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I Can Fall Asleep Despite Having Anxiety Disorder!

For years I have had problems going to sleep. I currently take 50 mg of Trazadone to help me in this area. My psychiatrist wants to avoid having me use something like  Ambien daily because it is addictive, and Trazadone is not. He explained that this is an old school antidepressant that is not addictive and is very useful for sleep issues.

Well, even with the Trazadone (or Ambien at times) I used to read or watch TV in bed until I became drowsy. I had to feel drowsy or I would/could not lay down. My husband would beg me to shut the light and just close my eyes. I refused to try because of past experience of thoughts spinning in my head. This became like a phobia.

My daughter didn’t have problems going to sleep, but she would wake in the middle of the night and be stuck. She recently learned from her Cognitive Behavioral Therapist that waking in the middle of the night doesn’t have to mean you are up for the rest of the night. She told her to just lay back down, relax, and assume you are going back to sleep. Surprisingly, this worked.

As simple as this sounds, this information made me admit the fact that I have been unwilling to try and go to sleep like a normal person. ABSOLUTELY REFUSING TO TRY. Well, recently I gave it a shot. I lay there thinking to myself that I was going to fall asleep. I was not going to give up. Lo and behold, I actually fell asleep.

I just could not believe it when I woke the next morning. I have been doing this each night since, and I feel so rested because I am not staying up until wee hours of the night waiting to pass out. Sometimes I think to myself that I am not tired enough and won’t fall asleep, but then after a time, it always happens. Some nights are harder than others, where I have to count backwards or something like that. But the key is not to give up. Eventually, within a reasonable amount of time, I do fall asleep.

If I wake in the middle of the night for any reason, I force myself to lay back down again and close my eyes and I do fall back to sleep.

So, if this sounds like you, I think you might want to try just closing your eyes for a change.

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Comments»

1. steph - August 12, 2007

Hey im Steph im 18 years old and im having sleeping problems,no matter how hard i try and convince myself that i can fall asleep and close my eyes it just doesnt happen - i dont want to take anything for it because im against taking drugs but what should i do?

2. Panic Attack Treatment Guy - November 28, 2007

When I was suffering with panic I would actually have anxiety attacks WHILE sleeping. It was horrible.

-Opeth