New to Insomnia

Hello all,

 

Just experiencing my first bouts of insomnia (with the exception of CT W/D at beginning of year). Managed to get maybe 3 hours total last night, which is fine I guess. But I'm still exhausted and my body tries to sleep, closes it's eyes and then immediately hallucinates for a minute or two like a mini-dream then I get jolted awake with anxiety. Is this something other people have experienced? If so, any suggestions? Thanks!

 

Not sure if it's worth mentioning but my whole life I have fallen asleep to TV, I'm slowly trying to stop that so at least I just listen to it with a black screen. If I have nothing then my repetitive thoughts are loud and anxiety producing but I also can't focus on what I'm listening to either.

Are these hypnagogic hallucinations maybe?

I think you're experiencing what we refer to as micro-sleep.  When we don't get sleep for days our body seems to use these as a way to keep our bodily functions going.  I don't think it feels like actual sleep, more like we lose some time but it seems to be what we need to keep us going.

As usual, thank you very much Pamster. Your advice is always greatly appreciated. I understand that this is just another thing that'll go with time!

Yes, half a year + and counting for me. But surprisingly, I haven't died of the sleep deprivation yet. I have had some hallucinations because of it though...

I have this from the emotional terror I experience daily. It’s horrendous. I hope one day I can nap again.