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Suz
559 Posts |
 Posted - 06/23/2006 : 08:18:20
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My insomnia continues - this has to be the latest TMS equivalent - I have no back/sciatic pain at all. It has been replaced by an inability to sleep. I went to the doctor out of desperation and got a sleeping pill - Lunestra. It has no side affects and I sleep really well on it. I took it for 3 days and then last night I decided not to take it. I started panicking around 11:30 that I wouldn't sleep so I ended up taking it. It was a bit late to take it so I had to get up for work before the medication wore off. What I like about Lunestra is that one does not feel groggy and it really puts you to sleep.
HOwever - I really don't want to take any medication any more as I don't think it is good. I now seem to panic that I won't sleep if I don't take it. It seems to me that conditioning sets in really easily and I have convinced myself that i need the medication to sleep - ridiculous. Before I took it this week, I was sleeping on and off. I seem to have developed this insomnia as a reaction to my new relationship. I am so excited the night before I see my new boyfriend (we live 2 hours apart and only see each other at the weekends) that I cannot sleep. Ridiculous! I am in such a good space in my life right now. I wonder if I should just ignore the sleep problem and keep switching to thinking about the emotional stuff - like I did with the back pain.
Any advice woudl be great. Can one use the same method with insomnia? |
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shari
USA
85 Posts |
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jgluski
27 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2006 : 10:09:47
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I have had insominia for about 3-4 months straight now since the TMS started. I can't turn my brain off at night. My body has totally adjusted to it. If I get 5 hours a night I'm lucky. I was taking klonopin... trying to get off it.
Meditation is one of the only things that seems to work and telling myself out loud "relax, go to sleep" over and over. Sometimes I just forget to do it
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Edited by - jgluski on 06/23/2006 10:11:01 |
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2006 : 11:31:54
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| I bought the book - however it talks about insomnia and muscle pain etc. being a result of stress - it recognizes the brain/body connection but doesn't quite get the diversion strategy that we now know the brain does. It would seem to me that there is a different "remedy" because it is a different diagnosis |
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Hillbilly
USA
385 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2006 : 12:35:57
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Hi, Suz,
There is really no diagnosis involved here, I don't believe. The book worked for me in about three weeks. I went ten straight weeks without sleeping through the night before this book's suggestions helped. It's just a matter of breaking the habit and beating back the negative self-talk. I still have lots of upper back pain, anxiety, IBS, etc., but no insomnia. Try it out. I was taking melatonin until reading about it in this book. I stopped cold turkey and haven't used it since. |
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2006 : 14:58:39
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| Wow,Hillbilly - are you saying that you purchased this book and it actually worked? I think Peter recommended it to me. I know the problem lies in the negative talk - I tell myself I am not going to sleep and I don't |
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Hillbilly
USA
385 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2006 : 15:15:31
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| Yep. Insomnia isn't anything other than a normal anxiety symptom. Heightened nerves can't calm themselves to allow rest. There are other factors mentioned in the book like "prior wakefulness" and getting enough light (the natural way to get melatonin to regulate itself). Anxiety is always present in insomnia, the author states. I posted last week the ghastly, shocking and abhorrent premise that my back pain is nothing but anxiety tension, and many brushed it off thinking I dared go against Sarno. I was the healthiest guy I know two years ago until I started to worry (anxiety) about financial issues. Then I had a second kid (anxiety) and multiplied it. Then I took a job promotion that I quickly didn't want, but now can't get out of (trapped, anxious) and I have symptoms everyday. Some days the back pain is not the worst symptom, some days it's the only one. Whatever hurts the worst gets the attention, so the distraction continues. The best tip in the book is a near verbatim quote of Sarno and all the anxiety experts out there: Stop worrying about not sleeping and you will sleep. If only we had switches attached to our brains! Best of luck |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2006 : 19:47:40
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Insomnia is only a problem, if you THINK it is a problem. Your body will sleep, when it needs to sleep. I just went through a high-energy week, preparing for a road-trip, which always increases my energy. I went to sleep at 2am and woke up between 6-7am everyday. Took a couple of naps and was just fine.
Having a regimented life, eating regular meals and sleeping regular hours, is an outcome of the post-industrial era. It's good for productivity especially if you're a coal miner. Worrying about insomnia goes hand-in-hand with guilt about not being productive enough. So, you'll feel lousey at work.
TMS worrying, about feeling lousey, is worse. It's natural that you are feeling excited about your new boyfriend--that love hormone is doing it's job. It's good for about a year, after that you're on your own. Quit thinking and especially quit worrying about insomnia--your body will sleep when it needs to sleep. |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2006 : 21:50:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Hillbilly
Yep. Insomnia isn't anything other than a normal anxiety symptom. Heightened nerves can't calm themselves to allow rest. There are other factors mentioned in the book like "prior wakefulness" and getting enough light (the natural way to get melatonin to regulate itself). Anxiety is always present in insomnia, the author states. I posted last week the ghastly, shocking and abhorrent premise that my back pain is nothing but anxiety tension, and many brushed it off thinking I dared go against Sarno. I was the healthiest guy I know two years ago until I started to worry (anxiety) about financial issues. Then I had a second kid (anxiety) and multiplied it. Then I took a job promotion that I quickly didn't want, but now can't get out of (trapped, anxious) and I have symptoms everyday. Some days the back pain is not the worst symptom, some days it's the only one. Whatever hurts the worst gets the attention, so the distraction continues. The best tip in the book is a near verbatim quote of Sarno and all the anxiety experts out there: Stop worrying about not sleeping and you will sleep. If only we had switches attached to our brains! Best of luck
I think stress and anxiety are not appreciated nearly enough around here as contributory to TMS...They certainly play a major role in my case anyway... |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2006 : 08:36:16
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quote:
Originally posted by art
I think stress and anxiety are not appreciated nearly enough around here as contributory to TMS...They certainly play a major role in my case anyway...
Yes, but it is also true that stress and anxiety can be symptoms of TMS as well, that is, they could be serving as a distraction from other repressed emotions. |
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miche
Canada
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2006 : 15:07:10
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| I ONCE READ THAT THE BEST WAY TO BEAT INSOMNIA IS TO TRY TO STAY AWAKE WHEN YOU FINALLY GET SLEEPY,IN YOUR MIND IT PUTS A NEW SPIN ON THINGS SO TO SPEAK,FIGHTING SLEEP INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SLEEP, DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE TO YOU? AFTER A WHILE YOU SUPPOSEDLY LOSE YOUR FEAR OF INSOMNIA, IT MAKES SENSE TO ME, LIKE REVERSE PSHYCOLOGY WITH YOUR OWN MIND. |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 07:55:21
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| It makes sense to me. Acceptance is a powerful ally. If you accept any TMS symptom and choose not to fight it, you disarm it. It stops serving its purpose (as a distraction) and should fade away over time. |
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 08:23:05
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Whoa - Miche - fantastic suggestion. I totally agree with you, Dave. It has been a tough week as I immediately decided I had an insomnia problem, called the doctor who handed me sleeping pills without even asking me about the causes. These doctors love giving out pills. I have been feeling a little groggy and off kilter.
I basically convinced myself that I wouldn't sleep and of course, I didn't. I probably need to ignore this as I have ignored all my TMS symptoms - they of course then go away.
I now seem to have a sore throat and feel absolutely awful. I think the worry of being perfect enough for my boyfriend has caused my brain to create a distraction - anxiety is probably the distraction. Insomnia is just a symptom of anxiety.
So - my question is, has anyone applied Sarno's techniques to anxiety with any success? |
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miche
Canada
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 08:53:38
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| Suz, why do you feel you have to be so perfect for your boyfriend? Perfection is difficult to live up to, speaking from experience, I find it kind of nice when I detect imperfection in other people, it makes them human, aren't we are all work in progress, I am sure that your boyfriend has his faults also and that you do not expect perfection from him but only from yourself, what makes you think he needs perfect, real love is based on accepting people for who they are and not on trying to change them, try to shed that tms " I must be perfect in order for anyone to like me attitude " and replace it with" I am good enough as I am and deserve to be loved," you are way too hard on yourself. I remember confessing to my sister about something I felt was an awful doing on my part, her answer was " so you found out that you are human" Love, we all need it, the hardest part for a lot of us tms sufferers is to love ourselves and believe that we are deserving of happiness. |
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miche
Canada
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 09:11:50
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Suz, in case you cannot get my first suggestion for insomnia to work for you , here is something that will probably make you laugh, still we all need a little humor just about now, it is written by a Dr Susan Lark,I IMAGINE IT HAS TO DO WITH ACCUPRESSURE POINTS , so it may help , here it goes:
Use a kidney bean to give yourself the best night's sleep of your life! Tape a kidney bean to the inside of your right wrist, three finger widths below the crease of your wrist.
Now try to stay awake!
You have just found one of the most powerful sleep-promoting points in Oriental medicine.
If you doubt that it works, try it tonight, just before you go to sleep. My patients have been amazed and they've stopped taking their tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antidepressants.
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 09:13:45
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Miche,
Yup - that is a huge core of the reason I got TMS - my perfectionist personality. It is absurd to think I need to be so perfect for him - because quite frankly, it's not possible. I have never felt feelings like this before for anyone - I really believe this guy is the one. I know he is pretty smitten. I definitely have levels of low self esteem - as I keep waiting for him to run off and discover that I am not "all that"! Ridiculous! I have been married before and he hasn't - I was engaged a year ago and that was a disaster. I told this guy, John, everything - it was hard. He is 6 years younger than me and has not experienced some of the traumatic things I have. He is very very sweet and his only response was "I just don't want you to have any sadness any more". He has a huge heart and is a very good man. I can't believe my luck!
I know that my current symptoms are just anxiety and hopefully will calm down. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 10:39:33
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| The book mentioned on insomnia is truly wonderful. It has been so helpful for me....As some posters have mentioned, a lot of the problem is how you view the fact that you had a poor night's sleep....I had 3 hours sleep last night due to getting back home late from the beach, and I have chosen to view it as "no problem" and a normal day...I'll get through today just fine, as I always do after a poor night's sleep, without any caffeine, and I'll get plenty done at work and home and will enjoy my interactions with coworkers and family today. I won't waste time taking a nap as I know that will cause a problem with getting to sleep easily tonight (the "prior wakefulness" thing)....I expect to have a good, productive day and I will. |
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miche
Canada
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 11:04:32
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| Suz , I know what you mean, it took me a year to realise that my new guy loves me for who I am and not for what I can do for him, only recently did I come to believe that he was here for the duration and that my having fibro was not going to get in the way of how he feels about me, he is kind and loving and supportive, glad you found the same, if there is to be hope for anything one must love and trust as if they have not been hurt before . |
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 11:54:58
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Thank you, Miche - so lovely and supportive.
Fox - did you do the 7 day sleep diary in the book? Sorry to have this discussed on a TMS board as I know this isn't Sarno's book. It gives me such hope that this book as helped you, Fox. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 12:21:39
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| I'm sure I did because I followed all of the advice in the book & did everything the author asked - like a good TMSer would - in this case my perfectionism paid off - the cognitive, the behavioral, and the environmental aspects....It's been several years since I read it although I sporadically refer back to certain portions of it.....Was the sleep diary where you gathered a week's worth of data on the amount of sleep you were actually getting (the author says that most folks get more sleep than they really think) so that you would have a baseline so that you could see how much improvement you got later on from his program? I remember I came out with an average of 5 hours and 45 minutes of sleep - not great but better than I thought I was getting. Actually, it's hard for me to get more than that anyway because of work and family responsibilities and the need to stay physically fit and the desire to enjoy various interests in life. I was able to increase the average of sleep I was getting up to about 6 hours and 15 minutes. Now that I am armed with the knowledge from that book, I feel that I could increase the average even more if I had time to do so...The best part of the book for me was what I mentioned earlier - the ability to restructure your cognitions/beliefs regarding the importance of insomnia - he showed that most task performance was unaffected by lack of sleep and the slight temporary drop in mood level that you got from insomnia was largely related to irrational beliefs that most of the general public shares regarding insomnia and self-fulfilling prophesies (a lot like TMS conditioning). I think sleep is really overrated....It was also very helpful to learn how to wean oneself off prescription sleeping pills and to understand how the various prescription and OTC pills compare to each other. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 15:41:33
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| Just wanted to verify that I just made it through 8 hours of work with 3 hours sleep and no caffeine with absolutely no problem. And I only had 5 hours sleep for each of several nights prior to last night due to my busy schedule....It just doesn't matter all that much if you don't sleep well the night before if you tell yourself that your performance will be effective and your day will be fun. (Now maybe if I was a brain surgeon or an airline pilot, there would be some problem with focusing on the details.) Read that insomnia book....It's an eye opener (no pun intended). |
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Insomnia - this is a nightmare
