Sleep anxiety and CBT
Hello,
Im 28 yrs old. Since ive been 21, after finishing 3 years of army service, i have trouble sleeping well. I used to sleep good before and during the army. The first days after i was discharged, started waking up at 6am needing to pee, having racing thoughts about life and what not. Couldn't go back to sleep. I believe i was falling asleep okay.
After, when i started working, started having problems with waking up and getting enough sleep. I started being anxious about missing my alarm, and also about getting enough sleep. This continues to this day, now im working a physical job that i wake up to at 6:30 everyday. Yesterday i played basketball and went to sleep at around 23:15 and just couldn't close my eyes.
When I don't have an early alarm which sets a specific sleeping time for me, im fine usually. Like in the weekends. I fall asleep easily and my sleep is relatively okay.
Almost every night when i go to sleep i have racing thoughts. I just can't stop my head from thinking. About life, my relationship, career, things that bother me. Some days it's better when i feel like i resolved things but still im not falling asleep so deeply and waking up at my alarm, it's always before, always with needing to pee at the middle of the night.
In the army i couldve fallen asleep everywhere and always because you are super tired always. Once i got a position with a lot of responsibility, towards the end of the service, i remember falling asleep, already sleeping practically, and waking up anxiously to check that i wrote all the missions i have for tomorrow.
And this unfortunately can happen today, i can notice falling asleep and my brain just jumps.
I know it was long, thanks for getting to this point. I want to solve this once and for all. I know there's CBT routines for that. My mom suffered from insomnia but after taking paxxet she sleeps super deep. My twin brother has insomnia maybe even worse than me.
Im taking 10mg lexapro for a year now.
Would love for some advice, thank you very much.
Hi
. You must be really frustrated with the limited sleep you are getting. Is Lexapro helping you in any way at all? There are so many anti-anxiety medications on the market and many of them work in different ways. Is it possible Lexipro is not right for you? If so, maybe your doctor can try putting you on something new. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Insomnia (CBT-I) has been so successful in treating insomnia that it is now the first treatment most doctors recommend. It is important to find a certified therapist though. The routine has to be tailored specifically to you. Here is an article that explains it better than I can: https://insomnia.sleep-disorders.net/cbt. Perelman School of Medicine has a tool for finding a therapist in your area. Here is a link: https://cbti.directory/. It might be worth a try. If CBT-I is effective, you might be able to sleep well without the aid of medicines.
I hope this helps and that you can develop better sleep patterns over time. Thinking of you and wishing you the best. - Lori (Team Member)Hey Lori, thank you for your response.
Lexapro is helping me with my anxiety and stress, which is the reason i took it in the first place, not because of sleeping.
I heard many people who took it and switched to prozac/prizma and felt better. My mom takes Paxxet and sleeps super deeply. Im open to trying a different pill, but would also want to incorporate CBT-II am glad you are willing to give CBT-I a try. I hope you can get a referral soon. - Lori (Team Member)
