How to manage burnout without tablets

[Iwaskitty]

Suggestions please. Mid divorce, realisation that I was in a 25 year abusive relationship, cptsd, got to sell the house, work become overwhelming.

I'm definitely suffering from burnout. Have a fantastic counsellor who agrees and I am doing the work.

But I'm not sleeping and my mind is in a constant state of panic. Ptsd is easing and I'm not suicidal, but I'm totally exhausted and I can't sleep.

I've tried antihistamine sleeping tablets, prescribed last year. They work but make me feel awful.

Tried antidepressants last year, but got every side effect going and felt awful so stopped. GP and counsellor were reluctant anyway, as they didn't think they would be right for me.

So, I need something that is going to help me sleep, and calm me down, that doesn't make me feel groggy or sick. Even the herbal stuff makes me feel ill.

Happy to speak to the doctor for prescription stuff if anyone can think of anything?

Have you tried meditation to calm your mind? That may work to help you sleep

I find it effective when my mind is racing

There are lots of books on good sleep habits so start with those - or if you want instant advice, post your daily routine including what you generally eat and drink, when you exercise, when you turn off screens etc

Melatonin may help - it's the hormone that puts you to sleep. Try an online pharmacy.

Did you try Mirtazipine?

No, I've just looked and that seems to have less side effects?

Meditation works short term, but my demons are pretty bad right now.

Have you tried magnesium supplements, herbal nightol (sp), exercise, guided relaxation before bed and when you wake up? My friend who went through similar although 15 yr relationship swore by white noise and the ship forcast being played all night.

Mirtazipine just puts me to sleep at the lowest dose. It might be worth a chat with your GP.

Exercise, if you don't have child free time, football in the park, YouTube work outs, take them swimming, go up and down stairs often. Then shower or bath before bed.
Sorry you are going through a hard time x

I've got a doctors appointment later. I'm going to ask.

Most nights, I drop to sleep exhausted, then wake every hour with horrific nightmares. Last night, I slept from 11pm until midnight, then had four nightmares, and was awake for at least an hour or two after each one.

Swimming and walking help. I am struggling with anything else because my legs are like jelly.

Herbal stuff makes me feel awful, like my tongue is all swollen in my mouth. I've got a great pharmacist and I've tried pretty much everything he's suggested.

Haven't tried white noise yet.

Mindfulness meditation is good to help you relax and sleep when you are wired. It takes a while to click, you do have to stick with it and do it repeatedly. It isn't an instant fix like drugs but it also doesn't stop you trying other drugs if you wish to. I was recommended to try bodyscan mindfulness meditation. There are many out there, shorter/longer + different voices + methods. I like the one from Franticworld.com, its free online. Another thing to try is the various techniques for managing anxiety. There are many you'll find on google that are similar to mindfulness, such as grounding and box breathing. These all work by helping you take time out from what is overwhelming you and focus on something else. Finding what techniques work for you does take trial and error, but its incredibly powerful when you do.

I've been trying everything - although my mind's just churning rather than nightmares.

I take St Johns Wort - this lifts my mood so that I can get out of bed in the morning and actually do stuff in the day.

I also take a full suite of vitamins/minerals, which make a massive difference to my tiredness, and I'm trying one of those herbal pre-menopause supplements (which I'm not convinced is doing anything)

Lastly, I downloaded some Paul McKenna hypnosis tapes, and when I need to calm down I put one on. Kinda like guided meditation I suppose. It knocks me out for the length of the tape and makes me feel like I'm at least trying to improve.

Amitryptyline helped me sleep.

The anti depressants have different impacts on different people so you might need to work your way through the list.

Duloxetine helped my anxiety and nightmares.

GP went through all of the options, but said a very low dose anti depressant would be best, so I'll give it a go.

Just in case it's helpful...
After a nightmare GET UP. You're going to be awake anyway. Go and get a cup of tea. Turn on the radio (World Service can be good at night). Keep the lights on where you are. Then go to the loo and go back to bed. Keep the radio on in your phone (or change to a Radio 4 programs in BBC Sounds - I like Money Box for that because it's interesting enough to activate my brain, isn't full of suspense and the presenters speak calmly).

Another option after the tea is to sleep on the sofa. I discovered that sleeping on the sofa gave me less (often no) nightmares.

Another option is reading Mumsnet of Instagram. The point is to completely change what your brain is doing once you've already woken up, to not stress about not sleeping (easier said than done) and calming your nervous system down until you can sleep, or doze, again.

Another good one is watching videos like "10 best auditions on BGT/The Voice/whatever" because the music is good and they're full of happy moments, which changes your brain chemistry after a nightmare.

I'm sorry you're going through this. It's absolutely horrific when going to bed equal massive stress, every single night.

Thank you. I'm just so sick of it now. It's been two years since I stopped sleeping. Stbxh was doing everything he could to sleep with my best friend at the time, and was trying to persuade me to have an affair. Then I got covid, a chest infection and it took me 10 weeks to recover. I haven't slept since.

My mind just can't settle.

I think you need to get signed off sick at work for a while with stress. You need some time out to recover. I'm so sorry that you're going through all this.

Can't do that, unfortunately. I'm self employed and literally no one to do my job if I'm not there.