I am sure we have discussed the issue of sleep in early recovery on this board, but if we could have another discussion about it that would be great.
A lot of us in early recovery have a really hard time either getting asleep, or staying asleep. My latest problem for instance, is waking up at 3am every night in a panicked state and not being able to get back to sleep for hours. It is wearing me down. I look forward to reading all the ES&H, and helpful tips, and I hope it helps others here as well.
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~Your Higher Power has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
I really dont know if this will help. When I get in the panic state I have to run a list in my mind. I have to say ...... My kids are safe , I am safe and so on run down the list to tell myself that all is ok. Then I get out of bed deep breaths and try to read or watch something happy on TV or computer. I get sleepy again. I dont try to force myself to sleep it only makes it harder. I also sometimes try to have a talk with my higher power.
I was the opposite, I was so tired and worn out mentally and physically I would sleep all night and have to take naps in the afternoon. That went on for at least 3-4 months. But if you can't sleep it would be a great time to do some step work or Big Book reading?
I was the opposite, I was so tired and worn out mentally and physically I would sleep all night and have to take naps in the afternoon. That went on for at least 3-4 months. But if you can't sleep it would be a great time to do some step work or Big Book reading?
I was the same way. It wasn't great sleep, but there was lots of it.
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Nothing ever truly dies. The universe wastes nothing. Everything is simply, transformed. :confuse:
I try to stay away from TV or internet 30 minutes before bed. Then have a glass of milk and crackers. Sounds a little sissified but having a favorite pillow or stuffed beast can be comforting.
When I do have trouble sleeping, I try not to worry about it too much. I want to keep it from becoming a self-fulfilling fear.
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Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's.
Sometimes I read. If I want to unwrap my head, I read something engrossing like fiction. If I want to numb-out I read an old textbook or a car-repair manual.
In the service, when I wanted to let barracks noise slip over and around me, I used a metronome and concentrated on the sound.
early recovery and disturbed sleep patterns, yes, fortunately I lived in the wilds so could get up, wrap up warm, make a mug of tea and just listen to the night noises.
then after a wee while, I would cool down and get sleepy again. Sometimes though was awake for a couple hours at a stretch.
Now i tend to wake at daybreak, whenever that might be, irrespective of when I go to bed.
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It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you got. BB
I had serious genetic insomnia (thanks, Mom) before I became an alcoholic, it's why I started drinking.
Every doctor I ever talked to about it gave me the same BS of suggesting everything that a smart person who had dealt with insomnia her whole life was obviously already doing, like not taking caffeine, aerobic workouts for an hour every morning, light therapy, etc.).
It was not until I went into outpatient treatment for my alcoholism that I had the guts to forcefully tell the psychiatrist, "YOU NEED TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. Each time I have relapsed it is because I have been unable to sleep for days on end. If you do not actually treat my insomnia it is why I will relapse again."
I am now on Seroquel, a non-addictive, non-narcotic drug that really helps. I tried Trazadone, which is the usually prescribed drug, but it gave me hallucinations!! As you probably know, Ambien, etc. can be addictive so I found it best to avoid those. Note that if you try melatonin, a sublingual formulation is essential, it mostly gets destroyed in your stomach.
So if the usual suggestions of yoga before bed, no TV, warm baths, etc. do not work, definitely talk to your doctor and don't let him/her blow off your concerns. Ignorance of them put me at serious risk of relapse and is nothing to mess around with!
Just realized I should have elaborated on the light therapy, which I find somewhat helpful. Right when you wake up, get out in the sunlight or read (how about the Big Book) under a very bright light (I have an SAD light). Then at least an hour before bed, keep the lights dim, I read with a small nightstand lamp. The idea is just getting your brain on the right "It's morning, it's night" cycle. Also, try to get plenty of sunlight during the day. If your office has no window, use an SAD light.
SAD lights: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder-treatment/DN00013
Thanks to all of you. This is a "new problem" for me. "Mania-momentss" aside, I had always been one who could drink a 36 oz. Columbian coffee at 9pm and go right to sleep for the entire night. To those of you who have suffered insomnia for a lifetime, I sympathize with you in a very real way now...
I had to recognize that I am in EARLY recovery. I have many things working against my sleeping well at night. I have panic, fears, and a mind full of ugly "stuff" to process. I am not on a regular sleep schedule because I spent months not sleeping when I should, and literally "falling out" and shutting down when my body and brain could not take anymore alcohol and drugs. I'm one sick puppy right now, at 17 days sober.
Working against me also is one medication I am on that works with dopamine instead of serotonin. I'm not a candidate for serotonin drugs. Only been on for 2 weeks, so I am not acclimated yet.
With all this at play, and 8 or so nights of trying some of the things mentioned above, I called my doctor yesterday. He suggested I use what I already have here at home, a safe non-narcotic, non-benzo muscle relaxer that I was prescribed while working on my feet all day for my back. I slept perfectly last night. So much so that I actually fell asleep on the couch after an AA meeting and after taking the muscle relaxer. I half-woke up at 3am, usual time, without panic, and ambled into bed, sleeping the rest of the night in peace. A good nights' sleep has made all the difference in my level of serenity today.
I can't expect to use this method forever. But for right now, it's what I need and I am VERY grateful to be able to get the rest I need.
joni
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~Your Higher Power has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
took me about a year to get settled sleep wise, maybe even longer, as later I started sleeping 10 hours a night for a few years, it's normal enough so the old timers laughed at me and all said "nobody ever died from lack of sleep" and told me to suck it up and that it would pass
It was unspeakably tedious during the interim, I emphasize with your suffering, when I was young and faced with this I tried to make "lemonade" and pulled many an all nighter at the local Denny's with others in early sobriety, that was incredibly helpful, and fun even, however when I came back years later people my own age (older then) weren't nearly as active in early recovery (those bastages had all got jobs and famblies and stuff) leaving me to my own devices, that was less comfortable, like Rob I read, that always seems to re-align my mind, what I mean if I am tired (and can't sleep) a page or two out of a book and I am out like a light, but if I am not tired, it occupies me without keeping me awake the way the internet or movies will and I drift off eventually
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it's not the change that's painful, it's the resistance to change that is painful
