Anxiety vs Insomnia

[lph]

I have bouts of ... not real insomnia, in that I rarely wake up and can't get back to sleep... more like long periods where I have trouble falling asleep, sleep lightly and restlessly, and wake up "too fast" feeling unrested, often with a hectic heartrate at the first "morning sound". This is stress-related, but funnily enough if I'm really overworked I'll usually sleep better because I get very tired, and a bit down and depressed. On vacation I can feel myself relaxing to a much deeper level, and suddenly sleeping 9 hours every night and waking up from a very sound sleep.

It almost feels like I have trouble getting my energy cycles to match the day, they're there but don't run on a daily schedule. I can either gear myself up, get lots done, bike a lot, but not sleep much, or I can slouch around, be slow and inefficient, but get lots of sleep. Puzzling. It's mostly a problem if it coincides with emotional stress, because then I get weepy/upset/angry very easily.

I have considered both drugs, yoga/meditation and therapy, but so far have handled this ok with regular meals, regular bedtime, and trying to be ahead of stuff at work and in sync with friends and family. Don't know if any of this sounds familiar. It sounds like you have it rough. But I think the point about really believing you have the resources to fix it yourself is a good one. I try to tell myself after a bad night - hey, it's just a bad night. Yes, you'll be a bit out of it. But that "despair" you're feeling isn't real, it's the lack of sleep inflating your emotions, and it will go away.

btw I was very against medication until I read up a bit. Apparently medication to help you fall asleep can be used just passingly to help retrain your sleep habits.