tunafish

Hi all,

New to this doing pretty well. I have 5 days under me and I cannot sleep. I slept for 4 hours last night. Drinking helped me sleep. I say I was a heavy drinker. When did you finally start getting some sleep.

Thanks
Trina

Astro

I think it's different for everyone Trina, but it seems like everyone has trouble sleeping in early recovery. It took months for me, as well as having anti-depressants prescribed for my anxiety. Finally I feel into a somewhat normal sleeping pattern.

There are lots of things you can do to help yourself sleep better. Exercise, healthy diet, cut down on caffeine and sugars, etc. Prayer and meditation help ease my mind and make sleeping easier too.

CarolD

Please see if this is helpful for you

Insomnia? 41 Simple Tips to Help You Get to Sleep - Insomnia treatment, cures

Well done on your sober time

indigo

jmo I think when we are using/drinking we are not experiencing "real" sleep and it takes time for our bodies to adjust, how about a long soak in the tub and a warm chocolate or milk and honey drink before you try to get to sleep? The more we worry about sleeping the more elusive it can become. Once our bodies have adjusted though I think sleep of the "natural" type will come. just my 2cents.

jooser

Hey, I just went through detox at the Watershed last month. It seems alot of folks were having problems sleeping. Myself on the other hand, I wanted to sleep all the time. Hang in there and try to avoid any sleeping meds because they are usually habit forming and we as users tend to be quick to develop "habitual" use of mind altering substances.

best wishes,
jooser

PG1968

Hey.. how are you? It took about a good 2 weeks to start being able to sleep properly. At first, it was about 4 hours, if i was lucky, and it not really being sleep yet. Albeit, I was passing out every night (while drinking) good luck on this..

29a

It took me about a month, now I get the best sleep of my life
it'll pass

when I would lay down, my mind would race 100 mph. Not only with negative stuff but positive thoughts as well.
I worked the steps and that got better.
You said your just a hard drinker, so maybe you just need time.

GreenTea

You say you've got less than a week dry... Remember that your nervous system has grown accustomed to life with alcohol. Now its trying to figure out how to function properly *without* alcohol... This isn't something that will happen, er... overnight.

Alcohol's depressant effects have been taken away. This results in a state of hyperactivity -- sometimes mild, sometimes extreme, usually somewhere in between... Its one of the things at the heart of RID, Restless Irritable and Discontent. Cellular withdrawal also adds to it.

Give it time and your nervous system will eventually find the balance. It might be a bit of a roller-coaster ride while its happening -- I remember a lot of nightmares when I went through it -- but it will come. Pay attention to proper nutrition (and lots of water) -- it gives your body the raw materials it needs to make repairs -- and remember that this isn't permanent. It will pass. How long it will take varies from person to person.

Also remember that you don't have to go through this ever again if you don't want to. You just have to go through it once, right now, and then its over.

Prayer will help. So will talking about it to others. So will doing lots of service work.

You are not alone... You are also not insane -- this is simply part of the withdrawal.