Can't sleep in bed, only on couch!

Any idea why I can't sleep in my bed? Only on the couch. I was thinking maybe it felt more cocoon like because it was supporting one side of me as well. It's also more soft and pillowy than bed. It's getting a bit ridiculous, though. If I get in bed, tired, I'll just get out an hour later with insomnia. It's gotten to the point where my husband is sleeping on the living room floor with me on the couch. I'm afraid I have bed phobia because so many sleepless nights and stress has arisen from there. Sometimes I call the bed the torture chamber.

 

Anyone relate to this?

This is very common! Especially if you have trouble sleeping, this can create anxiety about sleeping and thus it's kind of like a Pavlovs dog thing where you start to associate the bed with not sleeping, and thus the anxiety and insomnia ensues. Whereas the couch has no expectations of falling asleep. I went thru a phase of couch sleeping in high school.

I agree with KS. Something similar happened to me when I was going through the worst of my withdrawals. I've always loved my bed, but suddenly I began to hate it. I just had so many negative feelings about it, that I moved out to the couch. I'm not sure that it helped the insomnia that much, but I started having a lot less anxiety about it. I also think that because of the back on the couch I stopped tossing and turning so much, and it allowed me to relax more.

 

The good news is that I now love my bed again. It does get better.

I have a beautiful 1 bedroom apt and have never slept in my bed. I can only sleep on my couch. U r right it is like a cocoon!!! Never thought of it that way!

No I cannot sleep in my bed either. I may doze off for 15 minutes or so before bed then when I get and and get in the bedroom, I am wide awake! I can lay there for an hour or 2 or three. It is no good! When I go in my bedroom I get a bad feeling about it, anytime of the day, like dread. The bedroom is the torture chamber. This needs to change somehow. I sleep better in the bed, but have to sleep on the couch half the time. Hate it, hate it! This is coming from a really frustrating night last night!

Any idea why I can't sleep in my bed? Only on the couch.

 

I call the bed the torture chamber.

 

 

 

I agree with others - the bed has been associated with suffering and you don't feel good there.

 

The couch has less negative associations linked to it.

 

 

Hang in there - at some point you will get back to normal.   

 

 

 

 

River

Hi River,

 

Thanks for the encouraging words here. I just cannot hear it enough that someone has been where we are and lives to tell it! Feels like a human again and experiences some enjoyment out of life. I have had the miserable feeling like I have the flu now for 2 months, that weird spacey feeling and feel so cold that I cannot get warm. Plus the distended belly and fluttering heart feelings, all started in this last 2 months. I have a doctor's appointment Wednesday and want to tell him how I feel so bad like I have the flu and about the benzo withdrawal but I think if he told me that it could not possibly be the withdrawal symptoms I think my head will explode!!! Seriously I do feel sick and to me it is hard for me to even believe it is still withdrawal, but it is not the flu so what is it?

 

I just wanted to know river wolf at what month you finally were completely free of symptoms and did they ever creep back in any way? I don't know why but it might make me feel a little better.

The good news is that you WILL get back to normal.

 

When is not certain - that is why I tell people to throw away the calendar and just live your life and do what you can to eat well and manage the symptoms that you do have.

 

I was feeling funky 3 days a week at month 3 - 6, and then I felt better - almost normal.

 

The thing is that when you feel almost normal after going through hell, - you feel GREAT!

 

But everybody is different - you will be unique to you.

 

 

 

 

River

This has been happening to me, I still go to bed to sleep but I've struggled so much with sleepless nights and awakening after only a few minutes to an hour sleep and feel so bad about it that started to have some negative feeling towards my bed.

I don't cave in to it and sleep in bed but it's a very strange feeling, I mean to hate your bed...benzo w/d and its quirks.

Don't let this throw you back, it will get better.

Any idea why I can't sleep in my bed? Only on the couch. I was thinking maybe it felt more cocoon like because it was supporting one side of me as well. It's also more soft and pillowy than bed. It's getting a bit ridiculous, though. If I get in bed, tired, I'll just get out an hour later with insomnia. It's gotten to the point where my husband is sleeping on the living room floor with me on the couch. I'm afraid I have bed phobia because so many sleepless nights and stress has arisen from there. Sometimes I call the bed the torture chamber.

 

Anyone relate to this?

 

What a wonderful hubby you have who will sleep by your couch. Me. I just have the cats on the bed, who wake me up at 3 am.