Anxiety and insomnia

[Lch1986]

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some support and advice if possible regarding anxiety and insomnia. I’ve been struggling to drift off to sleep for the past couple of wks and on certain nights have only managed to get an hour or two which has left me feeling exhausted and very emotional. My little girl isn’t sleeping through however even when she’s asleep I really struggle with dozing off. I’ve tried simple things like cutting out caffeine, using lavender oil, reading etc however haven’t found that these have helped much. I’ve seen the doctor and have been prescribed some anti depressants but would like to avoid taking them if possible. I’m in a bit of a vicious circle in that the lack of sleep just adds to the anxiety. I’m giving kalms a try for the next couple of days to see if this takes the edge off but any other advice / experiences would be gratefully received xxx

Poor you! Is there any family that can help? Do you have a partner and a spare room you could go to to catch up on sleep? Tiredness certainly does not help anxiety! If you got some decent sleep you could then evaluate how you feel about the anti depressants and if you need them or not.
Your mental well being is so important to the care you can give your daughter. Well done fir going to the doctor!
Your dd will eventually start sleeping through - so don’t give up hope!

How is your sleep now?

The kalms seemed to have helped, I’ve beeb taking kalms day and kalms night (with a large wine 😬) and I’ve only had one bad night in the past week - and even that one wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the bad ones have been. I haven’t enjoyed having to stop breastfeeding but didn’t really have a choice. My cycles have started again this wk so I’m thinking it could have been hormone related. Definitely feeling a lot less anxious too with a week of sleep in the bag 👍🏻 Xx

Ah weldone, it makes all the difference doesn’t it. I suffer these things too and motherhood only compounds it (although has forced me to really look the beast in the eye too, which has been good for me too). Just in case it rears it’s head again I would absolutely recommend a book (reading? I hear you say -I know there’s such little time) but it’s so so good and cuts through all that ‘sleep hygiene crap’ and cuts to how to manage thought processes. It’s call the sleep book by dr guy meadows. It’s a 5 step approach so if you only read one step this month and try it out then step two next month etc, then you can digest it slowly. The basic premise is to welcome unwanted thoughts and bodily reactions rather then fight them. Has revolutionised my sleep. I also meditate for 20-30 mins before bed. I let it cut into my sleep time because it essentially is like sleeping. I fall asleep much quicker now. I prefer v short guided meditations so I can work on not reacting to my thoughts, but if you are new to meditation there is a free app called Insight Timer that has loads of great ones. Lovely music and nature sounds too.
Xx

Aw thank you, some great tips and bits of info there which I’ll definitely look into. And I’m sure I’ll find the time for a bit of reading whilst the baby has her snoozes ☺️ Xx