When I was still living with my A, my sleep patterns were completely screwy. I would suffer from insomnia, and then in the last few months before I left, I would sleep 12-13 hours a night. And wake up exhausted.
I've been out of his house for almost 5 months now. I still don't sleep well (like tonight, I've been up since 2, it's now 4, and I just took some homeopatic sleep aid that usually works) but it's getting a lot better. For me, it's anxiety -- and I see a pattern in that every time I have to interact with him in any way, I can count on a night of insomnia.
The good thing is it gets better and better. I'm wicked sensitive to any kind of sleep aids -- I get a hangover that lasts at least the entire day following taking anything -- so I've relied on Hylands Calms Forte and magnesium (which acts as a muscle relaxant. I want to warn you about the magnesium, though -- it's a muscle relaxant that relaxes ALL muscles. So if you take the maximum recommended dosage, you don't want to, say, go for a daylong hike the next day. You want easy access to a bathroom.
)
The other thing that my mom (who's a chronic insomniac) keeps telling me is that
it's OK to be awake. Just stay in bed (which is the opposite of what advisory columns tell you), control your thoughts (shoo away the stressful ones), create relaxing beautiful pictures in your mind (go to your happy place!
) and don't stress about being awake. You'll still get rest, even if you're not sleeping.
Hugs to you! I'm off to lounge in bed again...