I don't know about you but sleep was and still can be a big worry of mine.
When I was going through depressive episodes I would sleep far too much. In fact I was happier sleeping because you don't know you're depressed when you're asleep. Every thing about me slowed right down. Life felt like record being played on a record player but on a slower setting.
When I was anxious life felt like the record was being played at a speed that was too fast. Everything would whirl around at an overwhelming speed that made it almost impossible to think straight.
Trying to sleep when anxious was a bloody nightmare! I often waited hours to full asleep and would then wake ridiculously early in the morning. I would be lucky if I got 4 hours and I'm an 8 hours a night at least.
So what helped with sleeping .....medication was what helped me get some more z's. It is why I am on Mirtazapine now. It was great and helped to break crappy sleep patterns as well as being an antidepressant.
What I use now is a combination of things......making sure I have moved about during the day eg had a walk or worked out a wee bit. Just enough to let the body know it's alive if that's all I can manage. Staying hydrated and keeping off stimulants like sugar and coffee.
Taking a few minutes to check in with gratitude and thankfulness.
These are just a few things that help.
I also learned that deep relaxation can be as beneficial as a good sleep. If I wake and don't drift off again I use 7-11 breathing and visualisations which soon have me floating off somewhere relaxing.
So hopefully some of this will enable you to catch some Z'z
Much love
Cx
Comments