help with sleep?
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Join Date: Aug 2020
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help with sleep?
never have i had such vivid, ****** up dreams in my entire life. i drink close to 30 UK units a day and few the past few months (and since i've started to really notice my withdrawals getting worse, and started to actively worry about them) it feels like i'm going mad when i manage to get to sleep, i genuinely cant tell whether i'm awake or asleep sometimes. it's usually worse when i'm absolutely smashed when i pass out, it's either something really weird/ a nightmare or something indistinguishable from reality, for example getting up from where i fell asleep and sitting on a piece of furniture that may or may not exist. its the polar opposite of what i've experienced for the past 3 years as i've smoked weed everyday, which affects the amount you dream and your dream recall in a really negative way, im not used to it and some of these dreams are really disturbing/traumatic for me. does anyone else have any experience with anything similar or know anything that might help with it? i'm not a fan of it to say the least, it makes me not want to sleep.
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Join Date: Dec 2019
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Originally Posted by ihateit 
never have i had such vivid, ****** up dreams in my entire life. i drink close to 30 UK units a day and few the past few months (and since i've started to really notice my withdrawals getting worse, and started to actively worry about them) it feels like i'm going mad when i manage to get to sleep, i genuinely cant tell whether i'm awake or asleep sometimes. it's usually worse when i'm absolutely smashed when i pass out, it's either something really weird/ a nightmare or something indistinguishable from reality, for example getting up from where i fell asleep and sitting on a piece of furniture that may or may not exist. its the polar opposite of what i've experienced for the past 3 years as i've smoked weed everyday, which affects the amount you dream and your dream recall in a really negative way, im not used to it and some of these dreams are really disturbing/traumatic for me. does anyone else have any experience with anything similar or know anything that might help with it? i'm not a fan of it to say the least, it makes me not want to sleep.
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im still actively using (although i wish i wasn't), i've finally reached out for some help recently and i have an assessment for it tomorrow hopefully, i was talking about short term withdrawals. i know things are going to get better once i abstain, but im not stupid enough to try and do it on my own at this point as i know how i am with tapering, i struggle with it. i was more asking the question of is there anything that can help with it short term to people with real experience, im not trying to use this place as a doctor's
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ahhhh i thought not, it's worth the ask though. thank you for your replies. i've been lurking here for a little bit now and these forums have given me an extra kick up the arse, you're all wonderful people, thank you for your help
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Night terrors are, well, terrible and your brain is not getting the correct type of sleep to start healing. I hope your assessment goes well! You will feel so much better once you are sober. GOOD LUCK and let us know how you’re doing.
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Join Date: Aug 2020
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I can relate to your experiences.
I'm suffering from sleeping disorder/insomnia for many years.
Alcohol makes it even much worse, because it chemically prevents you from REM sleep, which is the most crucial part of sleep. Without REM your sleep only counts like 30-50%. Lots of scientific studies about that.
I don't know the exact effects weed has on sleep. I smoked it a lot in my youth, but quit at age 20, because it gave me tachycardia and panic attacks, it ****** me up badly, so I quit it completely. Still can't say the same about alcohol yet.
I know that some people actually use weed for getting sleepy, but others experience a more psychotic effect at some point. I guess with weed it's pure genetics. Eventually it's not as safe as some governments think it is. If you suspect it ruins your sleep, you should quit. With alcohol it's a known fact it ruins your sleeping pattern, though.
I know this feeling when you can't differentiate between sleep and reality anymore. Sometimes I can't fall asleep and stay up for 60 hours. Your brain begins to hallucinate vividly for a few seconds suddenly (I read it's a natural protection mechanism) which is probably what happened to you, intensified by weed and alcohol.
There might be no other way to fix your problem than quitting (at least alcohol), suffer withdrawal and bad sleep for 4-5 days and then finally experience overall improvement.
Cause it's also amazing how fast the brain recovers from this sleep deprivation. In January I was sober for 14 days and was so full of energy after like only 5 days. Unfortunately a relapse puts you back to the beginning quickly as well. It's a constant struggle.
I'm suffering from sleeping disorder/insomnia for many years.
Alcohol makes it even much worse, because it chemically prevents you from REM sleep, which is the most crucial part of sleep. Without REM your sleep only counts like 30-50%. Lots of scientific studies about that.
I don't know the exact effects weed has on sleep. I smoked it a lot in my youth, but quit at age 20, because it gave me tachycardia and panic attacks, it ****** me up badly, so I quit it completely. Still can't say the same about alcohol yet.
I know that some people actually use weed for getting sleepy, but others experience a more psychotic effect at some point. I guess with weed it's pure genetics. Eventually it's not as safe as some governments think it is. If you suspect it ruins your sleep, you should quit. With alcohol it's a known fact it ruins your sleeping pattern, though.
I know this feeling when you can't differentiate between sleep and reality anymore. Sometimes I can't fall asleep and stay up for 60 hours. Your brain begins to hallucinate vividly for a few seconds suddenly (I read it's a natural protection mechanism) which is probably what happened to you, intensified by weed and alcohol.
There might be no other way to fix your problem than quitting (at least alcohol), suffer withdrawal and bad sleep for 4-5 days and then finally experience overall improvement.
Cause it's also amazing how fast the brain recovers from this sleep deprivation. In January I was sober for 14 days and was so full of energy after like only 5 days. Unfortunately a relapse puts you back to the beginning quickly as well. It's a constant struggle.
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weed definitely helps you sleep in the very short term but it actually has adverse effects on your rem sleep and your dream recall when you're a heavy smoker, i haven't been able to remember 99% of my dreams for the past few years because of it which makes these more disorienting to me. its definitely not safe when used more than every so often recreationally, god knows i regret it. you've absolutely described what my sleep has been for the past few weeks there, i genuinely really really struggle to distinguish my dreams from reality now, they're so vivid and i have other things going on in my noggin other than substance abuse. the only time i can is when they're nightmares (a lot of them are) or they're really out there and absurd (once again, a lot of them are. i didn't know that about the hallucinations, i think I've experienced that quite a few times now and it scares the **** out of me every time lol, it literally feels like i shut my eyes, get dragged into a very short and usually unpleasant vivid dream and then open my eyes like nothing happened. it's what i was describing in my op, i had one where i shut my eyes, and then got up and laid on a mattress on the floor that didn't exist, it only lasted a few seconds and it was legitimately indistinguishable from reality. the only reason i opened my eyes was because i thought to myself, "i don't have a mattress, that doesn't exist" lol. not always just visual stuff either, but i'll ask the doctor about it for sure
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yeah i'm doing a little better thank you for asking. my assessment went well, i got told exactly what i expected to hear but that's the best thing i suppose. i've also potentially landed a job which i'm always trying for, fingers crossed with that, that'll help me out a lot
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thank you bud, they basically just told me i'm fully dependant on it and i shouldn't stop drinking suddenly (shocker). there's not much they can do for me as i'd imagine i'm quite a good bit younger than most people on here and i look a certain way, plus everything i'm already prescribed for my pains so i don't get taken seriously by doctors a lot of the time, it's hard for me to get new medication. but who knows, maybe now i've got other medical professionals to vouch for me it might go a bit smoother. i'll be drinking/smoking less if i get this job either way, which will be nice
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