For people who struggle/have struggled with sleep, what do you recommend?

[TinyDinos]

I have nightmares occasionally lasting for a few days that wake me up constantly and scare me so much that I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’s usually re-loving something that’s happened to me before or a similar situation to something I’ve already been through, and I’m not aware that I’m dreaming until I wake up. I already struggle to fall asleep on a normal night, what should I do? I need strategies to help me fall asleep better and possibly help with nightmares. It’s currently 2:30am and I’m exhausted but can’t fall asleep :(

[catgal05]

Aww sorry to hear your struggling with sleeping. maybe you  could watch or listen to something that will relax you.

read a book if you like reading.

[TinyDinos]

4 minutes ago, Jodiealice3123 said:

Aww sorry to hear your struggling with sleeping. maybe you  could watch or listen to something that will relax you.

read a book if you like reading.

 

I tried listening to music that usually helps me fall asleep but no luck unfortunately :(

I do enjoy reading, but I can barely get my eyes to focus on my screen to type rn and it’s all blurry

[TinyDinos]

Gonna try music and laying down as if it go to sleep again now that I’ve calmed down a bit and I’m not as anxious as earlier

[Aurora]

35 minutes ago, TinyDinos said:

I have nightmares occasionally lasting for a few days that wake me up constantly and scare me so much that I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’s usually re-loving something that’s happened to me before or a similar situation to something I’ve already been through, and I’m not aware that I’m dreaming until I wake up. I already struggle to fall asleep on a normal night, what should I do? I need strategies to help me fall asleep better and possibly help with nightmares. It’s currently 2:30am and I’m exhausted but can’t fall asleep :(

I'm sorry to hear that. That sounds really tough. From what you're telling me I'm wondering whether you are processing some of your past experiences. Our dreams often reflect what's been going on for us and when we've had some bad experiences it's common to have nightmares or bad dreams as we're working through what's happened. If you like we can talk about this some more another time?

It sounds to me, that right now you would like some tips on how to get back to sleep. I get the impression that you are feeling quite tense right now so it might be helpful to try and get your body and mind to relax. There are some really helpful meditation apps such as Headspace that have sleep meditations that you could try? We also have a short guided meditation on Youtube that might help to calm yourself if you want to give that a go? You might find that you can fall asleep more easily once you are feeling calm and relaxed. 

 

We also have some helpful tips on how to sleep here https://www.ditchthelabel.org/50-things-cant-sleep

I hope you get to go back to sleep soon. 

[3va.eh]

On 7/31/2023 at 10:30 AM, TinyDinos said:

I have nightmares occasionally lasting for a few days that wake me up constantly and scare me so much that I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’s usually re-loving something that’s happened to me before or a similar situation to something I’ve already been through, and I’m not aware that I’m dreaming until I wake up. I already struggle to fall asleep on a normal night, what should I do? I need strategies to help me fall asleep better and possibly help with nightmares. It’s currently 2:30am and I’m exhausted but can’t fall asleep :(

all i cann say as a person who has gone trough the same.

1. try Therapy for those expiriences their clearly important and traumatic even if they dont see mutch

2. try in your dreams to look for details for example like mushroom cacti etc. and after look up what those details mean they always have meaning

3.ive read but it has never worked for me but following sleeping schedual

4. learn to accept tose expiriences and eventually it will blow by

these are my tips from a trauma afected person

[DragonflyPanda]

On 7/31/2023 at 5:30 AM, TinyDinos said:

I have nightmares occasionally lasting for a few days that wake me up constantly and scare me so much that I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’s usually re-loving something that’s happened to me before or a similar situation to something I’ve already been through, and I’m not aware that I’m dreaming until I wake up. I already struggle to fall asleep on a normal night, what should I do? I need strategies to help me fall asleep better and possibly help with nightmares. It’s currently 2:30am and I’m exhausted but can’t fall asleep :(

Read, doodle on a piece of paper until you're calm, invest in a weighted blanket if you don't have one (it feels like a hug), try tensing up your whole body and then untensing (do this a few times and it should help), this is gonna sound childish but keep a stuffed animal or pillow to hug, just simple stuff

[TinyDinos]

49 minutes ago, DragonflyPanda said:

Read, doodle on a piece of paper until you're calm, invest in a weighted blanket if you don't have one (it feels like a hug), try tensing up your whole body and then untensing (do this a few times and it should help), this is gonna sound childish but keep a stuffed animal or pillow to hug, just simple stuff

Thank you! Reading or doodling are things that calm me down, I don’t know why I haven’t tried that. My mom has a weighted blanket and swears by it lol. I’ve never tried one though. I’ve never tried the tensing technique either, but I have tried the slowing my breathing and focusing on relaxing everything in my body and that’s worked a few times. I have lots of plushies and pillows to hug and snuggle with :)

I’ve also semi-recently discovered that if I lay backwards (my feet where my head usually goes and vice-versa) I knock out almost instantly if I’m struggling to fall asleep. I don’t know what it is, but it works! Thank you for your help, I’ll be sure to try these!

[TinyDinos]

On 8/1/2023 at 4:18 PM, 3va.eh said:

all i cann say as a person who has gone trough the same.

1. try Therapy for those expiriences their clearly important and traumatic even if they dont see mutch

2. try in your dreams to look for details for example like mushroom cacti etc. and after look up what those details mean they always have meaning

3.sleeping p!lls natural one and if not go to a doctor to advice them for u

4.ive read but it has never worked for me but following sleeping schedual

5. learn to accept tose expiriences and eventually it will blow by

these are my tips from a trauma afected person

I can’t get therapy :(

the thought of it in and of itself makes me really anxious, let alone asking my mom to help me get it. I know it’s probably important though.

I don’t really remember stuff from my dreams other than the main event so to speak, when those experiences occurred irl, I was put in a protector role so I was hyper fixated on the problem at hand and protecting the people around me, and when thinking about the dream, that’s usually what I’m remembering if that makes sense. Unfortunately I’m not self aware while dreaming :(

To be entirely honest, I’m not a huge fan of taking medication in general. It makes me feel weird.

I’ve never tried a sleeping schedule, but I’ll try it :) I’m working towards accepting what happened, but the person who hurt me still has some degree of contact with me though my family. Even though his attacks aren’t directed towards me anymore, it really pisses me off that he’s behaving that way towards my sisters, and that triggers a lot in me. 

here’s to hoping we can both heal and recover from our trauma, internet stranger

thank you for your help!

 

[Duckie]

On 8/10/2023 at 6:19 PM, TinyDinos said:

I can’t get therapy :(

the thought of it in and of itself makes me really anxious, let alone asking my mom to help me get it. I know it’s probably important though.

I don’t really remember stuff from my dreams other than the main event so to speak, when those experiences occurred irl, I was put in a protector role so I was hyper fixated on the problem at hand and protecting the people around me, and when thinking about the dream, that’s usually what I’m remembering if that makes sense. Unfortunately I’m not self aware while dreaming :(

To be entirely honest, I’m not a huge fan of taking medication in general. It makes me feel weird.

I’ve never tried a sleeping schedule, but I’ll try it :) I’m working towards accepting what happened, but the person who hurt me still has some degree of contact with me though my family. Even though his attacks aren’t directed towards me anymore, it really pisses me off that he’s behaving that way towards my sisters, and that triggers a lot in me. 

here’s to hoping we can both heal and recover from our trauma, internet stranger

thank you for your help!

Hi @TinyDinos,

I know the thought of therapy might seem frightening, and it might be hard to admit to someone that you might benefit from it. Please don't feel pressured to do it, but know that the option is there for you. It sounds like you have things that you really need to talk about and therapy might be good for you, but it also isn't the only help available. Have you ever called an anonymous helpline to talk about the event and how it affected you? I am suggesting this, because it adds a layer of privacy to you as it is a confidential phone call rather than face-2-face. Would you consider that? 

A lot of people will take on the role of protector after having experienced some kind of trauma. A part of us wants to be the person we needed at that point - which is essentially a good thing, but can lead to hypervigilance and being overly-invested in scanning the area for potential threats. Trauma really does change the brain chemistry like that. What do you think?

I do like the idea of a sleeping schedule :) How would you do yours?

[TinyDinos]

30 minutes ago, Duckie said:

Hi @TinyDinos,

I know the thought of therapy might seem frightening, and it might be hard to admit to someone that you might benefit from it. Please don't feel pressured to do it, but know that the option is there for you. It sounds like you have things that you really need to talk about and therapy might be good for you, but it also isn't the only help available. Have you ever called an anonymous helpline to talk about the event and how it affected you? I am suggesting this, because it adds a layer of privacy to you as it is a confidential phone call rather than face-2-face. Would you consider that? 

A lot of people will take on the role of protector after having experienced some kind of trauma. A part of us wants to be the person we needed at that point - which is essentially a good thing, but can lead to hypervigilance and being overly-invested in scanning the area for potential threats. Trauma really does change the brain chemistry like that. What do you think?

I do like the idea of a sleeping schedule :) How would you do yours?

Hi! :)

im not sure.. I’ll definitely think about it though. I haven’t tried calling a hotline because I hardly have any alone time to do so to be entirely honest  

I might try that though, it seems more comfortable for me. 

yeah brain chemicals are weird. I’ve just kind of accepted it at this point. I think that I’ve been raised as a protector (I’m the oldest) and then we were in a situation where people actually needed protection, so naturally I stepped up when nobody else would, and now I’m just stuck

im trying to get back on to my school sleep schedule, so in my room to decompress by 9pm, and all electronics off by 10pm, switch sides of my bed if I’m not asleep by midnight, and then I get up at 8:30am most mornings, sometimes earlier. It usually works, I just need to readjust

[Duckie]

13 hours ago, TinyDinos said:

Hi! :)

im not sure.. I’ll definitely think about it though. I haven’t tried calling a hotline because I hardly have any alone time to do so to be entirely honest  

I might try that though, it seems more comfortable for me. 

yeah brain chemicals are weird. I’ve just kind of accepted it at this point. I think that I’ve been raised as a protector (I’m the oldest) and then we were in a situation where people actually needed protection, so naturally I stepped up when nobody else would, and now I’m just stuck

im trying to get back on to my school sleep schedule, so in my room to decompress by 9pm, and all electronics off by 10pm, switch sides of my bed if I’m not asleep by midnight, and then I get up at 8:30am most mornings, sometimes earlier. It usually works, I just need to readjust

Hi @TinyDinos,

How are you doing today? I think it would definitely be a good idea to call some kind of crisis hotline. They are excellent and it might make you more comfortable knowing you can always end the conversation at any point, without having to declare any personal details about yourself. If you are finding it hard to find the space and time to be on your own, maybe you could do this conversation in the park or in the garden for example. As far as other people know, they might think you are just having an honest conversation with your friend wilst having a walk through the park. What do you think of this?

Have you ever done one of those personality tests? I am INFJ myself and that literally stands for "the protector". I am curious to see what yours would say :) It is a truly honorable thing to be able to take action and guide people who might still be taking everything in and buffering. You have done so well. 

I like your schedule and the way you are taking little things like screentime and stuff into consideration. That's very mindful of you. How's readjusting going so far?

[TinyDinos]

5 hours ago, Duckie said:

Hi @TinyDinos,

How are you doing today? I think it would definitely be a good idea to call some kind of crisis hotline. They are excellent and it might make you more comfortable knowing you can always end the conversation at any point, without having to declare any personal details about yourself. If you are finding it hard to find the space and time to be on your own, maybe you could do this conversation in the park or in the garden for example. As far as other people know, they might think you are just having an honest conversation with your friend wilst having a walk through the park. What do you think of this?

Have you ever done one of those personality tests? I am INFJ myself and that literally stands for "the protector". I am curious to see what yours would say :) It is a truly honorable thing to be able to take action and guide people who might still be taking everything in and buffering. You have done so well. 

I like your schedule and the way you are taking little things like screentime and stuff into consideration. That's very mindful of you. How's readjusting going so far?

Hey again @Duckie :)

im doing okay  

I overslept a little bit but I had a bit of a patchy sleep yesterday. We had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night and the thunder/lightning startled me awake haha it’s okay though I love rainy weather and we don’t get it much over here. I’m hopefully getting my driver’s license in November, so then I’ll be able to go to the park and stuff, so I just gotta hang in there until Nov.  

I have not! I’ve heard of them, but never understood what the letters stood for haha. I’m curious though, so I might try one! And thank you for your kind words, they really do mean a lot.

thanks! My mom gave us a kind of skeleton for our schedule, but the hour before going to sleep and how early we wake up is up to us (my sisters and I) so I know I’ll probably watch television most times, or I use my tablet for drawing a lot, so I have to factor it in whilst making sure that I have enough sleep to get up early with enough time ti get ready for school. 

readjusting to it is doing okay. I’m still going to bed a little late for my liking, but I’m getting there :)

[Duckie]

On 8/16/2023 at 5:33 PM, TinyDinos said:

Hey again @Duckie :)

im doing okay  

I overslept a little bit but I had a bit of a patchy sleep yesterday. We had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night and the thunder/lightning startled me awake haha it’s okay though I love rainy weather and we don’t get it much over here. I’m hopefully getting my driver’s license in November, so then I’ll be able to go to the park and stuff, so I just gotta hang in there until Nov.  

I have not! I’ve heard of them, but never understood what the letters stood for haha. I’m curious though, so I might try one! And thank you for your kind words, they really do mean a lot.

thanks! My mom gave us a kind of skeleton for our schedule, but the hour before going to sleep and how early we wake up is up to us (my sisters and I) so I know I’ll probably watch television most times, or I use my tablet for drawing a lot, so I have to factor it in whilst making sure that I have enough sleep to get up early with enough time ti get ready for school. 

readjusting to it is doing okay. I’m still going to bed a little late for my liking, but I’m getting there :)

Hi @TinyDinos,

Sorry for the late reply. I've been on holiday you see, but now I'm back. How are you doing? How is your sleeping schedule going?

Your mom sounds so supportive and kind. I am happy for you that she makes you do schedules to help you with your days and nights. Are you back in school yet?

[TinyDinos]

7 hours ago, Duckie said:

Hi @TinyDinos,

Sorry for the late reply. I've been on holiday you see, but now I'm back. How are you doing? How is your sleeping schedule going?

Your mom sounds so supportive and kind. I am happy for you that she makes you do schedules to help you with your days and nights. Are you back in school yet?

No worries at all! How was your holiday? I hope you had a nice, restful break :)

im okay, doing better today than yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and if I keep that up, that’s all that matters I suppose  

im in a genuinely good mood today though so that’s awesome :) as far as sleeping goes I’ve been averaging going to bed at about 11:00pm (23:00) and waking up at 8:30am (8:30). Pretty good sleep! Some days I wake up feeling groggy, and others I wake up too early, or stare at my ceiling for most of the night lol, but on average the schedule is working :D

yeah my mom is pretty awesome. I love her so much and I’m really grateful for her. I am in school, and I’m officially in college. I’m technically a high school senior (12th grade), but I’m doing all of my classes through a college so I get dual credits. I’m so ready to be done with these classes and move on haha. 

[Duckie]

2 hours ago, TinyDinos said:

No worries at all! How was your holiday? I hope you had a nice, restful break :)

im okay, doing better today than yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and if I keep that up, that’s all that matters I suppose  

im in a genuinely good mood today though so that’s awesome :) as far as sleeping goes I’ve been averaging going to bed at about 11:00pm (23:00) and waking up at 8:30am (8:30). Pretty good sleep! Some days I wake up feeling groggy, and others I wake up too early, or stare at my ceiling for most of the night lol, but on average the schedule is working :D

yeah my mom is pretty awesome. I love her so much and I’m really grateful for her. I am in school, and I’m officially in college. I’m technically a high school senior (12th grade), but I’m doing all of my classes through a college so I get dual credits. I’m so ready to be done with these classes and move on haha. 

Hi @TinyDinos!

I am so pleased for you that you are having a good day and getting better sleep finally :) Are your siblings on the same sort of schedule?

Oh wow, I am so excited for you for grabbing the opportunity of doing dual credits. How's it all going? Would you like to continue studying a specific field? If so, do you know what you would be interested in studying? :) Or how does moving on look like for you?

[swiftie_am_i?]

On 7/31/2023 at 4:30 AM, TinyDinos said:

I have nightmares occasionally lasting for a few days that wake me up constantly and scare me so much that I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’s usually re-loving something that’s happened to me before or a similar situation to something I’ve already been through, and I’m not aware that I’m dreaming until I wake up. I already struggle to fall asleep on a normal night, what should I do? I need strategies to help me fall asleep better and possibly help with nightmares. It’s currently 2:30am and I’m exhausted but can’t fall asleep :(

I also struggle with sleep and I know its childish but sleeping with stuffed animals really helped my nightmares:l 

also just a nightlight can be rlly helpful!

[Duckie]

19 hours ago, swiftie_am_i? said:

I also struggle with sleep and I know its childish but sleeping with stuffed animals really helped my nightmares:l 

also just a nightlight can be rlly helpful!

I often find that I have nightmares when my room is too warm.  I mean I sleep with the windows open because I feel trapped when they are closed and/or the radiators are on. Think I read somewhere you're meant to be a bit cooler at bedtime