Lately i have been having issues with sleeping. (as in lately i mean for a couple months now) I go to bed at no where near a decent hour, after i finally feel like i have done enough to make myself feel accomplished for the day. Than i lay in bed and by the time i can even start to close my eyes my husband is already sleeping. Than this overwhelming swarm of thoughts start racing in my head that i cant seem to make go away no matter what i do. I think about semi stupid things that i never think about that dont even really matter when i actually sit down and think a little harder about them. I dont know what this is or how to make it go away, but i hope i am not the only one out there.

Last night for some reason the only thing that kept going through my mind was what i needed to accomplish today, and that i needed to make a schedule for my son, (even though i think he is doing fine without one.) I also kept wondering if my husband had ever been tested for any STD's, I am pretty sure i had asked him about that when we first got together but i dont know i had to know. So i woke him up to ask him. He is very helpful with my PTSD issues; But i had to wake him up from a dead sleep just to ask him a question i already knew the answer too. What is that??

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to cope with this problem?

I'm on Trazodone for sleep. I was't thrilled about being put on meds, but it has helped so much, and it's non-addictive.

Ditto that. I started Trazodone last week. After waking up from my first night of 8 hrs of sleep in....years, I asked all my friends incredulously, "Do you feel like this all the time?" Sleep deficits can worsen all the symptoms.

i have a hard time sleeping i was put on sleep meds for when i need them. i don't take them because when i do i sleep most of the day and fell hung over. pills help some people they get just the right amount of sleep but they don't work for me. i have been on all kinds of meds for sleep including trazdone and i slept to much and woke up hung over. some times i am up for days before i get some sleep. i have racing thoughts also. last night early in the moring i was having diet pepsi i fell asleep in my chair when i woke up my pepsi can was laying on the carpet think god none of it spilled on my carpet. so i understand what you are going thou. you could talk with your doctor maybe sleep pills will work for you. i fell good today as i got some sleep.

Thanks all of you.
I am going to talk to my Therapist about that on Thursday and see if i can try some sort of medication and see if it works for me.

It's Gotten worse, last night i couldnt fall asleep because i was having flash backs about a time when my dad abused me. And than i would have this strange flash back of me trying to balance on a balance beam when i was a little girl wearing a bathing suit i dont even remember that. It sucks not being able to fall asleep but its worse when i have flash backs like that.

Hi deziamazing,

Well, you're not alone. My insomnia began at age 5 (I remember lying there long after my parents were asleep, afraid the boogey man would get me because I was the only one awake...he only comes to get you if you're awake, don't you know) and, during stress, always gets worse. When I get to the point where it's gone on too long (4 months was my max to tolerate it...hard to fall asleep, and then waking up at almost exactly 1:30 a.m. every night and never getting back to sleep...going on 3-4 hours sleep for months) I take action. Seroquel worked wonders on my insomnia, and stopped a PTSD spiral in its tracks, but after about a week I found I wanted to sleep all the time, so I quit.

If you're not on any medications, you could try L-Tryptophan - it's a precurser to serotonin, so also can help reduce PTSD symptoms. However, if you are on any meds, you can't take this (could end up with serotonin syndrome). It got a bad rap many years ago when a batch was contaminated with something...but the L-Tryp. itself is safe. It's back to being legal; you can buy it online (I talked to my doc about it first).

Also, I sometimes use melatonin with some success - a naturally occurring hormone in the brain and has not found to have any harmful effects from usage.

I, too, will get those weird preoccupations with things. I think it's my brain trying to latch on to something it can do something about, since it's already hyper-aroused. My brain basically figures, "Well, since you're awake anyway, how about you lay there and I'll ask you questions that have no answers". Crazy-making.

And it definitely DOES really increase the symptoms and distress. My theory is that the nervous system, already poised for ramping up, interprets insomnia as that there really IS something wrong and I need to be even more alert, to counteract the tiredness....it's a vicious cycle. I've finally decided that the sooner I can get the brakes on the insomnia, the better it is for me (instead of trying to muscle through).

HTH-
-Dylan

I have the same problem and mine started back at age 5. I used to wake my sister up and tell her she couldn't fall asleep until I was asleep? The lights had to be on too. I feel so sorry for my sister having to put up with that.

Now, when I lay down to go to sleep and those thoughts start, I get up and get on the computer. It keeps my mind from wondering and my doctor suggested that I don't just lay there awake. You can read a book, watch a movie, or what ever interests you. Just do that until you can't stay awake any longer. Sometimes I get slight anxiety attacks before it's time to go to bed because for some reason going to bed scares me.

I take Ambien and it works well most of the time, but when it doesn't I just get on the computer until I can't keep my eyes open.


Take care
Tammy

You might look into 5-HTP. It's similar to tryptophan. It turns into seratonin in the brain, which then turns into melatonin. It's plant-based, and has minimal side effects. When taken regularly, I've found it to be very helpful.

You might also try doing some light yoga stretching, about an hour before bed. It helps to relax the muscles, so you don't feel so tense. Meditation techniques might also help to calm the mind.

Having said all of that, I still have sleep issues. There are some times when I just can't quiet my brain.
My mind races with fears, flashbacks, stupid scenarios or questions.
I feel too tired to get up and do stuff, but my mind will not let me sleep. When I do fall asleep, it's only a half-sleep, where I'm half awake and half dreaming. It is not a refreshing slumber.

Whichever medication your doctor suggests, give it a try until you find the right one. The roughest times for my depression have been when I couldn't sleep. You MUST have it in order to balance emotionally.