How do you sleep at night with overwhelming anxiety?

[Vatheri]

I'm sure I am not the only one who has this problem.. Nearly every time I go to bed and lay down my mind just constantly dwells on all of my anxious thoughts. That stupid thing I said today, that embarrassing event from 10 years ago, the potential to cause some personal trauma for myself the next day, over and over again. I find myself constantly spending hours trying to sleep only making myself feel worse and worse until I finally fall asleep. How do you manage it? How do you "shut down" for the night and get sleep like a normal person? I feel like I've tried a lot but nothing has really worked for me so far.

 

[Alex]

It's not easy and even when you find a way it doesn't always work. I do try and have a hot bath as it does make me relax more, and when I feel clean I feel less stressed. If you have something on your mind, then it's very hard to stop thinking about it. I try to write it all out and to get it out of my system, and I worry about things I have little or no control over. Recently my father nearly died and it made him realize he could not be anxious about small things. He had to let things go; I get my anxiousness from seeing him like that all my life.


He doesn't sleep and dwells on things, but he sleeps through exhaustion. I would recommend trying to wear yourself out if you need to sleep, not surfing or anything, but read a boring book or a newspaper article that isn't interesting, or maybe do some lat night cleaning which will tire you out.

 

[morgoodie]

I know exactly what you are saying. This happens to me all the time when I go to bed especially if I am not exhausted enough to just fall asleep right away. I think about things that have happened at different times in my life that have caused me anxiety and stress. I wish that I could not bring things up that happened so long ago since nothing can be done about them except move on. During the day, I can be doing something and the same thing will happen. It is a horrible feeling to have these thoughts running constantly through my mind.

 

[pwarbi]

I think that most people that suffer with anxiety will have trouble sleeping at night. On my bad days I sometimes don't sleep at all and I now know when I'm going to sleep and when I won't so sometimes I don't even try. In the past even though I know that I won't sleep I'll go to bed and just lie there trying, but that makes me worse so now I'll just try and keep busy. I can be up sometimes till 3 or 4 in the morning watching films or even cleaning, anything really to try and keep my mind occupied.


The day after of course I'm that tired that I'm falling asleep standing up but I've kind of got used to just being tired most of the time now. What has helped in the past is to prepare myself to go to bed, sometimes hours before it's time to. I'll have a bath and relax at about 6pm. try and read a book and just generally relax and then hopefully by 10pm I'm relaxed enough to try and sleep.

 

[GeneKaufman]

There is almost nothing worse for me (besides pure panic attacks and having gallstones) than staying awake at night for hours (in bed mind you) on end because of either a panic attack or just not being able to get something out of my head. One thing I know definitely does NOT work is specifically trying to purge the thought, as that obviously just makes you think about it more.


For me personally what helps me, regardless of how cliché it seems, is to do something artistic. Whether it be playing on an instrument (I personally play piano, although I don't practice nearly enough), drawing, or writing something fictional. I personally prefer not to write and draw something that deals with my particular problem, but I hear some people have luck with doing that. For me doing something artistic tends to switch the focus on my mind to whatever is it that I'm doing as opposed to what I was thinking about before. While thinking about what I was writing may keep me up a little bit, it isn't nearly as long or as uncomfortable as thinking about whatever issue it was that was keeping me up before.

 

[vegito12]

I think it can be hard to sleep when you are worrying about things and things you said or did in the past may from time to time affect you and make it hard to sleep and can take an hour or longer for me and find I usually have to have the light off and also try and relax the body as being stressed out will not be a good thing as you will just wake up in the middle of the night, and think about what has gone wrong in your life and try and worry about it. It can be nice to be doing something else and I usually try and play video games and you can get sleepy when you play at night and then it is time to shut the body off and rest which can make you sleep better and you have a good nights rest which can make you refreshed in the process, everyone will have a different way of going to sleep and there are different methods for everyone and you may need to try different things. It can be nice to have a warm bath in the bath tub and you are relaxed and also you do feel tired or ready for bed as the body starts to get weary and wants to go to bed and it is time to sleep at night and usually go to bed at 10pm or just after and get about 8 hours in which makes me alert the next day and I am able to do things I need to and am able to concentrate as well.

 

[SirJoe]

It can be really difficult, I normally don't know how I fall asleep very often i only know that I have slept when I wake up in the morning. The worst part is when you have the same thing running over and over in your head and as much as you try to stop it the more intense it becomes. I normally get up and try to eat something, maybe a slice of cheese or something light, just as long as you have something in your stomach. It normally helps, but not always.

 

[Kristen07]

I think the key is to get to sleep quickly so that your mind does not have time to wonder. I do not like taking sleeping pills, but there are 2 alternatives I take on "sleepless" nights. The first one is melatonin. You can take 3-5 mg. of this and it helps to put you to sleep naturally. The second is magnesium supplements. Magnesium works wonderfully for me. A person can take 500-1000 mg of magnesium. Both of these natural remedies will get you to sleep, without waking up to the groggy feeling the next morning.

 

[bachelor56]

I started going to therapy and seeing a psychiatrist and by seeing them both during different appointment times that even when I get anxious at night I just have to realize that what I am anxious about can be done the next day. Some things may need to be taken care of immediately but other things can usually wait. I am in school right now for example and even though there is definitely a lot of stuff that I am learning I realized that just having a planner with different dates to complete tasks has helped me in order to be able to manage everything that I need to get done. In one of the group sessions I went to I learned that keeping a notepad by the bed will help so you can write things down that you need to get done in order for you to be able to go to sleep. In the morning you check your lists to see what you need to get done and set dates that you want them completed by.

 

[beautifullybree]

Have you ever tried green tea or melatonin pills? I've heard they both help. I usually try my best to wear myself out. I even stay up late some nights until I get so tired I finally drift off. I hope you find some relief.

 

[joshposh]

I've mentioned this elsewhere as it helps those with insomnia. You need to wake up early then usual and totally exhaust yourself the whole day. I'm talking about putting a big work load physically as that will drain you to the point to when it does come time to sleep at night, there is nothing else on your mind but a good 8 hours of sleep. Just go home, get a hot shower and a sensible meal, and hit the sack hard.


Also what helps with insomnia is to get a lot of vitamin D from the sun. Those that have been in the sun all day will get tired at night as the sun does drain you.

 

[DDNatureLover]

I have had the same experience for years, lying awake at night, ruminating about things I did or didn't do. It's difficult for someone who doesn't suffer from anxiety to understand why we 'let' these things bother us, but it's not a conscious choice. I agree with the above posters that it is sometimes helpful to wear ourselves out with physical activities, because that can force our bodies to shut down and go to sleep, which is sometimes the only way our minds get rest.


For a few years, when I was unable to sleep, I would get up in the middle of the night and go for walks. I used to do that when I was a teenager, as well, and my parents never understood why I would feel the need to go out late at night, but it definitely helped to induce sleep once I'd worn off the excess energy in my body. It's almost 6 a.m. and I've been up for several hours now, and I just made a cup of tea and took a half an Advil PM, which should hopefully kick in soon, and allow me to get a little sleep. I don't generally take sleep aids, but try to shut my mind down either with the physical activity, or as mentioned above, by reading a book that's less than stimulating, or watch something on television that isn't going to pique my interest and keep me awake.

 

[errdo19]

I have always had issues with falling asleep and staying asleep. After years and years of suffering, my doctor and I determined this was because I am lying in bed just running thought after thought through my mind and worrying about what it is I need to do or should of done. For this reason my doctor has me take my anti anxiety medication in the evenings. This helped some but not much. Recently I began seeing a hypnotist for test anxiety and I told her about my sleep issues. She gave me some strategies to use and I have never slept better! If you have a medical hypnotist in your area I would recommend trying it.

 

[Jemina]

This is something I struggle with too. I can't get to sleep when I'm thinking of things over and over again. I also suffer from insomnia though, so I suppose I also have that to add to my issues surrounding sleep. I find that I sleep better during the day than I can at night because it's just so quiet at night that I can't get to sleep. I end up focusing on every little sound and wondering what it could be since my house was broken into in the middle of the night while I was in it asleep. I was also abused at night as a child so I've always hated sleep as a result of that alone, but the burglary really shook me up even more and now I get extra anxious at night.


I find that if I can motivate myself to do a lot during the day then I'll usually sleep better at night but a good night for me can be only a couple of hours sometimes, sometimes not even that. I can be absolutely exhausted sometimes and I just can't get to sleep. I find that sometimes I can trick myself into getting to sleep though, with thoughts like "I've got to do all these things before I can go to sleep". Even something like "I have to pin 10 things on Pinterest before I'm allowed to sleep". This often tricks me into being more tired and I rarely get through the 10 things before I fall asleep.

 

[roxyfermor]

This has been one of my own biggest issues with my anxiety. It has caused many many sleepless nights. I will try to watch something or read something to be able to ignore the anxious thoughts and instead I end up staying up all night until the sun comes out because for some reason my anxiety eases up when I see that its getting light outside. Go figure. By then I usually have to get up and go. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

[mauricioq]

This happens to me as well and one thing that helps me a lot, it's weed. It actually makes going to bed super relaxing and you're just happy for being resting at the moment. You also feel your body very warm and relaxed.

 

[misskatiej]

I run into this issue a lot where I spent nearly the entire night trying desperately to turn my mind off and just go to sleep. It gets even worse when I know I have a big day a head of me the following morning. I typically try to journal my feelings so that I can get everything in my head out on paper to prevent it from endlessly looping all night. Warm baths before bed usually work wonders as well, as long as I can relax in the tub I can usually carry on the relaxation to the bed. When all else fails I have some natural vitamins I take that are supposed to help calm you before bed.

 

[Robilas]

Whenever I'm feeling too anxious about something I can barely sleep, since as soon as I get to my bed my brain starts thinking about my anxiety and my fears, so I spend hours and hours trying to get some sleep. The best method to avoid this situation is to go to bed only when I'm literally half awake and can barely keep my eyes open, so I'm too tired to even think about what is making me anxious. Of course I need to stay awake for more time and I can't sleep as much as I should, but it's still better than staring at the ceiling trying to fall asleep.


Another method that works for me are warm, relaxing drinks, for example tea. A cup of black tea helps me getting in the mood to sleep, but in the summer here it's too hot to drink warm beverages, so I can't do that.

 

[Sue]

Most nights I have a hard time to unwind and get a decent sleep. I usually let it go for a few nights and then I will take an over the counter sleeping aid. It helps me get the rest that I need. If I can't sleep I just get up and read, FB or watch TV. I don't stay in bed because I would only toss and turn and stare at the ceiling. My mind drives me crazy sometimes. All these posts are great and very helpful. It helps to know that you are not alone with this.

 

[nytegeek]

Unfortunately the answer for me is often medication. Either for anxiety, for sleep, or both. This of course is as directed by and under the care of a doctor. I don't self medicate or use things that aren't prescribed, Medication isn't the best answer, but it can be a last resort if needed.