Bedtime
Does anyone have certain things, whether they’re coping skills or a simple routine, that helps you calm down in order to be able to fall asleep? I’ll put off sleeping until daylight because I am most likely to have flashbacks and panic attacks when I’m attempting to sleep. Do any of you struggle with this? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
Hey! so i was scrolling through the app for the last time this night, thinking "How am I supposed to sleep if I don't stop overthinking everything?"
And then i saw your post! Like, magic ._.
So i can understand u, it is so hard. Takes a lot of time tbh.
But i try this!
- drinking some tea.
- listening to soft music
- reading a book
- watching some relaxing videos on youtube or something
- trying to breath. Imagine that you're in the safest place in the world.
Or
counting sheeps! 🐑🐑🐑🐑 (just kidding) ^-^
Hope u sleep well tonight 🦋
@katia22
Thank you so much for your helpful suggestions! It’s also really comforting to know that bedtime can be difficult/scary for others too. Thank you for listening and for sharing with me. And sweet dreams to you!
Thank YOU for sharing it with us, you're really sweet too!
It's a little weird, but I fall asleep watching videos of a YouTuber, a machinist called This Old Tony.
I know nothing about machining, I know nothing about tools, I know nothing about metal. But he's funny and relaxing and I've been falling asleep faster and faster the more familiar I get with hi videos, especially if I'm rewatching one.
It gives me something to focus on, so I can't get anxious or work myself up until I cry in bed.
@shyGigabyte Thank you for sharing! I don’t think that’s weird at all. That’s no different than someone who doesn’t do any form of art finding Bob Ross videos to be relaxing. We can appreciate things that we don’t necessarily understand ourselves. In fact, I think sometimes it’s actually easier to appreciate what we don’t understand/aren’t knowledgeable about/don’t necessarily participate in. Maybe that’s part of the beauty of absorbing positive energy from other people, even strangers. It magnifies the idea that we all have different things to offer. And that we can benefit from each other.
This just gives me a nice idea for a post! Like... videos or youtubers that gives you something to focus on when you are anxious! :)
It would be fun to share with other people ways to get distracted!
Im not diagnosed with anything, I've never been to therapy, but if I don't do certain things at night I will start to have these emotional flashbacks of trauma and start to hear sounds from those experiences.
I have to have all of the doors in my bedroom closed and I have to sleep facing the door to the bedroom. I've tried to sleep facing away from the door and when I do I can hear someone running up behind me and I start to panic. As soon as I turn over it stops. So I always close the doors and face them to sleep, it doesn't matter where I stay it goes for anyroom I sleep in. If the door isn't closed I will stay up the entire night and stare out of it.
Have you read Pete Walker's book about complex PTSD? There's a section on steps to take when experiencing an emotional flashback. I believe it's on his website too. 🤗
Reading helps to tire out my eyes and then some soft music. Some favorite calm show on tv that I've seen a hundred times that I don't really need to pay too much attention because I know it so well. It helps me not feel alone and eventually I fall asleep. I don't always stay asleep but these things help.
ABB
Oh my goodness! This is something that I struggled with so much for a long time and still do on occasion. My nightmares were so severe that I hated sleeping. And when I did sleep I would wake up and not be able to back to bed. Here is my trick!
listen to an audiobook and have it play all night while sleeping. When you wake up, your brain goes right back into the story and draws you out from focus on dreams/flashbacks/triggers.
listen to nature sounds or music during sleep
play a constant run of sleep meditations
meditation before bed or even sleep meditations
thinking of things I’m grateful for as I fall asleep. It makes your brain focus on positive things and gets it out of negative stuff. Brain hack!!
Practicing mindfulness. I found that practicing mindfulness, and working on it everyday, impacted my sleeping.
Write your dream narrative. What do you want to dream about? How do you want it to go? Write it down before you go to bed. This takes time to work but it does work! Eventually, it will break the nightmare cycle. I think you could probably do this for how you want to feel around bed time. Ie “I am going to lay in bed and feel the softness of my sheets. Breathing in fresh air from the open window and listening to the night’s sounds. I will feel calm and relaxed. I will enjoy laying down for bed because I am tired. My eyelids feel heavy and I welcome them closing…”
i really hope this helps! I’m so sorry you are struggling with resting at night. It is such a frustrating experience and impacts quality of life massively. I wish you wellness and I am send positive and restful energy your way!