 22 and healthy but obviously not so good at dealing with stress i realise now. I have never been an anxious person but this has taken a toll on me and I only think about sleep. Your advice is great, thank you. I am only writing to see if you are still managing to sleep well. It helps reading success stories. Any advice is welcome
hello Ani,
sure buddy, better sleep than before: 8 hours on best day but sure i do get 4-5 hours sleep sometimes although my anxiety has evolved into something else more sinister (another topic)
notice what you said "I only think about sleep" this one you have to correct as in try doing something else (pick up new hobby) and try not to be afraid of not-sleeping (basically ACCEPTANCE)
the moment you do that, then this problem will go away its like taking a dump, you have no say so might as well accept it just lay down and rest, dont worry about it
its in your blood, your ancestors been doing it for like a billion years so its not like a sudden lost ability
you should be fine although it will take a while (a few months) to get back to normal
Thank you. I am getting so anxious lately im not sleeping at all. Did you experience anxiety or depression symptoms? My doctor wants me take mirtazapine but i know its such a horrible drug. I cant let go of the thoughts that my life has been destroyed by this. How happy and healthy i was before worrying over sth stupid! Should i try CBT? The whole problem is my thoughts and i am losing hope each day. I dont know what to do.
yeah, anxiety contribute to insomnia (overactive amygdala) one evidence is people find it hard to sleep when they have flight to catch the next morning due to fear of missing flight
once way to cure this is to meditate (let go of your thought, focus on breathing or sound) do this for 20 minutes daily CBT does help as well so i recommend this
"How happy and healthy i was before worrying over sth stupid!" my friend, in life we will face hardship and more problem will arise as we get older the key is to learn to accept and handle it, with it we will become more mature and better
unfortunately with insomnia once you have it, you will have it for life. this is due to the memory embedded in your mind but its manageable with the right thinking and frame of mind