Sleep Anxiety

[[Buddie]]

So I know most of my insomnia is caused by Xanax withdrawal but I also have this extreme anxiety about it as well. I haven’t slept much at all in the past 5 months which is what has caused it. My fear is now that the sleep anxiety is also limiting any little amount of sleep I might have been getting. For those that have been thru this did your sleep start coming back first and then your anxiety lessened or where you somehow able to overcome the anxiety first and that helped with the insomnia.

[[Buddie]]

Sleep anxiety is pretty common especially for those hit with insomnia as their primary WD symptom.  The fear of sleep anxiety limiting sleep is a vicious circle.  The less you sleep the more your sleep anxiety fuels the fear that you won't sleep.

When I started getting some sleep back, my sleep anxiety became less intense. I always worried about sleep for a long time, even after I started getting some sleep every night.  The actual sleep anxiety fades over time like other symptoms; at least it did for me.  There was a difference between being worried if I'd sleep or not and sleep anxiety.  Sleep anxiety always felt dark and on the edge of panic and fear.

I was never really able to overcome sleep anxiety outside of getting some sleep, but I did some things that reduced the intensity:  Went to bed not expecting to sleep, but only rest my body, then if I did get some sleep I was happy.  I learned how to meditate which helped me relax more so I could nod off.  I practiced gratitude for any and all sleep improvement which helped reduce my sleep anxiety a little bit.

[[Buddie]]

I wake up every morning with anxiety. It gets better as the day goes on but a lot of my anxiety is financial related. I am recovering from a very hard time financially. I have started a new job and I am plugging along but I wake up every morning worried about bills and money. Some of it is probably chemical too, since I have only been off Xanax for 6 months.

[...]

[[Buddie]]

What about in the evening [...]? Do you have anxiety about if you’re going to be able to sleep or not? I have that a lot and I’m just wondering if maybe that inhibits my sleep or if I will eventually sleep in spite of the anxiety.

[[Buddie]]

You WILL eventually sleep in spite of the sleep anxiety! 

[[Buddie]]

So I know most of my insomnia is caused by Xanax withdrawal but I also have this extreme anxiety about it as well. I haven’t slept much at all in the past 5 months which is what has caused it. My fear is now that the sleep anxiety is also limiting any little amount of sleep I might have been getting. For those that have been thru this did your sleep start coming back first and then your anxiety lessened or where you somehow able to overcome the anxiety first and that helped with the insomnia.

The 8 weeks i had better sleep i still had REALLY bad sleep anxiety, i would literally fall asleep thinking i wouldnt sleep allnight...  but it never happened until i hit the wave... because of that now i think the insomnia is real and the anxiety wont make it much worse, when your brain is better you will sleep anxiety or not, although now in my wave its hard to believe

[[Buddie]]

So I know most of my insomnia is caused by Xanax withdrawal but I also have this extreme anxiety about it as well. I haven’t slept much at all in the past 5 months which is what has caused it. My fear is now that the sleep anxiety is also limiting any little amount of sleep I might have been getting. For those that have been thru this did your sleep start coming back first and then your anxiety lessened or where you somehow able to overcome the anxiety first and that helped with the insomnia.

I'm sorry to hear about the sleep anxiety, and yes, it's very normal. I recovered from WD once and now I'm in a setback and the insomnia is back too. During my WD I would have severe sleep anxiety because of the laundry list of symptoms that came with sleep. It was painful to sleep, to put it simply, and I never felt tired or sleepy. So I know where you're coming from, but you just do it. It'll get more manageable. As TheWay said, go to bed not expecting sleep, but just to rest. It's a good way to get some microsleeps in too.

When I went through WD my sleep slowly slowly became more restful (I had a lot of those jerks and burning), I woke up less, got more solid chunks of hours, could fall back asleep more easily when I woke. It should get better, just takes a crapload of time.

[[Buddie]]

[...]. Your success story has carried me at 30 months. Thank you VB