Exhausted

[Pancake2015]

I have anorexia and chronic anxiety.
These two coincide with each other and im struggling at the minute.
My weight has dropped, and so my mood has too. This has heightened my anxiety even more so, which affects my appetite.
It is now also affecting my sleep as my mind wont shut off.
I dread going to bed as i find it so difficult to go to sleep.
When i do finally fall asleep, i keep waking and its like im clock watching!
I just keep seeing the clock closer to morning and i feel pure devastation as it doesnt even feel ive been asleep!
This obviously affects my mental state, too, which escalates my anxiety, which has a knock on affect on my appetite!

It is a vicious cycle that i cant get out of. I am being monitored by the doctor but im fed up of it.
I am on propranalol and i was on fortisips. The doctor wanted to refer me to a dietician in order for me to be able to get more fortisips but the idea of a dietician causes anxiety. I would have to attend appointments and i cant travel on my own, the thought of it sends my anxiety through the roof.
My doctor has given me another month. If i dont gain weight, i will be referred.
Now i feel under pressure. Sigh

[AwakeCantSleep]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I can't advise on the eating disorder side of things as I have no experience of it. But I am a long standing and very talented insomniac. (The longest I have gone without any sleep at all was three days in a row.)

Really the worst effect of sleep deprivation for me is the anxiety it causes (I have major anxiety issues as it is). This is one area I have been able to improve. I now get much less stressed over lack of sleep. It is quite amazing what our body is capable of even with little sleep. And while CBT only partially helped me with anxiety/depression, I valued the CBT approach to sleep. The basic method is to only allow yourself a small number of hours of sleep per night, if that's all your body can do. Say 4-5 hours. Force yourself to get up after that, whether you have slept well or not. Once your body gives you a reliable sleep for 5 hours, increase the time window in bed to 6 hours. No daytime naps. Once you have 6 hours, increase the time window a little more.

I never exactly followed the routine, but it helped me feel less of a victim of (lack of) sleep and more in control, reducing the anxiety.

I hope things get better for you soon.