It's not something people tend to talk about with colleagues and acquaintances and usually suffer in silence. I find people don't understand insomnia and think you're just moaning.
It’s unbelievably misunderstood or underestimated. People can’t comprehend how controlling it is it dictates your life. I’ve shared with a few when the occasion permits and I often get a response of “have you tried melatonin” which while innocent and well meaning, shows just how foreign insomnia is to those who don’t have it.
Yeah I had a boss once after 2 days of no sleep just drink lots of coffee and will be fine. They think it just makes you tired, it literally affects body,Ind and everything
I’m very fortunate my boss just tells me to do what I need to do, come in late and leave late or have a sick day whenever needed. It’s funny how that attitude actually helps me sleep more thus I’m usually at work on time and not taking days off because of no sleep
It lessens the anxiety you no doubt feel about getting sleep and having to work. So much of insomnia is anxiety based and I strongly believe there is a genetic component
That helps a LOT, or working a NON 8-5 job.
Find a job that'll work with your insomnia. Looking back on my 60+ years of non sleep years, the only time I didn't feel stressed over my 'lack of sleep' was when I was raising babies (2am feedings? No problem!) or working late evening/over night shifts.
Maybe because those two scenarios elicit a lot of commiseration from fellow parents and employees?
My insomnia is completely non work or obligation related. I sometimes sleep better on my days working than on my days off. Even my brother is like "Wait, you can't sleep even when you have nothing else to do?" Yeah, that's how chronic insomnia works, you can't sleep despite ample opportunity for sleep.
I’m very fortunate my boss just tells me to do what I need to do, come in late and leave late or have a sick day whenever needed. It’s funny how that attitude actually helps me sleep more thus I’m usually at work on time and not taking days off because of no sleep
Right?! Like my mother, who took me to the doctor 30 years ago because I wasn’t sleeping at 14 years old, she’s like oh, you can’t sleep? Are you turning the tv off at night? Have you tried playing music? Like MOM?!?? HELLO?!?!
Yep. Heard all of those before. Also "you need sun." "Go WORK more!"
Everyone else: "Talk to a therapist./Have you been evaluated for 'depression'?"
Like buzz off! This is a medical problem that's completely out of our control.
so true! I’m like, Sir, I’ve been this way since I was 11. But thanks for your wildly obvious advice (I didn’t ask for) that never occurred to me and my harem of doctors spanning 3 decades. 😂😂😂
A friend and I put a spin on it. She tries to see how long she can last at the end of the week with me. We call it "No Sleep Friday"
I have insomnia, she does not. I work on different projects when I can't sleep. Current project is extracting clay from soil. 10/10 its peaceful 😌
I completely agree with this assessment. First off, people don’t believe I have insomnia. It’s diagnosed, I’m medicated, and I still don’t sleep.
But it’s a lot like chronic migraines where people will be like, “Oh my god! I had a headache last month. I know exactly what you mean!” No. No, you don’t.
Im always amazed when ppl tell me they get meds for sleep bc I. Have. Tried. But bc I have a history of depression it’s always a no for me. My friends mom gave me her Lunesta when I stayed over and it was the best sleep I ever had 🥹
But have you tried melatonin?
I've had insomnia for over 15 years and I'm not sure if I've ever met anyone else who has it. Ppl think it's like a 1 night thing and they take a Tylenol pm or something the next night, and it's a done deal.
This made me laugh. I wrote a long response above but have tried basically every prescribed and off label sleep medication known, and recently went to a sleep specialist. He told me based on the fact that I was tired during the day and woke up frequently (from nightmares) that I should be tested for sleep apnea. I’ve never snored in my life, don’t wake up with dry mouth, and have no other symptoms that would point to that. They are just trying to make a buck off of the equipment.
My entire issue is falling asleep for the first time because my brain won't turn off and stop thinking and I have no issues staying asleep afterwards.
"Yup it's definitely sleep apnea"
About lost my fucking mind. I eventually found a med that works for me which is Zaleplon aka Sonata. Turns my brain off and it's magical.
I’m glad you found something that works. I take Ambien CR, but I still have nightmares and wake up frequently. The controlled release (CR) is supposed to help you fall asleep and keep you asleep too.
I am 40 and have been dealing with chronic insomnia since I was a preteen. I go 24-48 hours regularly on zero sleep and tend to operate on 3-4 hours of interrupted-every-30 minutes sleep a night as a baseline. The folks closest to me know I have insomnia but I don't regularly discuss it with folks outside of my "circle" for a variety of reasons. 1) I have a high profile job and don't want misconceptions to change how people view I operate in it and 2) I am at this point 100% over folks unsolicited advice about exercise/melatonin/sleep hygiene as if I havent tried everything under the sun over the last 25 years to combat the issue.
Yup…I sleep a **ton** more than I used to (41 now), which is fucking awesome.
What’s less awesome is that sleeping “a ton more” still means I go from waking up Monday afternoon at 4:00pm, having slept 5 hours, until Thursday at 6:00am with only 2-2.5 hours of sleep. That’s 62 hours with 2-2.5 hours left f sleep. Regularly. So chronic insomnia.
Some meds help a little for some amount of time. No meds (no anything I’ve tried) have entirely fixed it.
But…someone says “I didn’t sleep *at all* last night”. I could 1-up them with my “literally didn’t sleep last night, only slept 2 hours the night before” bullshit. But what do I get out of winning the “suffering Olympics”? Nothing.
So instead, I say “omg you must be so tired! How did you drive today?” Because honestly? Winning the “suffering Olympics” sucks, and showing genuine compassion (because I’ve been super tired too! Like now, for instance) is honestly better.
With meds and stuff, my average is now probably 3.5-4.5 hours. And I’ve been through years of an average of 2-3.5. So I’ll take my newer average anytime!
My husband is 50 and I am 44, we’ve both had chronic insomnia since we were in our early 20s. Yes, it’s hard to explain to people. My closest friends and family know about it and know we normally make plans on the fly (a day we are feeling ok b/c our sleep was ok the night before). It does dictate your life. I’ve done a lot of things to help it improve, including taking CBD at night, blackout curtains, no electronics after 8 pm, daily exercise. But I have some really bad days. I’m grateful to work from home now, as I don’t feel like I’m dragging through the office and making sure I don’t nod off during a meeting in a warm room (I know someone has to know what I’m talking about here!). It’s the worst, and it really delayed me having my own fam. I met a fellow insomniac at 34 and was married to him at 37, with a baby at 38! We get through it, but having some kind of support system or understanding ear goes a long way. Hang in there, I wish you luck!
I deeply relate to this, I have had moderate-severe chronic insomnia for over ten years...recently a girl came up to me after hearing me talk vaguely about it and she went into a long spiel about how much she understands and at the end of it she was like: "I don't know how long it's been for you but it lasted three months for me and it felt like forever," it was kind of crushing/weird to hear lol
I have never met anyone in face-to-face life who has remotely been through what i have been through with insomnia, it feels so intensely isolating
Chronic insomniac over here. Though my problem isn’t falling asleep, it’s staying asleep. Which is also within diagnosis of insomnia, though I haven’t found too many others like myself.
My body only lets me sleep roughly 4.5 hours from whenever I fall asleep. Used to be a solid 7 hours a night sleeper. It’s horribly depressing.
My Functional Medicine doctor told me waking up with a pounding heart could be caused by high cortisol. She recommended that I take Magnesium (I take Magnesium Glycinate) and Zinc to lower cortisol levels. I have to take Zinc Citrate as regular Zinc upsets my stomach.
Oh man. Yea. I’m a night person by nature, so I usually stay up until 2am to wake up closer to 7. Otherwise it just really depresses me. 4am is not a time to be awake (unless you’re one of those early morning gym people - which I am not).
And people are always like ‘wow, I’d be so productive if I slept so little!’ and it annoys me so much. Like no you would not. Because 4am is not a time to when your body wants to be productive. It’s a time when your body wants to be sleeping. So you end up dwelling on how much sleep you’re missing out on that everyone else seems to get. And you sit in bed on your phone until some actually reasonable hour to get up and start the day.
This is exactly the same for me, ever since I remember(childhood) and due to trauma(as far as I know), so I have no idea why it happens but I completely understand. Some nights end after 2-3 hours, which is exhausting..
I don't know about anyone else, but I got fed up with explaining insomnia to people!
Girlfriends and partners would obviously know, as well as my Dr.
That's why this sub helps me, like you (O.P.). I don't think I've met anyone with real insomnia. I had a friend with Narcolepsy though!
I'm in my early/mid 30s and have struggled insanely with this and been medicated on and off since I was about 7-8 years old for insomnia and related issues.
I feel you so much on this one lol, I also haven't met anyone in the outside world who struggles with this & it's frustrating because I've gotten used to the "have you turned off the lights? What about your electronics? Don't eat before bed that's why! Well you just need a good sleep schedule, going to bed so late is *sooooo* bad for you! Go to bed earlier" so long ago it barely even bothers me anymore.
A couple of my previous partners/current knows it well & does their best to understand & be supportive (for some reason the word supportive feels like I'm going thru a trauma, chronic insomnia has been a huge burden but I mean supportive in the way my partner will try & help when/if they can or maybe hang out with me if they also happen to be up) but for the most part it's been a pretty isolating thing. I've gotten used to it a while ago, probably in my 12-15 timeframe, but when you strip it down to the bare bones of how much lack of sleep affects mostly everything in life & how incredibly isolating it feels to be tossing and turning & staring at your eyelids with no view of sleep in sight, to just get up & stare at your empty dark silent house, yeah it sucks big ones.
Luckily with my own place it's nicer bc I don't have to worry about watching TV in the living room, making food, playing music, playing w my cats, etc, but the times I'm not at my own home *really fuckin blows*. I feel you on this one
Youd be surprised how many people drink or smoke weed to sleep and just dont talk about it.
And almost everyone over 40 ive ever met who worked in food industry was on some type of sleeping medication like ambien.
I feel your struggle, though. It annoys me to no end when seeing or meeting someone who can drink coffee and go to bed or can take a nap whenever they choose. I wish...
Since I was about 7 yrs old. I have gone periods in my life that it wasn’t as bad. (Surrounding child births)
Current stretch 5 yrs and counting
It’s horrible. My husband still doesn’t understand, over 20 yrs together 🤦🏻♀️
Mine also started in childhood. Still going strong some 40 years
later 🙄 Pregnancy was some of the best sleep I've ever had! I went to be 4 hours ago and I'm still awake, rolling over every 5 minutes and yawning with tears because I'm so tired. I wish I could flip a switch and turn on sleep mode instantly 😕
I do. Without medication induced sleep I can go 4 days. About 1 week per month my meds will only work for 3 hours. And I take multiple loads and combos with the temazepam I take. Anyone else, this would be a fatal overdose. Me ? It’s meh.
I rotate meds and supplements nightly to decrease the chances of med tolerance. I use THC edibles with Indica on some nights, one or two nights on Sonata ( prescription sleeping pill), some nights Benadryl, and sometimes low dose melatonin (low doses like 1 to 1.3 mgs are more effective).
I really do think it's one of those things that people think is just a "haha" minor struggle, when the people who do suffer with it are pretty miserable.
I think the same thing happens with stuff, like, adhd and chronic pain -- they think that because they forgot their keys once, or had a headache for a day, and managed to get past it then that's OBVIOUSLY what you're struggling with. They don't have a point of reference, like a larger social narrative, that allows them to disconnect what you tell them from their own experience.
When I tell people I have insomnia, they're usually hit me with "me too!" And I think I've found someone to struggle-bond with, only to realize that what they mean is they fall asleep at 12am when they meant to fall asleep at 10pm. (Which, as a disclaimer, is still a valid issue, just not... idk, clinically significant?)
But if I had cancer and I told someone I had cancer... you can imagine how different that'd be. Now, should people take insomnia as serious as cancer?... well, idk maybe, we all know how disastrous insomnia can be and I don't think I can objective atm.
Long story short, I think people hear "insomnia" and think it's a "small cut in the kitchen" level of problem when it can be a "ive been in a severe car crash" level of problem
They don't get it. They can't comprehend.
I wish we had celebrity advocates like Michael J Fox is for Parkinson's or Selma Blair for MS. But our advocates just die trying to get to sleep (Heath Ledger, Bruce Lee, Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, the list goes on, and on and on).
The closest we got was Jeffifer Aniston making a couple of commercials. It was good to hear it, but it quickly died down.
Chronic insomnia just isn't and will never be accepted as a disability. Shut up and suffer in silence.
I think because insomnia is so nuanced from person to person. When you mentioned MJ I immediately wondered how much of his sleep issue was chronic stress from hyperarousal. That’s very different from someone who was born with chronic insomnia issues. do we really know the reason for their issues?
It’s really sad that they don’t put enough research into insomnia and I really do think that doctors truly don’t understand all the nuances. They just don’t take it seriously unfortunately. They’d rather just throw some pills at people.
That, or they understand there is no real cure, so the best thing you can do is treat it with pills.
You're right, there are different flavours of insomnia. Hyperarousal is often an underlying factor. It can hardly be avoided, though. Years of bad sleep train you in a bad way.
Hyperarousal prevents me from napping, I'm pretty sure. It's the sleep maintenance part of my insomnia I can't figure out. You? What form of insomnia got you?
Also I disagree a bit on docs know meds are the only solution. That may be true for some without a known cause of their issues but doctors also are not trained on how stress affects the nervous system.
For example, I went to several docs over the years about palpitations. Passed stress test and they sent me on my way.
Turned out to be anxiety and stuck in sympathetic mode. Not a single doctor tried to connect the dots.
It wasn’t until my sleep left completely when I began to understand all these years it was anxiety and how adrenals are involved in palps, hyperarousal and poor sleep.
So in a weird way the insomnia was a strange blessing to helping me understand why I have hyperarousal and what’s going on in my body.
No doctor was able to help me understand any of this. I didn’t want meds. I wanted to fix my generalized anxiety, the root of my sleep issue.
I am dealing with the hyperarousal component and maintenance. I have figured out the reason but fixing it is challenging because it requires a lifestyle change.
Bottom line….I deal with social anxiety and depression. That’s my real source.
I slept 8-9 hours per night up until the pandemic….That was for 40+ years of my life.
But around 30 I stopped being able to nap. So that was when my nervous system was starting to get out of whack. Didn’t understand that then.
Then in 2021 after too much isolation and lack of fun, I went through a bad period of sleep and that’s when the worry about sleep began and I got caught in a loop of being anxious about not sleeping. Hello sleep anxiety.
Mind you, I have dealt with generalized anxiety all my life but always slept until 2021. Had several 0 hour nights. Lots of anxiety, heart palps, etc.
But when I travel or had company over I slept way better. Just slept 8 last night thanks to having company. I realized too much isolation made me more stressed cause I had more time to worry about sleep.
So for me it’s a lifestyle overhaul to fix my anxiety. I know I can sleep but my nervous system is so revved up most of the time that it’s hard to get deep sleep or stay asleep many nights. Deep breathing has helped a lot but I need a lifestyle overhaul.
I’m grateful I know that meds are not the answer or even necessary for me if I get my life together. But I feel for those who haven’t cracked it or have dealt with this all their lives. It sucks.
I've had insomnia since I was a baby. I remember being up the entire night/days as a small child, and I think it was the cause of growth issues I had. I remember being so upset as a kid when my parents would take away my books or games at night thinking it would get me to sleep and doom me to 8 hours of staring at the ceiling. The only other person I know who has it as bad as me is my dad. My siblings also kinda have it and use various substances to help. My fiancé sleeps soooo normally it can kinda drive me crazy and definitely makes me feel super isolated (and sometimes irrationally bitter) staying up all night just listening to him sleep. Outside my family, I haven't met anyone like me.
I share a room with my sister and I know exactly what you mean, i can be having a conversation with her at night and she'll fall asleep moments later and I end up getting so jealous and upset lol, almost annoyed at her for ditching me to be awake by myself
I've had chronic insomnia my entire life, but only had a formal diagnosis for about 2 years. Before then I was given the runaround: lose weight, exercise more, don't use your phone or tablet before bedtime, no coffee after noon, make your bedroom an inviting place ... All the usual suggestions we get from friends, family, medical professionals ... I'll be 46 this summer. Did everyone just assume I've been living my *entire life* not knowing all of that? That I haven't tried *everything* I can think of (and afford)?
I know the things that make my insomnia worse: red dye, certain anti-nauseants, most nonprescription sleep aids. Some things, like my period, I can't avoid. We had bedbugs, so that definitely made things worse.
I have an assessment next week for cognitive behavioral therapy. I *really* want it to work. I'm really scared it won't. (I have been told in the past, by other therapists, that I'm very "self-aware" and that that can make therapy difficult.) It took 44 years for me to get an official diagnosis, but it's real, I really do have chronic insomnia.
Fwiw, I have been practicing CBT for a number of years, and I, too, have a high level of self-awareness. I haven't found the awareness piece a hindrance, the opposite, actually. Because I can identify what I am thinking/feeling I feel like implementing cbt techniques have been easier.
CBT helps you reframe your thoughts and beliefs which has helped me in some areas of my personal life. I still struggle with insomnia, though. However, with c-ptsd, there isn't really a helpful reframing of the trauma and its effects. Otherwise, that would be gaslighting myself IMO.
Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Your words are really encouraging. I'll remain hopeful. Best wishes for your continuing recovery.
I’ve had chronic insomnia for several years now. I literally NEVER feel sleepy. Every single night when I get in bed I’m wide awake. Never tired during the day. Have gone 3 consecutive days without sleep and was still not tired. I felt like complete shit but was not tired.
I am in my early 30s and have had insomnia since I was an infant. I have actually had doctors take me up on my offer to talk to my mom about the insomnia I had when I was a baby because they didn't believe me.
No one has ever had any answers as to why I have it but my new neurologist put me on a med that has worked wonders for me.
My grandmother, my dad and I all have / have had chronic insomnia. I remember waking up so frequently as a child and seeing my dad wide awake as well. My sisters didn’t get it. I am now only able to sleep 2-3 hrs with meds.
I always had insomnia kinda on and off since I was maybe 14 (can't remember really) but now I haven't been able to sleep for the past 1.5-2 years without sleeping meds (Ive tried without and I don't sleep). I'm tired all the time so I do get sleepy, but I'm constantly sleepy lol it doesn't make me fall asleep tho
Me!! (Waves hand wildly while reading this at 1:30 in the morning.)
I have had this battle with insomnia for over 25 years now. There are so many times I have gone with zero sleep for days at a time that it is the norm now. I can be tired, get in bed, and my brain instantly snaps to attention. It goes into overdrive. Every few days, I just sort of shut down and pass out for an hour or two. Usually while watching TV. Then it is anybody's guess when I will sleep again.
I have been on almost every med my doctor can think of for sleep but have had little success. If it works at all, it is very short-term.
I tried to drink myself to sleep, but it took more and more to do it. Eventually, alcohol along with chasing sleep took over my life. I found myself in the rooms of AA in 2005. No longer drinking but still not sleeping either.
So yeah, there are plenty of us here. We just may not speak up for fear of bad advice from the clueless.
Yeah I know exactly how you feel when I mention it to people they don't understand at all, even my family it makes me very angry how they think I'm just lying about it.
Who the fuck would want not to sleep and be completely like a zombie all day, having ADHD doesn't help either.
I've had insomnia since I was about 3/4 & now i'm 23. It's basically made everything so much more difficult than it needs to be & no one believes me lol
I think i have read somewhere, that it is around 2% of the population, that has "REAL" chronic insomnia (primary), that is insomnia that doesnt just stem from stress, anxiety , depression etc
The kind that persists for decades
I dont know anyone in real life either
I have chronic insomnia, and it's hung on now for at least a year... maybe longer. I seriously sleep two hours at night... I wake up around the same time every night (2:30 am), and it never changes. Any meds my Dr has put me on just doesn’t even touch it. I'm 61 years old.
I went through some really hard things with my mother becoming ill with severe dementia....and she started going downhill, slowly, for about 5 years. I took care of her for as long as I could and finally understood that she needed professionals to care for her.
After that, I had a terrible breakup with a long-term relationship.
This insomnia doesn’t leave no matter how tired I am. I hate it, it my makes life difficult. 😥
Edited to add: I can not tell you how many supplements I've tried to help this problem. The money I've wasted is ridiculous. I try not to talk to anyone about this because they just don't get it.
I always had troubles sleeping, I am even medicated and it doesn’t help. I have a lot of bad nights over good nights. People don’t truly understand what is like to go through their day on lack of sleep
Idk but I’ve had it since I was at latest 4 (not many memories before that age) and it’s currently 6 am after hydroxyzine and enough benedryl to kill an elephant
It’s a lot more common than you think but people get used to it and learn to mask it well
Kinda like how they say about 50% of the people you see who seem perfectly happy and healthy are actually suffering from chronic pooping problems that secretly drive them crazy
I’ve had chronic insomnia for 20 years. I’ve been on Ambien. (Zolpidem Tartrate). Very short 1/2 life so zero grogginess in the morning. It’s stated it should be short-term use but I (& many of my friends) have taken it for years. A poor night’s sleep makes the next day so difficult. Another suggestion: I think I began associating the bed/bedroom as a place where I could NOT sleep. If you have a recliner, comfy chair/sofa you may try falling asleep elsewhere in the house. The anxiety of thinking you may not sleep at night is awful. Do your best to have calm, quiet evenings. Ambien allowed me to work full time & raise 3 children practically by myself. Spouse’s job kept him gone more than home. Lastly, reading (not books that cause your mind to think; just light reads) calms me before bedtime. I wish you the very best!!!
I stopped trying to explain it to people. They simply can't fathom not getting tired or being tired out of your mind and still being unable to sleep. I'm met with disbelief or people telling me to just like sleep 😆. Like, geez didn't think of that. Laying in bed for 8 hours with my eyes closed for no reason lol
I live off 4 hrs of sleep between the hours of 2 am and 8 am and will wake up at odd hours and just be awake. I also have a circadian rhythm that does not like being diurnal but isn't quite nocturnal.
I have been an insomniac since a child.
I can go almost 44 hours without sleep, full day(s) of work, and it doesn’t matter my level of exhaustion. I can be exhausted all day, ready to slide into bed easily and fall asleep, but the moment I get home I am awake and unable to sleep. I have to force myself to sleep at night with a whole cocktail of Rheumatoid Arthritis meds but just for sleep I need 100mg Trazadone and 1500mg Tylenol PM. At times sometimes that doesn’t work and I still can’t fall asleep.
I have been treated for anxiety, ADHD, depression, and still no explanation as to why I can stay awake and function on little to no sleep. The kicker is, I have just been medicated for it in the last 5 years. I spent 35 years popping melatonin and Tylenol PM like candy.
I will say that once a month I will completely shutdown and sleep 12 hours. I can almost set my watch by it and I am due, can’t wait.
I should probably go to the doctor to confirm that one…
Don’t know what confirms if you have it buttttt I’ve got about two decades of what feels like a cursed sleep schedule that I might fall into that camp lol
No clue what the actual percentage is, but \*I\* have it. There was this amazing period of a few years when it eased up, and it felt akin to a miracle. I was able to get off of my sleep medication, which was kinda shocking and pleasantly surprising, give the amount of time that I had needed a (prescribed) dose that is technically considered too high by most providers. When I realized that I could get drowsy ON MY OWN eventually, I was blown away. Unfortunately, insomnia reared it's ugly head again about a year ago. I'm back on sleep meds, and though they are better than nothing certainly, they are also not even close to having the effect I need to get a decent amount of sleep. Solidarity.
I used to have night terrors & such but finally grew out of it in my late teens and have had terrible insomnia since so yeah. Didn't always have insomnia but was not a great sleeper either way. I just don't mention it, I tell people i'm a "night owl" instead, much more socially acceptable
Met a guy that has it severely, we work offshore so our sleep schedule is wack work 6hrs sleep 6hrs and so on for a month , he would go 4 to 5 days without sleep and work until he would fall out and sleep wherever he was . He was diagnosed with a condition but I couldn't remember It .
I have 40 yrs of chronic insomnia. Unless you suffer from this it’s hard to tell anyone how hard it is. We get sleepy as hell but that doesn’t mean we sleep. I’ve just recently shared my struggles with friends/family because it’s really out of hand
i’m 25. i’ve had it my entire life including infancy, toddler, and and childhood. haven’t found any medications that work for me long term. i go literal days without sleep.
I totally get where you're coming from! It can be super frustrating when it feels like you're the only one dealing with something. I've struggled with chronic insomnia myself, and it can feel isolating. In reality, though, it's more common than you might think. About 10% of adults have chronic insomnia, so there are definitely people out there who understand what you're going through, even if you haven't met them yet.
It might be worth talking to a healthcare provider about your struggles to see if they have any suggestions or can connect you with a support group.
I've met exactly one other person. It was a professor that I had, and she warned us to turn off our notifications for grading, as she would regularly be grading at 2-4am when she can't sleep, which ended up being most nights of the quarter.
It was so incredibly validating to see someone else with legitimate chronic insomnia, when all I ever interact with is people who will claim they slept horribly when they actually just woke up once to turn over and fell right back asleep, sleeping for their full duration.
I had chronic insomnia for 2 years - never told anyone other than my closest family. Nobody at work knew, my friends didn’t know. It is honestly the most isolating condition. I felt so lonely and like nobody would understand what I was going through. I remember telling my granny and she said that if I just got off my iPad before bed I’d be able to sleep. She tried to help but I just felt so misunderstood.
I knew of one other person that struggled with chronic insomnia during that time.
If you like give me a DM and I will send you a list of what helped me. Some things might help and I. More than happy to share it!
I have had a hard time sleeping since I was a kid. I just...don't get tired. But I do get pretty moody if I don't sleep. It's been a thing for as long as I can remember. Even when I was unmedicated(brief periods of time), my sleep always depended on exactly how sleep deprived I already was.
I don’t have an answer but both my husband and I have it. It’s nice to commiserate but also sucks because we both want good sleep so not much to talk about!
I have it. Couldn't sleep since I was a pre teen and in my mid life now and I still can't. Medications are my only resort, and even those don't do a great job. I've tried all sorts of sleep therapy, hygiene, sleep practices, supplements etc but without meds I just can sleep. My brain isn't wired to sleep I feel.
From the interwebs:
Insomnia affects around 10-30% of adults in the United States at some point in their lives, with around 6-10% experiencing severe symptoms.
The problem with the statistics is that they use wildly different definitions of insomnia.
I found this:
About 10% of adults in the United States experience chronic insomnia, defined as difficulty sleeping for at least three nights per week for at least three months.
I had no sleep issues as a child or teenager.
Eventually any sleep issues were masked and coped with for another decade.Then I developed other chronic illnesses which got in the way of my efforts. I complained of sleep issues, and a doctor declared I have chronic insomnia; I had never thought to use the word, before. And unfortunately, it's now much worse than just the diagnosis.
I’ve noticed a trend in this sub where often members are telling people in the real world or even other members of this sub “you couldn’t possibly have it as bad as me” idk why but there’s a lot of gatekeeping in this sub.
But I just find it interesting because you are doing the opposite of gatekeeping you’re looking for more people like you.
I have diagnosed-in-a-lab for real chronic insomnia, and have had it as long as I can remember, with my first complex memories of having it when I was seven. It took a long time to get a real diagnosis, because people were very eager to perceive insomnia as a symptom of something else, in particular things like bipolar disorder (due to insomnia from manic states). From what I can tell I’ve never been manic ever in my life. What saved me from spending too much time with false diagnosis is the fact that my mother is a psychiatric nurse, so any time someone tries to prescribe me things she can function as an intermediary, and steer me away from something that would inspire fresh side effects and destroy my liver/kidneys. Other people? They will always return with something like, “yeah, when I only get five hours sleep I’m like a zombie the next day!” They don’t understand that it’s a complex condition that inspires a bushel basket of physical and mental symptoms. When I used to work on-site, I’d often get in trouble when I couldn’t adapt to a last-minute change of schedule that required me to come in earlier. I might be able to do it, but having to reset the entire routine to get a thimble of sleep would inevitably result in a long stretch of no sleep at all, and increased illnesses and other symptoms you’d expect from someone not sleeping at all. Then it would be, “I guess you’re not a morning person!” Fuck’s sake, this condition is a pain in the ass. Stop trying to rebrand me as lazy, crazy, sickly, or inconsiderate. You have night-night, I have a staring contest with the ceiling. You sleep in on a Saturday and feel refreshed, I have to be medically put-down if I stagger through a week without at least three hours of sleep. Mine is pretty well controlled right now, but 12 years of working from home is a major part of that. The only way employment works is if there’s an iota of understanding of how this condition makes me weird by any measure, and ineffective if I ignore it. I’m job hunting right now, and it’s tough, since most people are trying to work from home, so I’ve been applying for in-person jobs, too. After I apply for one of those, I usually have to take a time-out for the rest of the day, so I can wrestle the dread of having to adjust my mind and body on a weekly basis to accommodate another person’s schedule. Then I remind myself that I don’t have to dread that much, because they’re not going to call anyway, and I laugh myself to sleep.
I do. It's horrible. I've had it for about 15 years. I've tried everything and done everything. I now have fibromyalgia and the med I take for that doesn't help those symptoms but it does help me sleep sometimes. So I stay on it and try to ignore the shitty side effects because it's so nice when I actually can sleep. And like others on here, people don't believe that I'm actually awake all night for nights on end. I hallucinate, act like a weirdo, and feel like complete crap, among other things.
Gaga and glutamate
https://youtu.be/rNWzwX2PFkk?si=50NlV7vpG2hmnuHd
This may help in understanding how your system works in regards to sleep.
At the end of my rope, 1mg Xanax works.
Since I'm running out, I've got to figure out another way to get to sleep. I've tried a new stack, 1000 mg of taurine Plus 200 mg l - Theanine plus 1 colon care probiotic capsule. I did get good results with that stack. Fell asleep within an hour. Best results so far. The taurine balances your gaba and glutamate. The L-theanine blocks the glutamate allowing the Gaba to flourish. The probiotic has bacteria which promotes Gaba production. My old stack, which doesn't work anymore, was one probiotic 200 mg of B1 zinc and occasionally magnesium glycinate. It stopped working about 2 months ago,so l had to go back to Xanax.
I may occasionally try adding 250 mg of magnesium glycinate, or 200mg b1, plus turmeric.
I've recently started taking methylene blue to see if it will reduce my inflammation, which affect your Gaba levels.
I Apologize for getting off the subject.
Hope this helps someone
My heart goes out to all of you. I have had less than stellar sleep in the last 3 years but mine was anxiety related. I cannot imagine what some of you have been thru dealing it with it year after year.
I know it must be frustrating hearing doctors and others giving the same generic advice that does nothing.
I took good sleep for granted so many years. Not anymore.
I am 36 and have been diagnosed with insomnia for around 8 years but the insomnia started when I was 23. I’m not sure if you can call it chronic.. but I can never fall asleep even if tired just watching tv on the couch or reading a book in bed. Sometimes my medication helps me fall asleep sometimes it doesn’t. I am literally tired all the time no matter if I sleep or if I don’t (sometimes I feel better when I don’t sleep)
I have always had bad insomnia on top of that I have severe sleep apnea. I'm not even fat but my dad has same thing so guess got from him. It's so frustrating not being able to sleep can't tell ya how many cars I've totaled from just being so tired. But get in bed and nope. I found something that actually worked and took it for a year with the best sleep ever but I kept having to take more and more then I'd run out way b4 I could get refill then I had a seizure every time I ran out so back to no sleep!
It just seems like no sleep but I might get 45 min lil naps thru the night
IRL I know 3, and they're all immediately family members. My grandpa had it really bad his whole life so that shit is definitely genetic. Thankfully he was extremely handsome and blessed us all with good looks though. Win some lose some!
yeah i feel you. i've had severe insomnia for just over 8 years now, and even tho i've taken medication for it for the past 6 years and it helps a lot, my sleep is STILL significantly worse than anyone else's i know. i mean, without the medication i don't sleep. with it at least i do sleep even if still takes me a long time, i wake up multiple times, and rarely wake up feeling rested...
I have had childhood onset chronic insomnia from
Age 5-age37 no breaks from it that weren’t alc or Drug induced
Also no naps. Never slept at night. Always tired in say
Oh I completely feel this. I'm 27 and have aways only gotten on average 2-3 hours sleep a night. Evil indeed, and affects my daily functioning greatly. I find myself getting so tired/fatigued but my brain won't let me rest at night and the cycle never stops! You're not alone, but I guess online you'll find others that can relate...Not so easy in real life, few and far between and yes, definitely feels like you're swimming in your own pond
I had insomnia after one traumatic experience in college, but developed chronic insomnia after an injury that destroyed my career left me with PTSD and nightmares. I’ve tried basically every medication possible: Klonopin, Doxepin, amitriptyline, Trazodone, Lunesta, Belsomra, Quviviq, Xanax XR, Ambien, muscle relaxers, melatonin, CBD, thc, and still don’t get a full night’s sleep. My body will go through cycles where I will get a few hours a night for weeks and then one night I will have a miraculous night of 7 hours from utter exhaustion. My sleep issues have ruined relationships- I can’t share a bed with someone because I constantly wake up or have nightmares, and my mood has tanked dramatically as a result. My doctor won’t put me on antidepressants because I have had bad experiences with them in the past. Some of the sleep medications I tried made me want to unalive myself because they made my mood worse and the nightmares even more vivid.
When I went to see a sleep specialist, he told me that antidepressants just make people happy enough to carry out their unalive thoughts. Not joking. So, yeah, I sympathize with you, and know what a debilitating condition it is, even though I’ve only suffered through it for 2.5 years. It’s soul sucking and makes life feel like a haze. Not really living, just existing. I loathe waking up just as much as I do going to bed because the cycle will just repeat itself.
I have bouts of insomnia. I recall all through my 44 years, having nights with zero sleep (6:00 am now and no sleep last night). Other nights, only a few hours.
It sucks! And no meds much work. I was on klonopin once, and it didn't work...Valium either.
wdym by 'chronic insomnia'?
I've (31) had insomnia since I was 15, it's thought I have some sort of non24 type disorder though testing here is essentially impossible to access. No sleeping meds work, and the cycle of insomnia then exhaustion and repeat has continued for the last 16 years. Certainly chronic, but I do still experience exhaustion as anyone else would.
I've had insomnia since I was a kid and could start remembering so I'm pretty sure I've had this since potentially birth, although I've had a pretty wild time with sleep my entire life. On top of this I used to sleep walk all the time, & also I had night terrors, both of those up until the age of maybe .. 11? (I think those started at if I had to guess 7 or 8) The night terrors specifically are what prompted a visit to the hospital, after a pretty crazy one had me and my parents scared as hell, I vividly remember sitting on the couch in the middle of the night with them asking me if I need to go to the emergency room & I definitely remember nodding my head while crying & saying "idk, maybe, yes". I didn't go to the ER but we booked an EEG, & that actually is what got me interested in possibly being a polysom tech. (I didn't tho) That & my chronic nightmares. Which I still have, bc I used to get them up to 8x a night I accidentally taught myself how to lucid dream (specifically wake myself up at that time) by like age 12-13.
As much as that sounds like a lot (& it is) Ive oddly learned how to embrace it in time, after all it doesn't seem they're going away lol. (the insomnia & nightmares) I find all these topics incredibly interesting, esp finding people similar to me. & Now I'm curious what may prompt someone to develop chronic insomnia, since I possibly was seemingly born this way (? I have no idea if that's possible tho) it makes me wonder what could cause it to onset
Your response to nightmares and night terrors reminds me a little of me.
I always kinda thought and was told I just wasn’t “the creative type”, and what changed my mind (and the minds of those around me) was how fucking crazy my nightmares would get - and they had plots, crescendos, full creative story-telling technique.
I’ve spent the last decade as a film editor and director because of how my night terrors helped me understand how creative my brain could be.
“Embracing” night terrors, like you were talking about, can be super hard and depressing, at times. And it doesn’t mean you won’t ever resent them! But I’ve taken a similar approach as you- now, I can appreciate my nightmares (sometimes)! It’s kind of interesting that turning my brain off results in a story line that my (horror inclined) friends get goosebumps from hearing!
Omg I've never come across anyone similar, I'm not in film or anything but I used to write a lot of short stories & sometimes code games (not anything crazy just some easy stuff haha) around my nightmares. I'm a very vivid dreamer & I have the same film-like plot/storylines, I used to send a lot of them to my old friend but wound up having to delete that account so I unfortunately lost a lot of them, but I still remember a decently large amt thankfully.
My night terrors, they didn't really help me with much, besides piquing more of my interest in how on earth these things could happen lmao. I swear one of the times I feel like I had night vision, I walked down into the basement (fck this basement by the way it still haunts my nightmares lmao) and could see everything, & when I came out of the night terror apparently I was literally *standing in the middle of the pitch. Black. Basement* no lights on at all, walked perfectly down the stairs & I remember being able to see everything & those stairs aren't easy stairs lol. When I'd feel the night terrors about to start id feel my body kinda paralyze a bit before I was about to go into one & I always was envisioning giant shapes for whatever reason so it caused my hilarious fear of incredibly large things, especially shapes. I found out the only thing that worked to get me out of it before it started was envisioning myself as a pilot in a tiny plane & just *plummeting* into the ground but I'd always "respawn" in the sky before i crashed, id do it as many times when i needed to get out of that feeling & continued doing that probably until I was 16-17 bc I still would sometimes get the feeling one might come back.
For me even though nightmares are scary or else they wouldn't be nightmares, as long as they don't have anything to do with my PTSD I don't mind it & sometimes I'll miss them if it's been a few days without any. (My PTSD doesn't have anything to do with my dreaming, I just was in a DV relationship a few yrs ago so it made things a bit more rocky with dreams haha). I do personally think my nightmares were a huge part in me discovering my creativity though & that kind of "embrace" made me excited to have new stories & ideas to flow to others.
Thank you for your comment I fr never find anyone similar, they always think I'm playing with them when I first tell them lmao. Glad you took embrace & found a way to make them into art as well, I think it's something to be said that we can take something as negative as nightmares and flip them into a pretty cool "positive". 💜💜🫶🏻
A few things stuck out to me about your reply, thank you so much for responding!! People usually think I’m a little bonkers to appreciate my nightmares, especially if they know me well and understand nightmares are 100% why I have insomnia as an adult (because as a child I was quite literally afraid to ever fall asleep). I for sure am a little crazy, diagnosed with a few different things, so I’m not offended when they think I’m weird. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone who reacted similarly to their nightmares, either! It’s like- woah, I guess I have a twin sister now? 🤨
I deeply feel the “try to run into the ground as a pilot” approach, I frequently had nightmares, like, do a cycle where I’d try to wake up only to “wake up” in another nightmare. Like a loop. They super sucked, and I would try to die in the dream, on some level understanding it was a nightmare. One time I successfully scared myself awake by (I’ve been told this is messed up) >!crawling from the “other side” of the mirror into my bedroom like the girl crawling through the tv in The Ring!< I don’t know how “scary” that actually is, but it led to my sister telling me I’m only allowed to tell her my nightmares during the daytime (fair enough). Do you like horror movies? Just curious. In some ways they’re kind of cathartic for me. I’ve encountered some people who have a similar anxiety response where horror is kind of calming, but not a lot.
Never sleepwalked, I don’t think, but that basement story is trippy as hell. Like, you made it down there somehow, thank goodness you were okay! But it makes no sense. Bodies are kinda crazy sometimes!
I have journals and notes about a lot of mine (mostly in storage at the moment). It sucks that you lost access to your old account with some of yours, if it didn’t get deleted you could maybe go to your old username and copy the good stuff off it. Also, PTSD is no joke, I would bet people with insomnia are more susceptible to being victims to DV and DA situations. I have been, as well, although not physically violent. I’m glad you’re safe! We deserve better than that bullshit.
There’s no doubt we have some major creativity locked up in there! I’m leaving the professional film industry for awhile (it’s not doing well right now), but I’m really just trying to make that money somewhere else so I can fund some of my own stuff! Creative outlets are so important, I hope you have some stuff you still do to expend some of that creative energy.
One time, in real life, my sister and I were at a con and kinda stumbled into a Giancarlo Esposito panel. His on stage presence is magical, and toward the end of his speech, he said something I think about constantly. He said “we are born to create! We are here to make things, to change life by our presence. The world is different because you are here. Whatever your version of doing this is: go out and create!”
Haha yesss hey twin!! 🫶🏻
(Also I have some mental health DXs as well but just wanted to say youre not crazy for your DXs whatever they may be 💜🪴 although I get what you're saying haha)
I used to love horror movies when I was younger, I've had these things before I started watching anything horror so its not the direct cause for them but I think the comfort part you mentioned definitely makes sense now that I think about it. (I used to have people tell me all the time it's bc I watched horror movies bc they didn't exactly understand insomnia haha) definitely something to think about that they felt comforting in a way bc of my dreams, never thought about it that way tbh but that would definitely make some sense. That's definitely a wild way to wake yourself up though whoa, we have to be long lost twins 🧐 outside of night terrors, when it comes to my nightmares specifically I accidentally taught myself how to lucid dream by teaching myself how to wake up, Id be in my dream and self aware that I'm dreaming & that its a nightmare & some shits about to go down & id stop & think "damn im really not in the mood for this for the 3rd time in the same night", id think up an "x" button, envision myself repeatedly clicking it, whole dream freezes for a few seconds, & then im awake. Which kick-started my lucid dreaming journey haha ☁️
I wonder if there is direct correlation somewhere between insomnia & DV tbh, although I would think it may have a lot to do with certain disorders in general including insomnia or if they're HSP.
(I'm in an HSP sub on here, if you don't happen to know what it is, it stands for Highly Sensitive Person, I have both sensory issues & much stronger emotions than most good & bad, but found the HSP community because of my physical sensitivities like texture aversions when it comes to clothing & food, "super hearing" at times I can hear someone's leg bouncing on the other end of the house or someone's phone buzzing in their bag in the middle of a loud room, hearing the lights buzz, etc. etc. The physical ones are a pain in the ass especially on higher stress days I swear if a bit of wind hits me the wrong way I'm overwhelmed lol, I actually found the first person I've ever seen w that problem on that sub maybe a week ago who shares the same weird thing where in order to sleep I need to have something touching my ears, usually my hair, or I'm not sleeping. The high emotional part of HSP/sensitivity might have a big part in DV correlation, my main problem I had to break for a while was wanting to take that person's pain away whatever the cost to myself would be. Until learning that cost could be really *really* big.) Proud of you for coming out the other side from your DV/DA situation, those things are so difficult & commendable to come out the other side. 💜🪴
>“we are born to create! We are here to make things, to change life by our presence. The world is different because you are here. Whatever your version of doing this is: go out and create!”
I love this quote, I'm gonna start using it! Definitely truth ringing in that, some of the best parts of life are creativity & artistry, finding the beauty in everything. My creativity comes out in different ways, in my writing, I find my creativity in concerts & the live show experience, I help create music & am learning more about that field of producing since music is a huge huge part of my life & it's such an art. My creativity comes out in practically everything to some degree & I think expressing it in many things is a big gateway to happiness since you have the ability to see beauty in things a lot of people may miss. I don't know who the person you named is, but thanks for giving me someone to look into!
Thank you for your kindness & realness fr it's so refreshing to see someone with open arms when I talk about these things, I'm used to similar to you, everyone thinking I'm insane so it's nice to see someone who actually gets it haha. Long lost twinning over here !
It's not something people tend to talk about with colleagues and acquaintances and usually suffer in silence. I find people don't understand insomnia and think you're just moaning.
It’s unbelievably misunderstood or underestimated. People can’t comprehend how controlling it is it dictates your life. I’ve shared with a few when the occasion permits and I often get a response of “have you tried melatonin” which while innocent and well meaning, shows just how foreign insomnia is to those who don’t have it.
Yeah I had a boss once after 2 days of no sleep just drink lots of coffee and will be fine. They think it just makes you tired, it literally affects body,Ind and everything
I’m very fortunate my boss just tells me to do what I need to do, come in late and leave late or have a sick day whenever needed. It’s funny how that attitude actually helps me sleep more thus I’m usually at work on time and not taking days off because of no sleep
It lessens the anxiety you no doubt feel about getting sleep and having to work. So much of insomnia is anxiety based and I strongly believe there is a genetic component
That helps a LOT, or working a NON 8-5 job. Find a job that'll work with your insomnia. Looking back on my 60+ years of non sleep years, the only time I didn't feel stressed over my 'lack of sleep' was when I was raising babies (2am feedings? No problem!) or working late evening/over night shifts. Maybe because those two scenarios elicit a lot of commiseration from fellow parents and employees?
My insomnia is completely non work or obligation related. I sometimes sleep better on my days working than on my days off. Even my brother is like "Wait, you can't sleep even when you have nothing else to do?" Yeah, that's how chronic insomnia works, you can't sleep despite ample opportunity for sleep.
I’m very fortunate my boss just tells me to do what I need to do, come in late and leave late or have a sick day whenever needed. It’s funny how that attitude actually helps me sleep more thus I’m usually at work on time and not taking days off because of no sleep
Right?! Like my mother, who took me to the doctor 30 years ago because I wasn’t sleeping at 14 years old, she’s like oh, you can’t sleep? Are you turning the tv off at night? Have you tried playing music? Like MOM?!?? HELLO?!?!
Oh but have you tried a glass of warm milk before bed? /s
Tea? Warm bath? Oh, just exercise more. 🙃
Yep. Heard all of those before. Also "you need sun." "Go WORK more!" Everyone else: "Talk to a therapist./Have you been evaluated for 'depression'?" Like buzz off! This is a medical problem that's completely out of our control.
so true! I’m like, Sir, I’ve been this way since I was 11. But thanks for your wildly obvious advice (I didn’t ask for) that never occurred to me and my harem of doctors spanning 3 decades. 😂😂😂
I don’t know if anyone actually believes when I say “I got no sleep last night”. So I’ve just stopped talking about it completely.
Same or I just say I had like 2 - 3 hours it just saves the hassle.
A friend and I put a spin on it. She tries to see how long she can last at the end of the week with me. We call it "No Sleep Friday" I have insomnia, she does not. I work on different projects when I can't sleep. Current project is extracting clay from soil. 10/10 its peaceful 😌
I completely agree with this assessment. First off, people don’t believe I have insomnia. It’s diagnosed, I’m medicated, and I still don’t sleep. But it’s a lot like chronic migraines where people will be like, “Oh my god! I had a headache last month. I know exactly what you mean!” No. No, you don’t.
Im always amazed when ppl tell me they get meds for sleep bc I. Have. Tried. But bc I have a history of depression it’s always a no for me. My friends mom gave me her Lunesta when I stayed over and it was the best sleep I ever had 🥹
Weird. I have major depressive disorder and it wasn’t a factor.
I lied, I forgot that I was given rxs for seroquel and doxepin for sleep. None of which works and seroquel made me fat.
But have you tried melatonin? I've had insomnia for over 15 years and I'm not sure if I've ever met anyone else who has it. Ppl think it's like a 1 night thing and they take a Tylenol pm or something the next night, and it's a done deal.
It's funny how doctors think you are making shit up as well. "Just have better sleep hygiene" lol
Yeah, here's a pamphlet about sleep hygiene. Bye
"It's probably sleep apnea" I've tested and it's not that "Well shit I've tried nothing and I'm already out of ideas"
This made me laugh. I wrote a long response above but have tried basically every prescribed and off label sleep medication known, and recently went to a sleep specialist. He told me based on the fact that I was tired during the day and woke up frequently (from nightmares) that I should be tested for sleep apnea. I’ve never snored in my life, don’t wake up with dry mouth, and have no other symptoms that would point to that. They are just trying to make a buck off of the equipment.
My entire issue is falling asleep for the first time because my brain won't turn off and stop thinking and I have no issues staying asleep afterwards. "Yup it's definitely sleep apnea" About lost my fucking mind. I eventually found a med that works for me which is Zaleplon aka Sonata. Turns my brain off and it's magical.
I’m glad you found something that works. I take Ambien CR, but I still have nightmares and wake up frequently. The controlled release (CR) is supposed to help you fall asleep and keep you asleep too.
Best of luck to you friend I hope you find something that works
I am 40 and have been dealing with chronic insomnia since I was a preteen. I go 24-48 hours regularly on zero sleep and tend to operate on 3-4 hours of interrupted-every-30 minutes sleep a night as a baseline. The folks closest to me know I have insomnia but I don't regularly discuss it with folks outside of my "circle" for a variety of reasons. 1) I have a high profile job and don't want misconceptions to change how people view I operate in it and 2) I am at this point 100% over folks unsolicited advice about exercise/melatonin/sleep hygiene as if I havent tried everything under the sun over the last 25 years to combat the issue.
This is exactly me as well. If I ever hear "have you tried closing your eyes when you lie down" one more time unironically I will snap.
Yup…I sleep a **ton** more than I used to (41 now), which is fucking awesome. What’s less awesome is that sleeping “a ton more” still means I go from waking up Monday afternoon at 4:00pm, having slept 5 hours, until Thursday at 6:00am with only 2-2.5 hours of sleep. That’s 62 hours with 2-2.5 hours left f sleep. Regularly. So chronic insomnia. Some meds help a little for some amount of time. No meds (no anything I’ve tried) have entirely fixed it. But…someone says “I didn’t sleep *at all* last night”. I could 1-up them with my “literally didn’t sleep last night, only slept 2 hours the night before” bullshit. But what do I get out of winning the “suffering Olympics”? Nothing. So instead, I say “omg you must be so tired! How did you drive today?” Because honestly? Winning the “suffering Olympics” sucks, and showing genuine compassion (because I’ve been super tired too! Like now, for instance) is honestly better. With meds and stuff, my average is now probably 3.5-4.5 hours. And I’ve been through years of an average of 2-3.5. So I’ll take my newer average anytime!
I have it due to trauma 🫤
Same, thanks PTSD! 😔
My friends made me a meme that said “she’s a perfect ten but they’re all ACEs”😂😂
Twinsssssss ✨🥲
Same, and the nightmares are back because the courts just need me to suffer from it
Same here.
There’s dozens of us. Really though, there are.
I also don't know anyone in my personal life that has insomnia as bad as me. I've found a few people on here though.
My husband is 50 and I am 44, we’ve both had chronic insomnia since we were in our early 20s. Yes, it’s hard to explain to people. My closest friends and family know about it and know we normally make plans on the fly (a day we are feeling ok b/c our sleep was ok the night before). It does dictate your life. I’ve done a lot of things to help it improve, including taking CBD at night, blackout curtains, no electronics after 8 pm, daily exercise. But I have some really bad days. I’m grateful to work from home now, as I don’t feel like I’m dragging through the office and making sure I don’t nod off during a meeting in a warm room (I know someone has to know what I’m talking about here!). It’s the worst, and it really delayed me having my own fam. I met a fellow insomniac at 34 and was married to him at 37, with a baby at 38! We get through it, but having some kind of support system or understanding ear goes a long way. Hang in there, I wish you luck!
I deeply relate to this, I have had moderate-severe chronic insomnia for over ten years...recently a girl came up to me after hearing me talk vaguely about it and she went into a long spiel about how much she understands and at the end of it she was like: "I don't know how long it's been for you but it lasted three months for me and it felt like forever," it was kind of crushing/weird to hear lol I have never met anyone in face-to-face life who has remotely been through what i have been through with insomnia, it feels so intensely isolating
Chronic insomniac over here. Though my problem isn’t falling asleep, it’s staying asleep. Which is also within diagnosis of insomnia, though I haven’t found too many others like myself. My body only lets me sleep roughly 4.5 hours from whenever I fall asleep. Used to be a solid 7 hours a night sleeper. It’s horribly depressing.
This is me! I’m averaging on about 4/5 hours a night. Wake up every morning around 4am and that’s it. I wake with a pounding heart and exhausted
My Functional Medicine doctor told me waking up with a pounding heart could be caused by high cortisol. She recommended that I take Magnesium (I take Magnesium Glycinate) and Zinc to lower cortisol levels. I have to take Zinc Citrate as regular Zinc upsets my stomach.
Oh man. Yea. I’m a night person by nature, so I usually stay up until 2am to wake up closer to 7. Otherwise it just really depresses me. 4am is not a time to be awake (unless you’re one of those early morning gym people - which I am not). And people are always like ‘wow, I’d be so productive if I slept so little!’ and it annoys me so much. Like no you would not. Because 4am is not a time to when your body wants to be productive. It’s a time when your body wants to be sleeping. So you end up dwelling on how much sleep you’re missing out on that everyone else seems to get. And you sit in bed on your phone until some actually reasonable hour to get up and start the day.
This is exactly the same for me, ever since I remember(childhood) and due to trauma(as far as I know), so I have no idea why it happens but I completely understand. Some nights end after 2-3 hours, which is exhausting..
I don't know about anyone else, but I got fed up with explaining insomnia to people! Girlfriends and partners would obviously know, as well as my Dr. That's why this sub helps me, like you (O.P.). I don't think I've met anyone with real insomnia. I had a friend with Narcolepsy though!
I'm in my early/mid 30s and have struggled insanely with this and been medicated on and off since I was about 7-8 years old for insomnia and related issues.
I feel you so much on this one lol, I also haven't met anyone in the outside world who struggles with this & it's frustrating because I've gotten used to the "have you turned off the lights? What about your electronics? Don't eat before bed that's why! Well you just need a good sleep schedule, going to bed so late is *sooooo* bad for you! Go to bed earlier" so long ago it barely even bothers me anymore. A couple of my previous partners/current knows it well & does their best to understand & be supportive (for some reason the word supportive feels like I'm going thru a trauma, chronic insomnia has been a huge burden but I mean supportive in the way my partner will try & help when/if they can or maybe hang out with me if they also happen to be up) but for the most part it's been a pretty isolating thing. I've gotten used to it a while ago, probably in my 12-15 timeframe, but when you strip it down to the bare bones of how much lack of sleep affects mostly everything in life & how incredibly isolating it feels to be tossing and turning & staring at your eyelids with no view of sleep in sight, to just get up & stare at your empty dark silent house, yeah it sucks big ones. Luckily with my own place it's nicer bc I don't have to worry about watching TV in the living room, making food, playing music, playing w my cats, etc, but the times I'm not at my own home *really fuckin blows*. I feel you on this one
One boss and one coworker has it and will admit to it. I suspect another coworker had it had well but isn’t “open” about it.
Youd be surprised how many people drink or smoke weed to sleep and just dont talk about it. And almost everyone over 40 ive ever met who worked in food industry was on some type of sleeping medication like ambien. I feel your struggle, though. It annoys me to no end when seeing or meeting someone who can drink coffee and go to bed or can take a nap whenever they choose. I wish...
Since I was about 7 yrs old. I have gone periods in my life that it wasn’t as bad. (Surrounding child births) Current stretch 5 yrs and counting It’s horrible. My husband still doesn’t understand, over 20 yrs together 🤦🏻♀️
Mine also started in childhood. Still going strong some 40 years later 🙄 Pregnancy was some of the best sleep I've ever had! I went to be 4 hours ago and I'm still awake, rolling over every 5 minutes and yawning with tears because I'm so tired. I wish I could flip a switch and turn on sleep mode instantly 😕
I have chronic insomnia. We’re definitely out there in the world.
I do. Without medication induced sleep I can go 4 days. About 1 week per month my meds will only work for 3 hours. And I take multiple loads and combos with the temazepam I take. Anyone else, this would be a fatal overdose. Me ? It’s meh.
I rotate meds and supplements nightly to decrease the chances of med tolerance. I use THC edibles with Indica on some nights, one or two nights on Sonata ( prescription sleeping pill), some nights Benadryl, and sometimes low dose melatonin (low doses like 1 to 1.3 mgs are more effective).
The only other people I know who have chronic insomnia are like me, with disorders like ADHD and anxiety, etc.
I really do think it's one of those things that people think is just a "haha" minor struggle, when the people who do suffer with it are pretty miserable. I think the same thing happens with stuff, like, adhd and chronic pain -- they think that because they forgot their keys once, or had a headache for a day, and managed to get past it then that's OBVIOUSLY what you're struggling with. They don't have a point of reference, like a larger social narrative, that allows them to disconnect what you tell them from their own experience. When I tell people I have insomnia, they're usually hit me with "me too!" And I think I've found someone to struggle-bond with, only to realize that what they mean is they fall asleep at 12am when they meant to fall asleep at 10pm. (Which, as a disclaimer, is still a valid issue, just not... idk, clinically significant?) But if I had cancer and I told someone I had cancer... you can imagine how different that'd be. Now, should people take insomnia as serious as cancer?... well, idk maybe, we all know how disastrous insomnia can be and I don't think I can objective atm. Long story short, I think people hear "insomnia" and think it's a "small cut in the kitchen" level of problem when it can be a "ive been in a severe car crash" level of problem
They don't get it. They can't comprehend. I wish we had celebrity advocates like Michael J Fox is for Parkinson's or Selma Blair for MS. But our advocates just die trying to get to sleep (Heath Ledger, Bruce Lee, Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, the list goes on, and on and on). The closest we got was Jeffifer Aniston making a couple of commercials. It was good to hear it, but it quickly died down. Chronic insomnia just isn't and will never be accepted as a disability. Shut up and suffer in silence.
I think because insomnia is so nuanced from person to person. When you mentioned MJ I immediately wondered how much of his sleep issue was chronic stress from hyperarousal. That’s very different from someone who was born with chronic insomnia issues. do we really know the reason for their issues? It’s really sad that they don’t put enough research into insomnia and I really do think that doctors truly don’t understand all the nuances. They just don’t take it seriously unfortunately. They’d rather just throw some pills at people.
That, or they understand there is no real cure, so the best thing you can do is treat it with pills. You're right, there are different flavours of insomnia. Hyperarousal is often an underlying factor. It can hardly be avoided, though. Years of bad sleep train you in a bad way. Hyperarousal prevents me from napping, I'm pretty sure. It's the sleep maintenance part of my insomnia I can't figure out. You? What form of insomnia got you?
Also I disagree a bit on docs know meds are the only solution. That may be true for some without a known cause of their issues but doctors also are not trained on how stress affects the nervous system. For example, I went to several docs over the years about palpitations. Passed stress test and they sent me on my way. Turned out to be anxiety and stuck in sympathetic mode. Not a single doctor tried to connect the dots. It wasn’t until my sleep left completely when I began to understand all these years it was anxiety and how adrenals are involved in palps, hyperarousal and poor sleep. So in a weird way the insomnia was a strange blessing to helping me understand why I have hyperarousal and what’s going on in my body. No doctor was able to help me understand any of this. I didn’t want meds. I wanted to fix my generalized anxiety, the root of my sleep issue.
I am dealing with the hyperarousal component and maintenance. I have figured out the reason but fixing it is challenging because it requires a lifestyle change. Bottom line….I deal with social anxiety and depression. That’s my real source. I slept 8-9 hours per night up until the pandemic….That was for 40+ years of my life. But around 30 I stopped being able to nap. So that was when my nervous system was starting to get out of whack. Didn’t understand that then. Then in 2021 after too much isolation and lack of fun, I went through a bad period of sleep and that’s when the worry about sleep began and I got caught in a loop of being anxious about not sleeping. Hello sleep anxiety. Mind you, I have dealt with generalized anxiety all my life but always slept until 2021. Had several 0 hour nights. Lots of anxiety, heart palps, etc. But when I travel or had company over I slept way better. Just slept 8 last night thanks to having company. I realized too much isolation made me more stressed cause I had more time to worry about sleep. So for me it’s a lifestyle overhaul to fix my anxiety. I know I can sleep but my nervous system is so revved up most of the time that it’s hard to get deep sleep or stay asleep many nights. Deep breathing has helped a lot but I need a lifestyle overhaul. I’m grateful I know that meds are not the answer or even necessary for me if I get my life together. But I feel for those who haven’t cracked it or have dealt with this all their lives. It sucks.
I've had insomnia since I was a baby. I remember being up the entire night/days as a small child, and I think it was the cause of growth issues I had. I remember being so upset as a kid when my parents would take away my books or games at night thinking it would get me to sleep and doom me to 8 hours of staring at the ceiling. The only other person I know who has it as bad as me is my dad. My siblings also kinda have it and use various substances to help. My fiancé sleeps soooo normally it can kinda drive me crazy and definitely makes me feel super isolated (and sometimes irrationally bitter) staying up all night just listening to him sleep. Outside my family, I haven't met anyone like me.
I share a room with my sister and I know exactly what you mean, i can be having a conversation with her at night and she'll fall asleep moments later and I end up getting so jealous and upset lol, almost annoyed at her for ditching me to be awake by myself
I've had chronic insomnia my entire life, but only had a formal diagnosis for about 2 years. Before then I was given the runaround: lose weight, exercise more, don't use your phone or tablet before bedtime, no coffee after noon, make your bedroom an inviting place ... All the usual suggestions we get from friends, family, medical professionals ... I'll be 46 this summer. Did everyone just assume I've been living my *entire life* not knowing all of that? That I haven't tried *everything* I can think of (and afford)? I know the things that make my insomnia worse: red dye, certain anti-nauseants, most nonprescription sleep aids. Some things, like my period, I can't avoid. We had bedbugs, so that definitely made things worse. I have an assessment next week for cognitive behavioral therapy. I *really* want it to work. I'm really scared it won't. (I have been told in the past, by other therapists, that I'm very "self-aware" and that that can make therapy difficult.) It took 44 years for me to get an official diagnosis, but it's real, I really do have chronic insomnia.
Fwiw, I have been practicing CBT for a number of years, and I, too, have a high level of self-awareness. I haven't found the awareness piece a hindrance, the opposite, actually. Because I can identify what I am thinking/feeling I feel like implementing cbt techniques have been easier. CBT helps you reframe your thoughts and beliefs which has helped me in some areas of my personal life. I still struggle with insomnia, though. However, with c-ptsd, there isn't really a helpful reframing of the trauma and its effects. Otherwise, that would be gaslighting myself IMO.
Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Your words are really encouraging. I'll remain hopeful. Best wishes for your continuing recovery.
I’ve had chronic insomnia for several years now. I literally NEVER feel sleepy. Every single night when I get in bed I’m wide awake. Never tired during the day. Have gone 3 consecutive days without sleep and was still not tired. I felt like complete shit but was not tired.
Me
me, insomnia since i turned 2
I am in my early 30s and have had insomnia since I was an infant. I have actually had doctors take me up on my offer to talk to my mom about the insomnia I had when I was a baby because they didn't believe me. No one has ever had any answers as to why I have it but my new neurologist put me on a med that has worked wonders for me.
My grandmother, aunt, and dad all have insomnia, just like me. I dont know anyone else like this.
My grandmother, my dad and I all have / have had chronic insomnia. I remember waking up so frequently as a child and seeing my dad wide awake as well. My sisters didn’t get it. I am now only able to sleep 2-3 hrs with meds.
I actually feel asleep today (no needs)around 12 bit for awakened by the Alexa... playing random club songs.. . Back to being wide awake
I always had insomnia kinda on and off since I was maybe 14 (can't remember really) but now I haven't been able to sleep for the past 1.5-2 years without sleeping meds (Ive tried without and I don't sleep). I'm tired all the time so I do get sleepy, but I'm constantly sleepy lol it doesn't make me fall asleep tho
Me!! (Waves hand wildly while reading this at 1:30 in the morning.) I have had this battle with insomnia for over 25 years now. There are so many times I have gone with zero sleep for days at a time that it is the norm now. I can be tired, get in bed, and my brain instantly snaps to attention. It goes into overdrive. Every few days, I just sort of shut down and pass out for an hour or two. Usually while watching TV. Then it is anybody's guess when I will sleep again. I have been on almost every med my doctor can think of for sleep but have had little success. If it works at all, it is very short-term. I tried to drink myself to sleep, but it took more and more to do it. Eventually, alcohol along with chasing sleep took over my life. I found myself in the rooms of AA in 2005. No longer drinking but still not sleeping either. So yeah, there are plenty of us here. We just may not speak up for fear of bad advice from the clueless.
Yeah I know exactly how you feel when I mention it to people they don't understand at all, even my family it makes me very angry how they think I'm just lying about it. Who the fuck would want not to sleep and be completely like a zombie all day, having ADHD doesn't help either.
I've had insomnia since I was about 3/4 & now i'm 23. It's basically made everything so much more difficult than it needs to be & no one believes me lol
I've had it for 35 years. I often go days without sleeping at all. Longest I've gone is 9 days. Sleeping tablets etc. don't work.
I think i have read somewhere, that it is around 2% of the population, that has "REAL" chronic insomnia (primary), that is insomnia that doesnt just stem from stress, anxiety , depression etc The kind that persists for decades I dont know anyone in real life either
I have chronic insomnia, and it's hung on now for at least a year... maybe longer. I seriously sleep two hours at night... I wake up around the same time every night (2:30 am), and it never changes. Any meds my Dr has put me on just doesn’t even touch it. I'm 61 years old. I went through some really hard things with my mother becoming ill with severe dementia....and she started going downhill, slowly, for about 5 years. I took care of her for as long as I could and finally understood that she needed professionals to care for her. After that, I had a terrible breakup with a long-term relationship. This insomnia doesn’t leave no matter how tired I am. I hate it, it my makes life difficult. 😥 Edited to add: I can not tell you how many supplements I've tried to help this problem. The money I've wasted is ridiculous. I try not to talk to anyone about this because they just don't get it.
I always had troubles sleeping, I am even medicated and it doesn’t help. I have a lot of bad nights over good nights. People don’t truly understand what is like to go through their day on lack of sleep
Idk but I’ve had it since I was at latest 4 (not many memories before that age) and it’s currently 6 am after hydroxyzine and enough benedryl to kill an elephant
It’s a lot more common than you think but people get used to it and learn to mask it well Kinda like how they say about 50% of the people you see who seem perfectly happy and healthy are actually suffering from chronic pooping problems that secretly drive them crazy
I’ve had chronic insomnia for 20 years. I’ve been on Ambien. (Zolpidem Tartrate). Very short 1/2 life so zero grogginess in the morning. It’s stated it should be short-term use but I (& many of my friends) have taken it for years. A poor night’s sleep makes the next day so difficult. Another suggestion: I think I began associating the bed/bedroom as a place where I could NOT sleep. If you have a recliner, comfy chair/sofa you may try falling asleep elsewhere in the house. The anxiety of thinking you may not sleep at night is awful. Do your best to have calm, quiet evenings. Ambien allowed me to work full time & raise 3 children practically by myself. Spouse’s job kept him gone more than home. Lastly, reading (not books that cause your mind to think; just light reads) calms me before bedtime. I wish you the very best!!!
I stopped trying to explain it to people. They simply can't fathom not getting tired or being tired out of your mind and still being unable to sleep. I'm met with disbelief or people telling me to just like sleep 😆. Like, geez didn't think of that. Laying in bed for 8 hours with my eyes closed for no reason lol
Unless I'm on Ambien or lunesta. It's light sleep all night every night even with CPAP.
I did for 20 years. It's a god damn nightmare situation when combined with other chronic conditions that are exacerbated with low quality sleep.
Whatever the percent is - count me in it.
I live off 4 hrs of sleep between the hours of 2 am and 8 am and will wake up at odd hours and just be awake. I also have a circadian rhythm that does not like being diurnal but isn't quite nocturnal.
I have been an insomniac since a child. I can go almost 44 hours without sleep, full day(s) of work, and it doesn’t matter my level of exhaustion. I can be exhausted all day, ready to slide into bed easily and fall asleep, but the moment I get home I am awake and unable to sleep. I have to force myself to sleep at night with a whole cocktail of Rheumatoid Arthritis meds but just for sleep I need 100mg Trazadone and 1500mg Tylenol PM. At times sometimes that doesn’t work and I still can’t fall asleep. I have been treated for anxiety, ADHD, depression, and still no explanation as to why I can stay awake and function on little to no sleep. The kicker is, I have just been medicated for it in the last 5 years. I spent 35 years popping melatonin and Tylenol PM like candy. I will say that once a month I will completely shutdown and sleep 12 hours. I can almost set my watch by it and I am due, can’t wait.
I should probably go to the doctor to confirm that one… Don’t know what confirms if you have it buttttt I’ve got about two decades of what feels like a cursed sleep schedule that I might fall into that camp lol
If you’re in this sub and can resonate with the stories shared then welcome to the club
#nosleepgang
My boss also suffers from insomnia, if you start to talk about it more people may feel more comfortable talking about it if they suffer from it too.
No clue what the actual percentage is, but \*I\* have it. There was this amazing period of a few years when it eased up, and it felt akin to a miracle. I was able to get off of my sleep medication, which was kinda shocking and pleasantly surprising, give the amount of time that I had needed a (prescribed) dose that is technically considered too high by most providers. When I realized that I could get drowsy ON MY OWN eventually, I was blown away. Unfortunately, insomnia reared it's ugly head again about a year ago. I'm back on sleep meds, and though they are better than nothing certainly, they are also not even close to having the effect I need to get a decent amount of sleep. Solidarity.
You sound just like me. I have insomnia and my best friend has narcolepsy. We are quite the pair....
I have since I was a little kid. Most of my family have it too. I'm really struggling right now.
I used to have night terrors & such but finally grew out of it in my late teens and have had terrible insomnia since so yeah. Didn't always have insomnia but was not a great sleeper either way. I just don't mention it, I tell people i'm a "night owl" instead, much more socially acceptable
Met a guy that has it severely, we work offshore so our sleep schedule is wack work 6hrs sleep 6hrs and so on for a month , he would go 4 to 5 days without sleep and work until he would fall out and sleep wherever he was . He was diagnosed with a condition but I couldn't remember It .
I keep trying to explain it to my family. Like i cant fall asleep thats it thats all
Chronic insomnia commonly presents as inadequate sleep. The individual is getting rest to a degree, though not enough to thrive.
Maybe it's genetic? I just got my genome sequenced and per the report I'm in the 100th percentile for insomnia.
I don’t know a percentage, but I’m one of them 👍 Been working through a sleep clinic on it
I have 40 yrs of chronic insomnia. Unless you suffer from this it’s hard to tell anyone how hard it is. We get sleepy as hell but that doesn’t mean we sleep. I’ve just recently shared my struggles with friends/family because it’s really out of hand
I do but I think it’s more related to my anxiety
i’m 25. i’ve had it my entire life including infancy, toddler, and and childhood. haven’t found any medications that work for me long term. i go literal days without sleep.
I totally get where you're coming from! It can be super frustrating when it feels like you're the only one dealing with something. I've struggled with chronic insomnia myself, and it can feel isolating. In reality, though, it's more common than you might think. About 10% of adults have chronic insomnia, so there are definitely people out there who understand what you're going through, even if you haven't met them yet. It might be worth talking to a healthcare provider about your struggles to see if they have any suggestions or can connect you with a support group.
I've met exactly one other person. It was a professor that I had, and she warned us to turn off our notifications for grading, as she would regularly be grading at 2-4am when she can't sleep, which ended up being most nights of the quarter. It was so incredibly validating to see someone else with legitimate chronic insomnia, when all I ever interact with is people who will claim they slept horribly when they actually just woke up once to turn over and fell right back asleep, sleeping for their full duration.
I had chronic insomnia for 2 years - never told anyone other than my closest family. Nobody at work knew, my friends didn’t know. It is honestly the most isolating condition. I felt so lonely and like nobody would understand what I was going through. I remember telling my granny and she said that if I just got off my iPad before bed I’d be able to sleep. She tried to help but I just felt so misunderstood. I knew of one other person that struggled with chronic insomnia during that time. If you like give me a DM and I will send you a list of what helped me. Some things might help and I. More than happy to share it!
I have had a hard time sleeping since I was a kid. I just...don't get tired. But I do get pretty moody if I don't sleep. It's been a thing for as long as I can remember. Even when I was unmedicated(brief periods of time), my sleep always depended on exactly how sleep deprived I already was.
I don’t have an answer but both my husband and I have it. It’s nice to commiserate but also sucks because we both want good sleep so not much to talk about!
I have it. Couldn't sleep since I was a pre teen and in my mid life now and I still can't. Medications are my only resort, and even those don't do a great job. I've tried all sorts of sleep therapy, hygiene, sleep practices, supplements etc but without meds I just can sleep. My brain isn't wired to sleep I feel.
I had severe and chronic insomnia when I was in high school thankfully I don’t have it anymore but I did have it.
From the interwebs: Insomnia affects around 10-30% of adults in the United States at some point in their lives, with around 6-10% experiencing severe symptoms. The problem with the statistics is that they use wildly different definitions of insomnia. I found this: About 10% of adults in the United States experience chronic insomnia, defined as difficulty sleeping for at least three nights per week for at least three months.
I had no sleep issues as a child or teenager. Eventually any sleep issues were masked and coped with for another decade.Then I developed other chronic illnesses which got in the way of my efforts. I complained of sleep issues, and a doctor declared I have chronic insomnia; I had never thought to use the word, before. And unfortunately, it's now much worse than just the diagnosis.
I’ve noticed a trend in this sub where often members are telling people in the real world or even other members of this sub “you couldn’t possibly have it as bad as me” idk why but there’s a lot of gatekeeping in this sub. But I just find it interesting because you are doing the opposite of gatekeeping you’re looking for more people like you.
I have diagnosed-in-a-lab for real chronic insomnia, and have had it as long as I can remember, with my first complex memories of having it when I was seven. It took a long time to get a real diagnosis, because people were very eager to perceive insomnia as a symptom of something else, in particular things like bipolar disorder (due to insomnia from manic states). From what I can tell I’ve never been manic ever in my life. What saved me from spending too much time with false diagnosis is the fact that my mother is a psychiatric nurse, so any time someone tries to prescribe me things she can function as an intermediary, and steer me away from something that would inspire fresh side effects and destroy my liver/kidneys. Other people? They will always return with something like, “yeah, when I only get five hours sleep I’m like a zombie the next day!” They don’t understand that it’s a complex condition that inspires a bushel basket of physical and mental symptoms. When I used to work on-site, I’d often get in trouble when I couldn’t adapt to a last-minute change of schedule that required me to come in earlier. I might be able to do it, but having to reset the entire routine to get a thimble of sleep would inevitably result in a long stretch of no sleep at all, and increased illnesses and other symptoms you’d expect from someone not sleeping at all. Then it would be, “I guess you’re not a morning person!” Fuck’s sake, this condition is a pain in the ass. Stop trying to rebrand me as lazy, crazy, sickly, or inconsiderate. You have night-night, I have a staring contest with the ceiling. You sleep in on a Saturday and feel refreshed, I have to be medically put-down if I stagger through a week without at least three hours of sleep. Mine is pretty well controlled right now, but 12 years of working from home is a major part of that. The only way employment works is if there’s an iota of understanding of how this condition makes me weird by any measure, and ineffective if I ignore it. I’m job hunting right now, and it’s tough, since most people are trying to work from home, so I’ve been applying for in-person jobs, too. After I apply for one of those, I usually have to take a time-out for the rest of the day, so I can wrestle the dread of having to adjust my mind and body on a weekly basis to accommodate another person’s schedule. Then I remind myself that I don’t have to dread that much, because they’re not going to call anyway, and I laugh myself to sleep.
I do. It's horrible. I've had it for about 15 years. I've tried everything and done everything. I now have fibromyalgia and the med I take for that doesn't help those symptoms but it does help me sleep sometimes. So I stay on it and try to ignore the shitty side effects because it's so nice when I actually can sleep. And like others on here, people don't believe that I'm actually awake all night for nights on end. I hallucinate, act like a weirdo, and feel like complete crap, among other things.
Gaga and glutamate https://youtu.be/rNWzwX2PFkk?si=50NlV7vpG2hmnuHd This may help in understanding how your system works in regards to sleep. At the end of my rope, 1mg Xanax works. Since I'm running out, I've got to figure out another way to get to sleep. I've tried a new stack, 1000 mg of taurine Plus 200 mg l - Theanine plus 1 colon care probiotic capsule. I did get good results with that stack. Fell asleep within an hour. Best results so far. The taurine balances your gaba and glutamate. The L-theanine blocks the glutamate allowing the Gaba to flourish. The probiotic has bacteria which promotes Gaba production. My old stack, which doesn't work anymore, was one probiotic 200 mg of B1 zinc and occasionally magnesium glycinate. It stopped working about 2 months ago,so l had to go back to Xanax. I may occasionally try adding 250 mg of magnesium glycinate, or 200mg b1, plus turmeric. I've recently started taking methylene blue to see if it will reduce my inflammation, which affect your Gaba levels. I Apologize for getting off the subject. Hope this helps someone
My heart goes out to all of you. I have had less than stellar sleep in the last 3 years but mine was anxiety related. I cannot imagine what some of you have been thru dealing it with it year after year. I know it must be frustrating hearing doctors and others giving the same generic advice that does nothing. I took good sleep for granted so many years. Not anymore.
I am 36 and have been diagnosed with insomnia for around 8 years but the insomnia started when I was 23. I’m not sure if you can call it chronic.. but I can never fall asleep even if tired just watching tv on the couch or reading a book in bed. Sometimes my medication helps me fall asleep sometimes it doesn’t. I am literally tired all the time no matter if I sleep or if I don’t (sometimes I feel better when I don’t sleep)
I have always had bad insomnia on top of that I have severe sleep apnea. I'm not even fat but my dad has same thing so guess got from him. It's so frustrating not being able to sleep can't tell ya how many cars I've totaled from just being so tired. But get in bed and nope. I found something that actually worked and took it for a year with the best sleep ever but I kept having to take more and more then I'd run out way b4 I could get refill then I had a seizure every time I ran out so back to no sleep! It just seems like no sleep but I might get 45 min lil naps thru the night
IRL I know 3, and they're all immediately family members. My grandpa had it really bad his whole life so that shit is definitely genetic. Thankfully he was extremely handsome and blessed us all with good looks though. Win some lose some!
I have struggled with chronic insomnia for at least the last 16 years if not longer. My mind and body are so exhausted. I'm 29.
Hello there, Insomniac since 2019.
Have you tried Melatonin?
yeah i feel you. i've had severe insomnia for just over 8 years now, and even tho i've taken medication for it for the past 6 years and it helps a lot, my sleep is STILL significantly worse than anyone else's i know. i mean, without the medication i don't sleep. with it at least i do sleep even if still takes me a long time, i wake up multiple times, and rarely wake up feeling rested...
I have had childhood onset chronic insomnia from Age 5-age37 no breaks from it that weren’t alc or Drug induced Also no naps. Never slept at night. Always tired in say
Oh I completely feel this. I'm 27 and have aways only gotten on average 2-3 hours sleep a night. Evil indeed, and affects my daily functioning greatly. I find myself getting so tired/fatigued but my brain won't let me rest at night and the cycle never stops! You're not alone, but I guess online you'll find others that can relate...Not so easy in real life, few and far between and yes, definitely feels like you're swimming in your own pond
Pfizer ruined my sleep
I had insomnia after one traumatic experience in college, but developed chronic insomnia after an injury that destroyed my career left me with PTSD and nightmares. I’ve tried basically every medication possible: Klonopin, Doxepin, amitriptyline, Trazodone, Lunesta, Belsomra, Quviviq, Xanax XR, Ambien, muscle relaxers, melatonin, CBD, thc, and still don’t get a full night’s sleep. My body will go through cycles where I will get a few hours a night for weeks and then one night I will have a miraculous night of 7 hours from utter exhaustion. My sleep issues have ruined relationships- I can’t share a bed with someone because I constantly wake up or have nightmares, and my mood has tanked dramatically as a result. My doctor won’t put me on antidepressants because I have had bad experiences with them in the past. Some of the sleep medications I tried made me want to unalive myself because they made my mood worse and the nightmares even more vivid. When I went to see a sleep specialist, he told me that antidepressants just make people happy enough to carry out their unalive thoughts. Not joking. So, yeah, I sympathize with you, and know what a debilitating condition it is, even though I’ve only suffered through it for 2.5 years. It’s soul sucking and makes life feel like a haze. Not really living, just existing. I loathe waking up just as much as I do going to bed because the cycle will just repeat itself.
I have bouts of insomnia. I recall all through my 44 years, having nights with zero sleep (6:00 am now and no sleep last night). Other nights, only a few hours. It sucks! And no meds much work. I was on klonopin once, and it didn't work...Valium either.
wdym by 'chronic insomnia'? I've (31) had insomnia since I was 15, it's thought I have some sort of non24 type disorder though testing here is essentially impossible to access. No sleeping meds work, and the cycle of insomnia then exhaustion and repeat has continued for the last 16 years. Certainly chronic, but I do still experience exhaustion as anyone else would.
That’s interesting, I’ve never asked people when it started for them. It started for me around 11-13ish
I've had insomnia since I was a kid and could start remembering so I'm pretty sure I've had this since potentially birth, although I've had a pretty wild time with sleep my entire life. On top of this I used to sleep walk all the time, & also I had night terrors, both of those up until the age of maybe .. 11? (I think those started at if I had to guess 7 or 8) The night terrors specifically are what prompted a visit to the hospital, after a pretty crazy one had me and my parents scared as hell, I vividly remember sitting on the couch in the middle of the night with them asking me if I need to go to the emergency room & I definitely remember nodding my head while crying & saying "idk, maybe, yes". I didn't go to the ER but we booked an EEG, & that actually is what got me interested in possibly being a polysom tech. (I didn't tho) That & my chronic nightmares. Which I still have, bc I used to get them up to 8x a night I accidentally taught myself how to lucid dream (specifically wake myself up at that time) by like age 12-13. As much as that sounds like a lot (& it is) Ive oddly learned how to embrace it in time, after all it doesn't seem they're going away lol. (the insomnia & nightmares) I find all these topics incredibly interesting, esp finding people similar to me. & Now I'm curious what may prompt someone to develop chronic insomnia, since I possibly was seemingly born this way (? I have no idea if that's possible tho) it makes me wonder what could cause it to onset
Your response to nightmares and night terrors reminds me a little of me. I always kinda thought and was told I just wasn’t “the creative type”, and what changed my mind (and the minds of those around me) was how fucking crazy my nightmares would get - and they had plots, crescendos, full creative story-telling technique. I’ve spent the last decade as a film editor and director because of how my night terrors helped me understand how creative my brain could be. “Embracing” night terrors, like you were talking about, can be super hard and depressing, at times. And it doesn’t mean you won’t ever resent them! But I’ve taken a similar approach as you- now, I can appreciate my nightmares (sometimes)! It’s kind of interesting that turning my brain off results in a story line that my (horror inclined) friends get goosebumps from hearing!
Omg I've never come across anyone similar, I'm not in film or anything but I used to write a lot of short stories & sometimes code games (not anything crazy just some easy stuff haha) around my nightmares. I'm a very vivid dreamer & I have the same film-like plot/storylines, I used to send a lot of them to my old friend but wound up having to delete that account so I unfortunately lost a lot of them, but I still remember a decently large amt thankfully. My night terrors, they didn't really help me with much, besides piquing more of my interest in how on earth these things could happen lmao. I swear one of the times I feel like I had night vision, I walked down into the basement (fck this basement by the way it still haunts my nightmares lmao) and could see everything, & when I came out of the night terror apparently I was literally *standing in the middle of the pitch. Black. Basement* no lights on at all, walked perfectly down the stairs & I remember being able to see everything & those stairs aren't easy stairs lol. When I'd feel the night terrors about to start id feel my body kinda paralyze a bit before I was about to go into one & I always was envisioning giant shapes for whatever reason so it caused my hilarious fear of incredibly large things, especially shapes. I found out the only thing that worked to get me out of it before it started was envisioning myself as a pilot in a tiny plane & just *plummeting* into the ground but I'd always "respawn" in the sky before i crashed, id do it as many times when i needed to get out of that feeling & continued doing that probably until I was 16-17 bc I still would sometimes get the feeling one might come back. For me even though nightmares are scary or else they wouldn't be nightmares, as long as they don't have anything to do with my PTSD I don't mind it & sometimes I'll miss them if it's been a few days without any. (My PTSD doesn't have anything to do with my dreaming, I just was in a DV relationship a few yrs ago so it made things a bit more rocky with dreams haha). I do personally think my nightmares were a huge part in me discovering my creativity though & that kind of "embrace" made me excited to have new stories & ideas to flow to others. Thank you for your comment I fr never find anyone similar, they always think I'm playing with them when I first tell them lmao. Glad you took embrace & found a way to make them into art as well, I think it's something to be said that we can take something as negative as nightmares and flip them into a pretty cool "positive". 💜💜🫶🏻
A few things stuck out to me about your reply, thank you so much for responding!! People usually think I’m a little bonkers to appreciate my nightmares, especially if they know me well and understand nightmares are 100% why I have insomnia as an adult (because as a child I was quite literally afraid to ever fall asleep). I for sure am a little crazy, diagnosed with a few different things, so I’m not offended when they think I’m weird. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone who reacted similarly to their nightmares, either! It’s like- woah, I guess I have a twin sister now? 🤨 I deeply feel the “try to run into the ground as a pilot” approach, I frequently had nightmares, like, do a cycle where I’d try to wake up only to “wake up” in another nightmare. Like a loop. They super sucked, and I would try to die in the dream, on some level understanding it was a nightmare. One time I successfully scared myself awake by (I’ve been told this is messed up) >!crawling from the “other side” of the mirror into my bedroom like the girl crawling through the tv in The Ring!< I don’t know how “scary” that actually is, but it led to my sister telling me I’m only allowed to tell her my nightmares during the daytime (fair enough). Do you like horror movies? Just curious. In some ways they’re kind of cathartic for me. I’ve encountered some people who have a similar anxiety response where horror is kind of calming, but not a lot. Never sleepwalked, I don’t think, but that basement story is trippy as hell. Like, you made it down there somehow, thank goodness you were okay! But it makes no sense. Bodies are kinda crazy sometimes! I have journals and notes about a lot of mine (mostly in storage at the moment). It sucks that you lost access to your old account with some of yours, if it didn’t get deleted you could maybe go to your old username and copy the good stuff off it. Also, PTSD is no joke, I would bet people with insomnia are more susceptible to being victims to DV and DA situations. I have been, as well, although not physically violent. I’m glad you’re safe! We deserve better than that bullshit. There’s no doubt we have some major creativity locked up in there! I’m leaving the professional film industry for awhile (it’s not doing well right now), but I’m really just trying to make that money somewhere else so I can fund some of my own stuff! Creative outlets are so important, I hope you have some stuff you still do to expend some of that creative energy. One time, in real life, my sister and I were at a con and kinda stumbled into a Giancarlo Esposito panel. His on stage presence is magical, and toward the end of his speech, he said something I think about constantly. He said “we are born to create! We are here to make things, to change life by our presence. The world is different because you are here. Whatever your version of doing this is: go out and create!”
Haha yesss hey twin!! 🫶🏻 (Also I have some mental health DXs as well but just wanted to say youre not crazy for your DXs whatever they may be 💜🪴 although I get what you're saying haha) I used to love horror movies when I was younger, I've had these things before I started watching anything horror so its not the direct cause for them but I think the comfort part you mentioned definitely makes sense now that I think about it. (I used to have people tell me all the time it's bc I watched horror movies bc they didn't exactly understand insomnia haha) definitely something to think about that they felt comforting in a way bc of my dreams, never thought about it that way tbh but that would definitely make some sense. That's definitely a wild way to wake yourself up though whoa, we have to be long lost twins 🧐 outside of night terrors, when it comes to my nightmares specifically I accidentally taught myself how to lucid dream by teaching myself how to wake up, Id be in my dream and self aware that I'm dreaming & that its a nightmare & some shits about to go down & id stop & think "damn im really not in the mood for this for the 3rd time in the same night", id think up an "x" button, envision myself repeatedly clicking it, whole dream freezes for a few seconds, & then im awake. Which kick-started my lucid dreaming journey haha ☁️ I wonder if there is direct correlation somewhere between insomnia & DV tbh, although I would think it may have a lot to do with certain disorders in general including insomnia or if they're HSP. (I'm in an HSP sub on here, if you don't happen to know what it is, it stands for Highly Sensitive Person, I have both sensory issues & much stronger emotions than most good & bad, but found the HSP community because of my physical sensitivities like texture aversions when it comes to clothing & food, "super hearing" at times I can hear someone's leg bouncing on the other end of the house or someone's phone buzzing in their bag in the middle of a loud room, hearing the lights buzz, etc. etc. The physical ones are a pain in the ass especially on higher stress days I swear if a bit of wind hits me the wrong way I'm overwhelmed lol, I actually found the first person I've ever seen w that problem on that sub maybe a week ago who shares the same weird thing where in order to sleep I need to have something touching my ears, usually my hair, or I'm not sleeping. The high emotional part of HSP/sensitivity might have a big part in DV correlation, my main problem I had to break for a while was wanting to take that person's pain away whatever the cost to myself would be. Until learning that cost could be really *really* big.) Proud of you for coming out the other side from your DV/DA situation, those things are so difficult & commendable to come out the other side. 💜🪴 >“we are born to create! We are here to make things, to change life by our presence. The world is different because you are here. Whatever your version of doing this is: go out and create!” I love this quote, I'm gonna start using it! Definitely truth ringing in that, some of the best parts of life are creativity & artistry, finding the beauty in everything. My creativity comes out in different ways, in my writing, I find my creativity in concerts & the live show experience, I help create music & am learning more about that field of producing since music is a huge huge part of my life & it's such an art. My creativity comes out in practically everything to some degree & I think expressing it in many things is a big gateway to happiness since you have the ability to see beauty in things a lot of people may miss. I don't know who the person you named is, but thanks for giving me someone to look into! Thank you for your kindness & realness fr it's so refreshing to see someone with open arms when I talk about these things, I'm used to similar to you, everyone thinking I'm insane so it's nice to see someone who actually gets it haha. Long lost twinning over here !
Same here, hit strong around puberty age. I remember listening to talk radio as a kid to try and get sleepy.
yeah, the way I've understood it. Chronic is long-term. Acute is temporary I believe
They’re all at home, too scared to drive, still trying to benedryl themselves to sleep. Wait, that’s prob just me.