Posted by CarolAnn on July 15, 2000, at 10:30:21
In reply to Midnight and Im GOING NUTS-AGAIN--Oh Crap!!!!!, posted by tina on July 14, 2000, at 23:18:40
Hey Tina,
this probably won't help you sleep, but I hope it will ease your anxiety a little.I read somewhere that there is such a thing as insomnia caused sleep 'phobia' (don't know if that's the right term). What happens is that after so many nights of not being able to get to sleep, you consciously or unconsciously begin fearing to even 'try' going to sleep. This would explain why you get more wired and jittery as 'sleep' time approaches. You are inwardly so worried that you won't sleep, that you begin to panic at the idea of trying to sleep.
Unfortunately, I don't really remember the solutions to this problem, except something like this: Keep very active during the day, but for as long as it takes, don't "try" to go to bed. Try not to think about whether or not you will sleep. Plan quiet activities that you can do(not in the bedroom), telling yourself that you don't 'have' to go to sleep. It may take several days to a week or more, but the main thing is to take the pressure of 'trying to sleep' off of yourself, by not planning to sleep. I really think that as long as there is nothing physically keeping you from sleeping, the above plan will work. You may still want to try Valerian(I would get it in pill form, for more concentrated effect), but just use it to relax yourself enough to do quiet activities at night, without the expectation of 'helping' you sleep. I really hope this method will work for you, I know that it was found to be extremely effective in the study I read. Good luck, CarolAnn
poster:CarolAnn
thread:40118
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000708/msgs/40522.html