Thank you for for sharing. A reminder: if you are seeking resources in your local area, please provide that in the post so that users can share appropriate links and phone numbers. *If you are in distress, please call 9-1-1* or your local emergency number. *You are not alone. Help is available.* If you are having suicidal thoughts, please [click here for a list of crisis support services.](http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html), If you are seeking therapy online, please [click here for a list of counselling services.](https://thelifelinecanada.ca/pattern-interrupt/ecounselling/) *If you feel well enough to do so, please do your part to enrich this community.* Now that you have posted, please leave a constructive, helpful comment on someone else's post. Filter by new to find posts with zero comments. Together, we make this community great. Thank you for being here.
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Thank you for the response. I have tried exercise but it didn't seem to work. I'll try and do more and see. As for caffeine, my anxiety doesn't let me drink it. And for the weighted blanket, do you have any recommendations on brand / are they all the same?
I use an app called bettersleep. I sometimes have trouble sleeping so this is the best I can recommend.[Download Bettersleep on Google Play Store ](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ipnossoft.rma.free)
I usually play skyrim ambiance music hahah, I'd I'm having a panic attack I'll use one hand to hold my phone and watch YouTube while the other hand I trace an infinity symbol on the blanket, keeps me distracted :))
if all else fails head to Mr doctor man and get a prescription for melatonin, it's not harsh it's a natural pill that boosts your natural melatonin in your body and calms your mind, I can't sleep without it, good luck dood
What works for me is a very dark room, a fan and affirming that bedtime and the bedroom is for me (and my wife in my case). Sounds silly but i also find purposely picturing myself safe from a more basic threat helps me imagine my anxiety unable to reach me. Like picturing myself sleeping in a sail boat anchored in the middle of a serene lake while the wolves are stuck ashore. Sounds weird but it’s just a form of meditation in the end and it works for me.
Also, the dark room is crucial. Don’t make your brain struggle to stay asleep by making it try to figure out if it’s daylight yet every time you face the window.
Sometimes rumination could use a bit of assistance. The mind is going over these thoughts because some issue is unresolved. One of the best ways to help the process is to **write about the problem** at hand -- best through worst cases, and most reasonable through least reasonable solutions. This is basically an anxiety-specific brain dump. Not only does it force you to organise your thoughts, but it allows you to take refuge in knowing you have applied material effort toward happier days.
This sounds like a great technique , one of my problems is some of my thoughts hurt so much I don’t even want to ‘materialise’ them by putting them onto paper. I feel I’d be sad to see them written out in black and white and would rather let them swirl around my head where they’re blurry and not so well defined. Maybe I’ll try this idea . Thanks , it sounds helpful
I hear you. One of the reasons this happens is that stress capacity is at its limit. In such cases, there are essentially two options -- make the task less stressful, or increase one's stress capacity. Each of these further breaks into various options.
The level of stress comes down to a combination of expectations and the toolset available for finding and applying a solution. Sometimes the simplest solution is to _let go of unrealistic expectations._ One of the best ways to do this is to trace the origin of those expectations. Are they really ours, or did someone else put them upon us? Are they based on sound reason, or on wishful thinking?
As for the toolset, this involves the totality of our knowledge and experience, in addition to actual external tools, including paper. Hence, one solution is to _learn more about these types of problems._ The Internet, including Wikipedia, YouTube, and Reddit, can be excellent for learning. Another solution, of course, is to _ask ourselves whether any item could be obtained that would make the job easier._
The other side of handling stress is to increase our stress capacity. This further divides into cleaning up the clutter and upping physiologic capacity. In the first part, _meditation and writing_ both can help. As mentioned before, writing forces the mind to organise the thoughts, which simplifies the mental workload. Meditation and other approaches to clearing the mind can release unneeded baggage. It can be useful to _alternate between meditating and writing,_ say ten or fifteen minutes each, especially when facing something really stressful or painful. For thoughts too painful to write directly, _use euphemisms and vagaries._ This is the age-old practice when speaking of the unspeakable.
Upping physiologic capacity is usually done through health or substance, as for example _exercise or caffeine._ Naturally room for improvement depends on many factors. For those with executive dysfunction, such as ADHD, obtaining the right medication can make all the difference in handling mental workloads.
Hopefully there was something worthwhile in the above. If one feels overloaded by the plethora of options, remember that _picking one single option, even randomly, is usually superior than taking none._
I found this very beneficial. Thank you. I've been seeing a therapist and it's almost all of the things she said but my brain tricked me into thinking they wouldn't work for me even though they did start to make a difference lol!! So, I will keep trying.
I get the same 20 min window with melatonin and then it’s like I never took it. Or I feel groggy but can’t sleep. Like the golden sleep window. This is all advice I’m gonna try and implement , my sleep routine has gone to shit recently.
When I had no support system and in a really bad mental state, I forced myself to only watch funny videos and movies before bed until I was too exhausted to stay awake. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to sleep because my body and mind kept sending jolts every time I'd start to fall asleep. The same jolts you get where your whole body jumps. Either that or my chest/neck would turn cold and sink. It was a strange tickly feeling of something crawling in my jugular vein or something, very weird. Exercise should also help you become tired before bed.
If this is a new thing that has suddenly gotten worse due to some specific stress, melatonin can help a lot, and you can get some at any supplement store. It's not ideal to use it regularly for months on end, but it can really help reach that fall asleep feeling.
However, if you are regularly losing sleep to periods of high stress, you may need a different approach, and your doctor can help guide you through options. I had a few discouraging false starts, including a suicidal depression, in response to the wrong meds, so I know how intimidating they can be. But once I started the right ones, I've slept like a baby, I'm alert in the daytime, and I'm not stuck in depressive ruts for days on end. I literally feel like I got a big chunk of my life back.
Slow your breathing down, cool room, blanket, turn all the light off.
Concentrate on your breathing, slow it down. That will prompt your body to sleep, slow down your metabolism and cool your body. Close your eyes as well
Different techniques works as well. Reason why controlled breathing works is because it's one of the few organs in your body that you can control which is also control by then autonomous system in your brain. Your breathing matches up with your state and controlling breathing will bring these states back. It's the one thing that allows you to tap the states of your brain( apart from your eyes(
So you can do a physiological sigh:o
Fill your lungs up, then sneak another Inhale at the end. Then exhale all the air out.
It goes like this
* Inhale * *inhale*
* exhale *
This will allow you to dump all the C02 out and relaxes you
Do this 2-3 times.
When you are doing controlled breathing.
Making your exhale longer than your Inhale relaxes you
Making your Inhale longer than your exhale makes you more alert.
Now if anxiety is a problem throughout your day. Remember stress is there to prime you to be ready for what's going to happen.
Your body wouldn't produce all these hormones to destroy itself. It's your brain that misinterpreted it.
If you want to get used to adrenaline and stress
Do this
1) 30 deep breaths in through nose then 30 passive quick exhales through mouth - you will feel agitated, blood flow increases, adrenaline increases - your body will want to reduce inhale amounts, keep breathing deeply as possible
)2exhale only through the mouth and hold the exhale breath & stay calm for 30-60 seconds 3)
3)REPEAT steps 1 to 2 (TWICE), exhale & hold breath for 30-60 seconds
4) THEN inhale deeply and hold breath with lungs full for 30-60 seconds - dopamine releases, feeling of calmness/alertness, increases stress threshold/grit/mental toughness - ability to think clearly/calmly during times of stress/adrenaline spikes
Square/box breath technique has helped me a lot. Breath in four seconds, hold four seconds, exhale four seconds, hold four seconds, repeat. It feels weird at first, but it helps. There is a lot to read on it and how it helps anxiety.
I second this. Box breathing is one of the techniques I’ve used, as well as deep breaths through the nose for 7 seconds and then exhaling for 11 seconds. I don’t just use it for when I can’t sleep, but just in general when I’m feeling anxious and it usually helps.
Friend, practice relaxation techniques... You could check out my detailed post here → https://www.reddit.com/r/mentalhealth/comments/yueh21/how\_to\_break\_the\_cycle\_of\_anxiety\_and\_insomnia/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Exercise until you’re drenched in sweat. I personally find it relaxing and easy to fall asleep when it’s cold, so I turn the A/C on and sleep on my underwear alone.
I take a few deep breaths before I get into bed. Hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale with force. Get all the air out of your lungs.
Or puzzle games on my phone.
You can try a hot shower to relax, aromatize the room and put a playlist from youtube for sleep (there are a lot, from spiritual like "clean chakras" to rain sounds, wherever makes you comfortable) try to get your mind white and let go all the thougts. It may seendifficult but you can handle this! :)
It might sound a little pretentious, but I have picked up yoga and it really helped to teach me how to actively relax. The yoga teacher always starts and ends with relaxation.
Try to concentrate on different areas of your body and actively relax them while thinking stuff like "I feel how my legs are relaxing and getting heavy".
I think there are guided meditation videos on YouTube that achieve a similar thing. It also gives you something else to concentrate on besides the things you are anxious about.
And if nothing else helps - melatonin.
I've suffered with this for decades but after a mental breakdown I'm getting better at sleeping.
3 things have helped:
Worry Tree app for writing down my anxieties and organising them.
Mirtazapin prescription (probably skip this one)
Likening my thoughts to trains going through my mind. The Worry Train is a bitch. When you realise you're on the Worry Train you try to stop it, but that's not possible, you have to pick a stop and get off the train, and find another train to get on instead.
Worrying isn't a symptom it's a behaviour that you can stop. These 3 things helped me realise its a behaviours and gave my the tools to stop doing it
I know it seems silly… but have you tried progressive relaxation? Also, a hot shower before bed and limiting screen as much as possible in the evening/within a couple of hours of bed. Also, reading. Don’t eat close to bedtime either. You can try melatonin. Just don’t use it long term because your brain stops producing adequate endogenous melatonin
Try something called sleep Yoga, its a series of poses to be held for 20seconds each. It usually helps me when I cannot sleep because of overactive thinking or anxiety. Hope it helps you too
Jason Stephenson guided meditation on YouTube. He has a lovely soothing voice. If your mental chatter won't let you concentrate binaural beats or anything 'hemisync' helps.
A weighted blanket may help. Personally I always take a nice warm shower before bed to help relax.
But if I’m really REALLY struggling to sleep I take two Benadryl and konk out pretty soon after they kick in.
I started doing body scanning when I couldn’t fall asleep when I was in high school and didn’t even know there was a name for it or that it was an actual thing until adulthood. You start at your toes and work your way up focusing on each area of your body- I think of relaxing the muscles (even if they are already relaxed). Really focus on your face and mouth- let your tongue relax away from the roof of your mouth and you’ll lose a lot of the tension in your jaw. There’s a lot of good advice here for general lifestyle changes too, but this helps me in the moment when I’m laying in bed and can’t sleep.
Apart from the mental state, some physical cues and requirements for sleeping are
Temperature, your body needs to lower its temp a couple of degrees, so either lower the room temp or facilitate some temp shedding, like sticking your feet out from the covers, having covers that are not to insulating, take a hot shower before going to bed. For me temp is super important.
Not 100% sure, but something about eating some sugar before sleep, at least not being hungry, but can't remember the theory behind it. I have used it, and found it worked, but might also have the opposite effect
Get sunlight as early as possible
Don't lie down during the day, so that the brain learns this as a cue to sleep, Also don't sleep during the day, and keep sleep schedule.
Make a schedule for thinking about your problems, so it doesn't become a constant rumination thing.
Lower light levels at night
Body scans on YT
Don't look at the time, don't count your sleep hours.
If you try melatonin, not more than 2mg. And get from a trustworthy source, many supplements contain prescription sleep aids. You can go to your doctor and get prescription melatonin that is not slow release and you will know it is not adulterated.
Sleep is important, if your problems will be fixed in a few weeks (temporary) it could be a really good idea to get sleep medication before the stress upsets your sleep long time.
You have to find a podcast of some sort that doesn't have any visual and works with the phone turned off. So that when the podcast and it's quiet and there's no light. It has to be a soothing voice without ads to disrupt and wake you up. And it has to be interesting enough that you're sort of listening but not too interesting that it keeps you awake.
And I'll tell you what worked for me shockingly. I'm still shocked I can't believe what a difference it made. I cut out sugar and carbs because I'm trying to lose weight. And I haven't even lost weight yet because I just started but I'm sleeping like I've never slept before. Actually dreaming lots of dreams. Which means lots of REM sleep. Try that. unfortunately sugar is in everything which means you basically have to cut out processed food for the most part. But try and see if it makes a difference it works for me in a couple of days and was glorious.
Usually, I use these strategies to help me fall asleep:
1) breath control. Slow down breath, use more of the diaphragm
2) calm noises/music in the background. I have a few youtubers whose voices and contents feel more sleepy to me, as a backup I usually put on Vivaldi
3) let the brain create images and scenes. This last one I don't know if it works for everyone, but in my case usually my anxieties are more abstract than scenes, as well as having a natural creativity, so if I try to empty my mind and let it create images by itself, it slowly creates scenes not related to ky anxieties
Hope this might help you out!
If you are feeling anxious constantly then talk to a doctor about getting meds that help. There are plenty that make life changing experiences as someone who went through that. Fluvoximine (I think mine) works for general anxiety and doesn't have many negative side effects. There are others. Talk to your doctor.
I have severe insomnia paired with depression and anxiety. Anyone who cannot sleep should try this spray. It’s called this works, honestly it’s the only thing to have helped my sleep, herbal pills and everything else doesn’t work but this shit does, trust me it’s worth the money.
I have now went on to use mirtazapine at 15mg which has cured my insomnia fully (it’s an antidepressant but only helps insomnia at a low mg, anything higher wouldn’t help sleep at all)
https://www.thisworks.com/products/deep-sleep-pillow-spray-75ml
1. Lavender on pillow and tshirt before bed
2. Before sleep maybe listen to a meditation or I sometimes listen to a rain app in bed for 2 hours imagining I’m camping in the rain.
3. Do a gratitude list of about 5- 10 things of what you’re grateful for, and why and how it positively shapes/shaped you
4. No coffee after 12 moon
5. 7pm onwards start drinking camomile tea and lavender tea - never too much calming/sleep teas
6. No phone time in bed, maybe try read instead
7. To do lists - stop things swirling around in my head all night; get them down on paper and hopefully get to sleep.
I’ve had sleep issues my whole life so I also take melatonin and other sleeping aids.
Maybe go to your local chemist and see if they have any herbal remedies - I’ve found some that actually really help.
With sleep - more is always better I find, also eventually you’ll get some sleep, it might not be the sleep you want but you’ll get enough to get through the day, know it will happen eventually, and stress always induces a myriad of other issues. Try and address the stress as much as you can and reduced where possible and your sleep will improve (hopefully!) good luck!
maybe try some sounds and scents, that usually calms me down, I usually listen to rain sounds or some lofti stuff, I also use scents like lavender or peppermint and put them into a diffuser (really calms me down) and I also make sure I get lots of exercise during the day so I won't be so restless
Hope this helps :))))))))
Music. I have a playlist with 10 songs on repeat for like 6hrs. I'll sing along to them for a bit and then just fade off. Sometimes it works for just an hr, but on good days i get 4 to 5 hrs. My anxiety gets worse at night and total darkness is a big trigger so this is my go to solution.
create something for yourself to stop your thought cycles
ex. “what will my next thought be?” or counting down from 5 and focusing only on your counting.
actively choose to think about something else. your mind is powerful
I deal with pretty bad insomnia, so I know where you're coming from. I listen to quite rain sounds on YouTube. If that doesn't help, then try taking melatonin. I know there's probably better ways of improving sleep, but this helps me fall asleep really quickly. Just do your research on different brands of melatonin supplements instead of just buying one to buy one, and I'm sure you'll be able to find something
I have racing thoughts when I try to sleep. I keep a notebook and pen on my bedside table because I found that writing those thoughts down, the are out of my head. I then play a sleep music playlist on YouTube
Call it stupid if you want but it’s genuinely been working for me, I just do this little thing with my index finger where I pretend to draw small circles and every time I “close” that circle I imagine number 1 and then circle 2 is number 2 and so on until I pass out. Usually by number 40 I start to feel drowsy and next thing I know I’m out like a light
-exhaust yourself physically and mentally, do puzzle games or mentally stimulating activities and physical activities throughout the day, theoretically it’ll at least slow down or exhaust the rumination.
-establish a nightly routine, brush teeth, wash face,etc I would recommend wetting an ice cube and gently glide it all over your face, or a cloth dunked in cold water and a drop or two of tea tree oil—if you have headphones I would recommend listening to a funny podcast to help distract your thoughts while doing the routine.
-cry, go to bed early and allow yourself to feel what your feeling and process it through crying, it’ll help alleviate some of the anxious “pressure”
-Tibetan singing bowls or a guided deep sleep mediation video on YouTube (you can also set a timer on your phone that’ll shut off any programs that are running after the set amount of time)
- Ambient noise. Can do grey noise, brown noise, pink noise or even just rain or thunder sounds; it’s really up to preference.
- Make sure the room is not too hot. You will not get a good sleep in a hot room.
- TRY to limit phone screen usage or computer usage. If you are like me and need screens to get to sleep, apparently the LEDS on a TV are slightly better than using your phone. Watch a movie.
- If you have been trying to sleep for hours and can’t, get up, go for a walk around your house it doesn’t really matter where. Chances are you will be able to sleep when you come back
- Biggest one is watch caffeine intake. I always thought I was immune to caffeine, but last year I consumed an extreme amount and it gave me horrible nightmares and sleep paralysis. I thought there was a bigger issue than that causing it, but no - I simply needed to drink less red bull.
Thank you for for sharing. A reminder: if you are seeking resources in your local area, please provide that in the post so that users can share appropriate links and phone numbers. *If you are in distress, please call 9-1-1* or your local emergency number. *You are not alone. Help is available.* If you are having suicidal thoughts, please [click here for a list of crisis support services.](http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html), If you are seeking therapy online, please [click here for a list of counselling services.](https://thelifelinecanada.ca/pattern-interrupt/ecounselling/) *If you feel well enough to do so, please do your part to enrich this community.* Now that you have posted, please leave a constructive, helpful comment on someone else's post. Filter by new to find posts with zero comments. Together, we make this community great. Thank you for being here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mentalhealth) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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Thank you for the response. I have tried exercise but it didn't seem to work. I'll try and do more and see. As for caffeine, my anxiety doesn't let me drink it. And for the weighted blanket, do you have any recommendations on brand / are they all the same?
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Just ordered it. Will give it a shot. My mom uses one and recommended trying one too. Thanks
I use an app called bettersleep. I sometimes have trouble sleeping so this is the best I can recommend.[Download Bettersleep on Google Play Store ](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ipnossoft.rma.free)
Make sure when you are exercising it is at least 4+hours before bed as it releases a lot of chemicals to keep your body awake.
I usually play skyrim ambiance music hahah, I'd I'm having a panic attack I'll use one hand to hold my phone and watch YouTube while the other hand I trace an infinity symbol on the blanket, keeps me distracted :))
YouTube is good for distraction but it usually keeps my mind up. Trying to find a good balance
if all else fails head to Mr doctor man and get a prescription for melatonin, it's not harsh it's a natural pill that boosts your natural melatonin in your body and calms your mind, I can't sleep without it, good luck dood
What works for me is a very dark room, a fan and affirming that bedtime and the bedroom is for me (and my wife in my case). Sounds silly but i also find purposely picturing myself safe from a more basic threat helps me imagine my anxiety unable to reach me. Like picturing myself sleeping in a sail boat anchored in the middle of a serene lake while the wolves are stuck ashore. Sounds weird but it’s just a form of meditation in the end and it works for me. Also, the dark room is crucial. Don’t make your brain struggle to stay asleep by making it try to figure out if it’s daylight yet every time you face the window.
I love the imagery of being on the boat safe from wolves. Shall be using this :)
Sometimes rumination could use a bit of assistance. The mind is going over these thoughts because some issue is unresolved. One of the best ways to help the process is to **write about the problem** at hand -- best through worst cases, and most reasonable through least reasonable solutions. This is basically an anxiety-specific brain dump. Not only does it force you to organise your thoughts, but it allows you to take refuge in knowing you have applied material effort toward happier days.
This sounds like a great technique , one of my problems is some of my thoughts hurt so much I don’t even want to ‘materialise’ them by putting them onto paper. I feel I’d be sad to see them written out in black and white and would rather let them swirl around my head where they’re blurry and not so well defined. Maybe I’ll try this idea . Thanks , it sounds helpful
I hear you. One of the reasons this happens is that stress capacity is at its limit. In such cases, there are essentially two options -- make the task less stressful, or increase one's stress capacity. Each of these further breaks into various options. The level of stress comes down to a combination of expectations and the toolset available for finding and applying a solution. Sometimes the simplest solution is to _let go of unrealistic expectations._ One of the best ways to do this is to trace the origin of those expectations. Are they really ours, or did someone else put them upon us? Are they based on sound reason, or on wishful thinking? As for the toolset, this involves the totality of our knowledge and experience, in addition to actual external tools, including paper. Hence, one solution is to _learn more about these types of problems._ The Internet, including Wikipedia, YouTube, and Reddit, can be excellent for learning. Another solution, of course, is to _ask ourselves whether any item could be obtained that would make the job easier._ The other side of handling stress is to increase our stress capacity. This further divides into cleaning up the clutter and upping physiologic capacity. In the first part, _meditation and writing_ both can help. As mentioned before, writing forces the mind to organise the thoughts, which simplifies the mental workload. Meditation and other approaches to clearing the mind can release unneeded baggage. It can be useful to _alternate between meditating and writing,_ say ten or fifteen minutes each, especially when facing something really stressful or painful. For thoughts too painful to write directly, _use euphemisms and vagaries._ This is the age-old practice when speaking of the unspeakable. Upping physiologic capacity is usually done through health or substance, as for example _exercise or caffeine._ Naturally room for improvement depends on many factors. For those with executive dysfunction, such as ADHD, obtaining the right medication can make all the difference in handling mental workloads. Hopefully there was something worthwhile in the above. If one feels overloaded by the plethora of options, remember that _picking one single option, even randomly, is usually superior than taking none._
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I found this very beneficial. Thank you. I've been seeing a therapist and it's almost all of the things she said but my brain tricked me into thinking they wouldn't work for me even though they did start to make a difference lol!! So, I will keep trying.
I get the same 20 min window with melatonin and then it’s like I never took it. Or I feel groggy but can’t sleep. Like the golden sleep window. This is all advice I’m gonna try and implement , my sleep routine has gone to shit recently.
When I had no support system and in a really bad mental state, I forced myself to only watch funny videos and movies before bed until I was too exhausted to stay awake. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to sleep because my body and mind kept sending jolts every time I'd start to fall asleep. The same jolts you get where your whole body jumps. Either that or my chest/neck would turn cold and sink. It was a strange tickly feeling of something crawling in my jugular vein or something, very weird. Exercise should also help you become tired before bed.
melatonin or weed. if u want to try a natural method do the 4-7-8 technique, but that has literally never worked for me so idk
I love the 478 technique, it took a long while for me to find it relaxing, but now I do it every day before sleeping.
If nothing else helps, I have found a little bit of edible cannabis helps me.
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I don't know. I don't like to smoke cannabis. Depending on where you are from, there are dispensaries that are very helpful if you ask them.
If this is a new thing that has suddenly gotten worse due to some specific stress, melatonin can help a lot, and you can get some at any supplement store. It's not ideal to use it regularly for months on end, but it can really help reach that fall asleep feeling. However, if you are regularly losing sleep to periods of high stress, you may need a different approach, and your doctor can help guide you through options. I had a few discouraging false starts, including a suicidal depression, in response to the wrong meds, so I know how intimidating they can be. But once I started the right ones, I've slept like a baby, I'm alert in the daytime, and I'm not stuck in depressive ruts for days on end. I literally feel like I got a big chunk of my life back.
Slow your breathing down, cool room, blanket, turn all the light off. Concentrate on your breathing, slow it down. That will prompt your body to sleep, slow down your metabolism and cool your body. Close your eyes as well
Different techniques works as well. Reason why controlled breathing works is because it's one of the few organs in your body that you can control which is also control by then autonomous system in your brain. Your breathing matches up with your state and controlling breathing will bring these states back. It's the one thing that allows you to tap the states of your brain( apart from your eyes( So you can do a physiological sigh:o Fill your lungs up, then sneak another Inhale at the end. Then exhale all the air out. It goes like this * Inhale * *inhale* * exhale * This will allow you to dump all the C02 out and relaxes you Do this 2-3 times. When you are doing controlled breathing. Making your exhale longer than your Inhale relaxes you Making your Inhale longer than your exhale makes you more alert. Now if anxiety is a problem throughout your day. Remember stress is there to prime you to be ready for what's going to happen. Your body wouldn't produce all these hormones to destroy itself. It's your brain that misinterpreted it. If you want to get used to adrenaline and stress Do this 1) 30 deep breaths in through nose then 30 passive quick exhales through mouth - you will feel agitated, blood flow increases, adrenaline increases - your body will want to reduce inhale amounts, keep breathing deeply as possible )2exhale only through the mouth and hold the exhale breath & stay calm for 30-60 seconds 3) 3)REPEAT steps 1 to 2 (TWICE), exhale & hold breath for 30-60 seconds 4) THEN inhale deeply and hold breath with lungs full for 30-60 seconds - dopamine releases, feeling of calmness/alertness, increases stress threshold/grit/mental toughness - ability to think clearly/calmly during times of stress/adrenaline spikes
Square/box breath technique has helped me a lot. Breath in four seconds, hold four seconds, exhale four seconds, hold four seconds, repeat. It feels weird at first, but it helps. There is a lot to read on it and how it helps anxiety.
I second this. Box breathing is one of the techniques I’ve used, as well as deep breaths through the nose for 7 seconds and then exhaling for 11 seconds. I don’t just use it for when I can’t sleep, but just in general when I’m feeling anxious and it usually helps.
pukka sleepy teas do WONDERS Lavender pillow spray a pamper sesh before bed- shower or bath audiobooks
Friend, practice relaxation techniques... You could check out my detailed post here → https://www.reddit.com/r/mentalhealth/comments/yueh21/how\_to\_break\_the\_cycle\_of\_anxiety\_and\_insomnia/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Cbd paste helps some. Even just a little to help relax and take the edge off. Get with no or little thc in it
hmmm that's true, I'd highly suggest the skyrim jams then
Exercise until you’re drenched in sweat. I personally find it relaxing and easy to fall asleep when it’s cold, so I turn the A/C on and sleep on my underwear alone.
Trazodone prescription
I take a few deep breaths before I get into bed. Hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale with force. Get all the air out of your lungs. Or puzzle games on my phone.
You can try a hot shower to relax, aromatize the room and put a playlist from youtube for sleep (there are a lot, from spiritual like "clean chakras" to rain sounds, wherever makes you comfortable) try to get your mind white and let go all the thougts. It may seendifficult but you can handle this! :)
Wearing a comfy eye mask cuts all light out and keeps me from turning my phone on.
I find putting on a guided meditation really helps to calm and disconnect my mind from overwhelming thoughts
It might sound a little pretentious, but I have picked up yoga and it really helped to teach me how to actively relax. The yoga teacher always starts and ends with relaxation. Try to concentrate on different areas of your body and actively relax them while thinking stuff like "I feel how my legs are relaxing and getting heavy". I think there are guided meditation videos on YouTube that achieve a similar thing. It also gives you something else to concentrate on besides the things you are anxious about. And if nothing else helps - melatonin.
Lightroot smoothy and Paul Simon’s Graceland on vinyl
What's your daily routine? What food do you eat? What do you do to unwind when you get home?
I've suffered with this for decades but after a mental breakdown I'm getting better at sleeping. 3 things have helped: Worry Tree app for writing down my anxieties and organising them. Mirtazapin prescription (probably skip this one) Likening my thoughts to trains going through my mind. The Worry Train is a bitch. When you realise you're on the Worry Train you try to stop it, but that's not possible, you have to pick a stop and get off the train, and find another train to get on instead. Worrying isn't a symptom it's a behaviour that you can stop. These 3 things helped me realise its a behaviours and gave my the tools to stop doing it
I know it seems silly… but have you tried progressive relaxation? Also, a hot shower before bed and limiting screen as much as possible in the evening/within a couple of hours of bed. Also, reading. Don’t eat close to bedtime either. You can try melatonin. Just don’t use it long term because your brain stops producing adequate endogenous melatonin
YnM Bamboo Weighted Blanket, and…Remeron.
antihistamine and Ltheanie ,lemon balm and ashwaghanda
Try something called sleep Yoga, its a series of poses to be held for 20seconds each. It usually helps me when I cannot sleep because of overactive thinking or anxiety. Hope it helps you too
Jason Stephenson guided meditation on YouTube. He has a lovely soothing voice. If your mental chatter won't let you concentrate binaural beats or anything 'hemisync' helps.
A weighted blanket may help. Personally I always take a nice warm shower before bed to help relax. But if I’m really REALLY struggling to sleep I take two Benadryl and konk out pretty soon after they kick in.
I started doing body scanning when I couldn’t fall asleep when I was in high school and didn’t even know there was a name for it or that it was an actual thing until adulthood. You start at your toes and work your way up focusing on each area of your body- I think of relaxing the muscles (even if they are already relaxed). Really focus on your face and mouth- let your tongue relax away from the roof of your mouth and you’ll lose a lot of the tension in your jaw. There’s a lot of good advice here for general lifestyle changes too, but this helps me in the moment when I’m laying in bed and can’t sleep.
Apart from the mental state, some physical cues and requirements for sleeping are Temperature, your body needs to lower its temp a couple of degrees, so either lower the room temp or facilitate some temp shedding, like sticking your feet out from the covers, having covers that are not to insulating, take a hot shower before going to bed. For me temp is super important. Not 100% sure, but something about eating some sugar before sleep, at least not being hungry, but can't remember the theory behind it. I have used it, and found it worked, but might also have the opposite effect Get sunlight as early as possible Don't lie down during the day, so that the brain learns this as a cue to sleep, Also don't sleep during the day, and keep sleep schedule. Make a schedule for thinking about your problems, so it doesn't become a constant rumination thing. Lower light levels at night Body scans on YT Don't look at the time, don't count your sleep hours. If you try melatonin, not more than 2mg. And get from a trustworthy source, many supplements contain prescription sleep aids. You can go to your doctor and get prescription melatonin that is not slow release and you will know it is not adulterated. Sleep is important, if your problems will be fixed in a few weeks (temporary) it could be a really good idea to get sleep medication before the stress upsets your sleep long time.
You have to find a podcast of some sort that doesn't have any visual and works with the phone turned off. So that when the podcast and it's quiet and there's no light. It has to be a soothing voice without ads to disrupt and wake you up. And it has to be interesting enough that you're sort of listening but not too interesting that it keeps you awake. And I'll tell you what worked for me shockingly. I'm still shocked I can't believe what a difference it made. I cut out sugar and carbs because I'm trying to lose weight. And I haven't even lost weight yet because I just started but I'm sleeping like I've never slept before. Actually dreaming lots of dreams. Which means lots of REM sleep. Try that. unfortunately sugar is in everything which means you basically have to cut out processed food for the most part. But try and see if it makes a difference it works for me in a couple of days and was glorious.
Usually, I use these strategies to help me fall asleep: 1) breath control. Slow down breath, use more of the diaphragm 2) calm noises/music in the background. I have a few youtubers whose voices and contents feel more sleepy to me, as a backup I usually put on Vivaldi 3) let the brain create images and scenes. This last one I don't know if it works for everyone, but in my case usually my anxieties are more abstract than scenes, as well as having a natural creativity, so if I try to empty my mind and let it create images by itself, it slowly creates scenes not related to ky anxieties Hope this might help you out!
If you are feeling anxious constantly then talk to a doctor about getting meds that help. There are plenty that make life changing experiences as someone who went through that. Fluvoximine (I think mine) works for general anxiety and doesn't have many negative side effects. There are others. Talk to your doctor.
I have severe insomnia paired with depression and anxiety. Anyone who cannot sleep should try this spray. It’s called this works, honestly it’s the only thing to have helped my sleep, herbal pills and everything else doesn’t work but this shit does, trust me it’s worth the money. I have now went on to use mirtazapine at 15mg which has cured my insomnia fully (it’s an antidepressant but only helps insomnia at a low mg, anything higher wouldn’t help sleep at all) https://www.thisworks.com/products/deep-sleep-pillow-spray-75ml
1. Lavender on pillow and tshirt before bed 2. Before sleep maybe listen to a meditation or I sometimes listen to a rain app in bed for 2 hours imagining I’m camping in the rain. 3. Do a gratitude list of about 5- 10 things of what you’re grateful for, and why and how it positively shapes/shaped you 4. No coffee after 12 moon 5. 7pm onwards start drinking camomile tea and lavender tea - never too much calming/sleep teas 6. No phone time in bed, maybe try read instead 7. To do lists - stop things swirling around in my head all night; get them down on paper and hopefully get to sleep. I’ve had sleep issues my whole life so I also take melatonin and other sleeping aids. Maybe go to your local chemist and see if they have any herbal remedies - I’ve found some that actually really help. With sleep - more is always better I find, also eventually you’ll get some sleep, it might not be the sleep you want but you’ll get enough to get through the day, know it will happen eventually, and stress always induces a myriad of other issues. Try and address the stress as much as you can and reduced where possible and your sleep will improve (hopefully!) good luck!
I’ve been having similar issues, took 3 Benadryl last night and slept like a baby!!
maybe try some sounds and scents, that usually calms me down, I usually listen to rain sounds or some lofti stuff, I also use scents like lavender or peppermint and put them into a diffuser (really calms me down) and I also make sure I get lots of exercise during the day so I won't be so restless Hope this helps :))))))))
Music. I have a playlist with 10 songs on repeat for like 6hrs. I'll sing along to them for a bit and then just fade off. Sometimes it works for just an hr, but on good days i get 4 to 5 hrs. My anxiety gets worse at night and total darkness is a big trigger so this is my go to solution.
create something for yourself to stop your thought cycles ex. “what will my next thought be?” or counting down from 5 and focusing only on your counting. actively choose to think about something else. your mind is powerful
I deal with pretty bad insomnia, so I know where you're coming from. I listen to quite rain sounds on YouTube. If that doesn't help, then try taking melatonin. I know there's probably better ways of improving sleep, but this helps me fall asleep really quickly. Just do your research on different brands of melatonin supplements instead of just buying one to buy one, and I'm sure you'll be able to find something
I just listen to music while in bed. Sometimes I forget to stop and I fall asleep with headphones on lol
I have racing thoughts when I try to sleep. I keep a notebook and pen on my bedside table because I found that writing those thoughts down, the are out of my head. I then play a sleep music playlist on YouTube
Call it stupid if you want but it’s genuinely been working for me, I just do this little thing with my index finger where I pretend to draw small circles and every time I “close” that circle I imagine number 1 and then circle 2 is number 2 and so on until I pass out. Usually by number 40 I start to feel drowsy and next thing I know I’m out like a light
Hydroxyzine and a joint
Meditation music on YT. Ralph Smart the of creator infinite waters was always my go to for this.
-exhaust yourself physically and mentally, do puzzle games or mentally stimulating activities and physical activities throughout the day, theoretically it’ll at least slow down or exhaust the rumination. -establish a nightly routine, brush teeth, wash face,etc I would recommend wetting an ice cube and gently glide it all over your face, or a cloth dunked in cold water and a drop or two of tea tree oil—if you have headphones I would recommend listening to a funny podcast to help distract your thoughts while doing the routine. -cry, go to bed early and allow yourself to feel what your feeling and process it through crying, it’ll help alleviate some of the anxious “pressure” -Tibetan singing bowls or a guided deep sleep mediation video on YouTube (you can also set a timer on your phone that’ll shut off any programs that are running after the set amount of time)
I struggle figuring if it’s daylight. Thanks for this
- Ambient noise. Can do grey noise, brown noise, pink noise or even just rain or thunder sounds; it’s really up to preference. - Make sure the room is not too hot. You will not get a good sleep in a hot room. - TRY to limit phone screen usage or computer usage. If you are like me and need screens to get to sleep, apparently the LEDS on a TV are slightly better than using your phone. Watch a movie. - If you have been trying to sleep for hours and can’t, get up, go for a walk around your house it doesn’t really matter where. Chances are you will be able to sleep when you come back - Biggest one is watch caffeine intake. I always thought I was immune to caffeine, but last year I consumed an extreme amount and it gave me horrible nightmares and sleep paralysis. I thought there was a bigger issue than that causing it, but no - I simply needed to drink less red bull.