how do you cope at night?

angelic212 · Post by **angelic212** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:19 am

i need some help here, i dont know if this has been posted already, but the thing is i always have a hard time coping at night time,
i go to bed later than everyone else at my house, and i get major anxiety, but the thing is i cant sleep , and i start having negative thoughts and wanting to go to pro ed sites and stuff,

i know that night time is for sleeping but i have a hard time sleeping at night so sometimes i just sleep during the afternoon , or i sleep in , i go to bed usually around 4am at the latest , and i want to change this,

but i have a reallyy hard time coping too, when i cant just sleep. what shoudl i do ?? please help me it s really starting to get to me

Licentia Poetica · Post by **Licentia Poetica** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:10 am

Well, firstly, you're not alone. I have a hard time at night too. That seems to be when my mood is at its lowest.

For night time.. find your "thing", when my mum goes to bed, & i can't sleep & I'm not feeling well, I usually go into the living room & watch endless tv episodes on dvd, & usually that will make me sleepy. If you come online, maybe make a list in your favourites of sites that you love to look through. Don't include any pro-ana shit. Things like sites devoted to landscape photography, or something you're interested in. Every so often I find pictures of something I find intriguing like the aurora borealis & I'll post some pictures on bus, in place or nest or whatever.

Otherwise, you need to get your sleep cycle on track. Don't sleep in the day time or afternoon. Don't use your bed for anything but sleep so your body knows when you're in bed, that means it's sleeptime. Make your bed a place you are comfortable in, buy some new sheets. Make sure the temperature in the room is right, try to leave the window open in the daytime so the air is fresh, Burn some escence that helps with sleep. Drink warm milk before bed time. Sleep with your head where your feet would normally be, etc. There are a million things to try. If it's seriously becoming a problem, go see a doctor, often a simple medication for a week can get you back on track.

Also, don't discount relaxation. Sometimes when I desperately can't sleep, I find the next day will be easier if I just lie down or sit quietly and try not to think, instead of fretting about how badly I can't sleep. Sit down in dim lighting & try to listen to the sounds around you jumping from one sound to the next, ie car outside, my breathing, noise upstairs, car outside. Or you can try running pictures through your mind like.. rabbit, tree, chair, etc. To relax you can also focus on one body part at a time.. toes, feet, right ankle, etc.

plantt · Post by **plantt** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:21 am

have you tried not drinking coffee & not napping so maybe you can sleep at night?

mandie_girl · Post by **mandie_girl** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:56 am

i go to bed later than everyone else at my house, and i get major anxiety, but the thing is i cant sleep , and i start having negative thoughts and wanting to go to pro ed sites and stuff,

i'm the same way. nights are really tough, esp because you feel alone. everyone's asleep. first thing i would suggest as Licentia Poetica says, try not to sleep during the day. makes a huge difference. try to get up and go to sleep at the same time every day. it's really tough at first, but it definitely helps. i like yoga to try to relax and get my mind in order. i get too nervous to go to a class, so i have a book of yoga poses, etc... also i think staying out of bright lights when you are getting ready to sleep helps...such as not looking at tv, computer screen, etc. yeah, i'm guilty of this too.

do you have any friends that are insomniacs? lying in bed and calling them has helped me stay safe in the past. but...you should prolly talk to them about it before you decide to use it as a resource. hehee.

since we're on the topic of sleep, anyone have help on how to deal with nightmares? i have them a lot lately, waking up in the middle of the night. freaky weird dreams. my doc says vivid dreams can be a side effect of some antidepressants. sweet!

oh well.

Licentia Poetica · Post by **Licentia Poetica** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:05 am

I struggle with nightmares a lot, and sometimes sleep paralysis, which is fairly scary.

I found when I started effexor I had horrible nightmares, but they settled down & then coming off it, they came back.

Normally, dreams are your subconscious ways of sorting out things in your head. I find when I get less sleep, I never reach the deep sleep stage where the dreams come, and I don't have them. But then I'm tired & more prone to being cranky during the day. It's not a good idea to try & avoid them because they do.. kind of have a purpose.

I think if you eat & exercise normally & keep your stress levels down, they shouldn't be a huge problem. If they are it could be a symptom of something else, like ptsd for example.

5th section · Post by **5th section** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:42 pm

HOW NOT TO DO IT:
I'm terrible at night. quite often I carry on with whatever I'm working on well into the morning until I'm really shattered and fall asleep straight away because I'm scared if that doesn't happen I'll fall into all the triggering thoughts & stuff. But then I wake up 3 hours later feeling "@#$%?# awful...

have you tried not drinking coffee & not napping so maybe you can sleep at night?

that's much better advice. I should stop being such a caffeine abuser, among other things!

Post by **Spidey** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:35 am

i usually try to keep my brain active with an activity if i can't sleep. i'm one of those people who have to be constantly moving, so lying in bed waiting to sleep is not an option.

i usually watch dvd's, listen to music on my ipod, or read.

the edge of the world · Post by **the edge of the world** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:51 am

copying 5th section - another "how not to do it:"
I tend to just do homework or look around bus or read as long as I'm coherent and stay up until I'm completely exaughsted and can't keep my eyes open, like 5th section. but I don't drink coffee, so idk. I guess that's really bad advise, though, 'cause I'm very tired all the time (like I will be tomorrow). Plus, I tend to look up pro-su sites when I'm super tired and bored, so I guess it's just a horrible way to do things...

Anactoria · Post by **Anactoria** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:15 pm

I usually arrange my pillows just how I like them, climb into bed, and turn on the radio.

Usually to some dumb late night radio station that plays dumb games and talks about the news, mocks celebrities, stuff like that. Listening to it keeps me distracted, and it keeps the room dark (unlike the tv). Eventually I either fall asleep with it on or I get so annoyed by the ignorance of the hosts that I turn it off.

WorkDaySarcasm · Post by **WorkDaySarcasm** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:40 pm

its scary i get exactly the same thing as angelic, at least it makes you realise your not alone and there are people like you even though you dont feel like there is

how do you cope at night?

how do you cope at night?

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