How do you sleep.....
 

Without drugs???? I am pretty over lying here awake every night well after my husband goes to sleep. I used to just pass out and my bed felt like a cloud. Now I toss and turn.

I was only using again for 12 months and not being able to sleep was a part of the reason I relapsed.

I've tried melatonin. It doesn't seem to help.

Your body is still adjusting. You'll get there.

Sleep depravation, while tough to go through, is nothing compared to what you were doing to yourself with drugs. Plus, passing out isn't sleep.

Laying in bed, awake, waiting for sleep isn't working. So get up. Go out in another room and read, or listen to relaxing music. When you start to feel tired, go back to bed.

Well done on staying clean. Keep up the good work.

Thanks. The house is too cold for me to get up! might need to buy one more heater so I can sit in the front room if this keeps happening.

Thanks for the post. I might try reading by the light of my phone, good idea.

Hi Midlife. I know from my first few months that frustration of not being able to sleep and more importantly what it did to my mind. I was groggy, irritable and dreaded laying in bed each night because I knew I would toss, turn, toss, turn, think, turn, think, get up, think, lay down and do it all until the a.m. came. In the moment it was kicking my butt. For me it was two things. First, the chemical systems in my brain that govern sleep, mood and the like had been hurt by my use. It took a few months for things to get back to some state of normal. The second was that without a chemical in me to numb everything and quiet my thoughts I was constantly spinning my wheels when I laid down. I know from experience that some of the things that can help don't sound like much fun and frankly I just didn't have the energy to do some of them but here is what did help a little bit for me. I exercised to tire myself out. I ate a giant meal before bed. I meditated and spent time before bed trying to calm my mind. I got up from bed when I had racing thoughts and put some of them to paper or came to this forum to vent them out and decompress a bit ten tried again to sleep. I forced myself to get up early so I would be more tired. That one was hard and I pretty much dragged all day but it did help if i could make it to the evening before sleeping. And lastly I got some books on tape and played them in my headphones in bed. It got me focusing on the story instead of me and I was able to drift to sleep while the narrator was talking. Hope you get through this. In the end it will pass or at least improve so you can focus on other things. Good luck!

I have had insomnia since I was a baby. Ask my poor mother! Lol I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to be tired sometimes. I used to lay there and think about all the things I had to do the next day, knowing how tired I'd be, and I'd get frustrated to the point of tears. But, no more. I just breathe and try to relax. I have several books (about 20) by my bed and I'll pick different ones and read as I lie there. My husband was astonished to learn how many books I go through, as he's always asleep while I do my reading.

I also will set my alarm for a decent hour and I get up- no matter how tired I am. Eventually, this leads to me falling asleep at a decent hour. Getting up at the same time each day really helps me.

I hope this helps. X

It took me 10 months to get past my sleep problems when I quit.

You could put a dimmer switch on a lamp, if your partner can tolerate. (My hubs wears an eye mask because I've always slept with a bit of light.) They also have lights that hook right to a book. You could create a nook for yourself in the other room, with extra pillows and blankets- in case you need to get up. Just extra suggestions!

Valerian extract (in a glycerin non-alcoholic base), helps me. It doesn't knock me out, but it does take the edge off. GABA is a supplement that may work for you as we'll. Melatonin doesn't work for me. Makes me itchy, makes it worse for me.

Hang in there. Healing takes what it takes and part of that is going with the flow, and rolling with the punches.

I started drinking daily to quiet my mind at night in order to sleep. It just lead to worse sleep and eventually all-day drinking. I still can't sleep and will often stay awake for 36 hours until I collapse with exhaustion. I've always been so envious of people that can fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow and stay sleeping until morning.

I sometimes just get up and watch tv or read or just being in another room helps too. When I start to feel sleepy, I go back to bed. Sometimes I end up sleeping on the couch or in the recliner.

It's frustrating, I know. :gaah

It was tough for me the first few weeks. But after that it was so much better.

I finally found out what it was like to sleep instead of passing out.

And being tired from lack of sleep is so much better than being dragged out from being high the night before.

Thanks everyone:). I really hate being awake in the night. Too much time to think:(.

I wake up early every morning (5 kids) I guess it's just going to take time. I will try some new strategies. I have always been a bad sleeper without help.

Yeah it will take time, I think.

I had decades of insomnia - now I sleep like a baby

I did find an electric blanket helped me sleep tho - but I know some people don't like them.

D

5... As in FIVE children?? Holy moly... I really just want to give you a hug. And I really wish I could wave a wand and help you sleep better. You poor thing. God bless mothers!!!

If you've had insomnia even before you started drinking, I'd see a doctor, as it could be any number of things they might be able to help with.

Sometimes, people drink/use drugs to self-medicate a sleep problem for which a professional might be able to suggest other solutions for, ranging from better sleep hygiene, to medications, to devices for sleep apnea. But only a Dr. can say; this is just a suggestion from somebody who has always had problems sleeping, long, long before I ever drank.

Good luck here!

Time. Ahhh. Mrs impatient here. I used to go days without sleep back in the amphetamine days. No kids then! Yeah the kids have electric blankets. We didn't get one because we still had a baby in the bed but she is 2.5 now so we may think about it.

Lol yes 5 children. Thanks heaps!!

On and off I have had sleeping problems. Mostly I think due to my brain gojng into overdrive, bad memories, worry about whatever. Now I just can't sleep! Still in withdrawal from Benzos so I guess it will take time. I want to avoid more medication if I can and I think my hygeine is up to scratch! Having said that I might talk to a naturopath if it continues. Thanks!

It took me a few months to start sleeping "well" which for me means 8 hours a night but still waking up a couple times here and there. I have never been a deep sleeper so I doubt that will change. I just let the process happen and watched movies or read when stuck awake. This week I have some insomnia and not sure why but just riding through it...walking around tired all day still beats tired+hangover. Keep rocking on, you're doing awesome!

Accentuate the positive
 

I still have times when it is hard to get to sleep but I have developed a strategy to occupy my mind with more positive thoughts.

I suggest that you think about and even write down positive events and favorite places you have been in your life. When you go to bed, think about these events and places and maybe re read the list before you retire for the night. Then pick one of these and revisit it in your mind as you lay in bed.

I try to concentrate on traveling through my favorite mountain locations and visualize the views at the points I stopped at. Sometime's I even look at my travel photo's to refresh my memories. Reliving those good time's can really help remove negative thought's from your mind.

One of the other positive experience's I also use for this purpose is concert's that I have attended. Since I have seen 50 shows since 2009, I will think about one of my favorite's and relive it in my mind. Sometime's I will watch a DVD of one of the band's before bed, with the music playing through my stereo. This allows me to remember the scene at the concert venue and concentrate on the positive feelings that I experienced during the show.

Good Luck and sleep well tonight!