I know I do not have the most stressful life situations, yet; but I do suffer sleepless nights. The problem has been going on for several years and quite a torture to me.

But, the good thing is that, strangely enough, my sleeplessness only occurs on Sundays. Unless I am too upset or down, my sleep on other days is just sound and normal.

My doctors said all I needed to do was to relax. I have tried literally every method I could think of to make myself sleep. Sleeping pills seem to be the quickest relief but I am reluctant to start relying on them. I believe it has become a biological cycle or pattern inside of me. The more I want myself to sleep, the more pressure I receive.

I went to another doctor a few weeks ago. This time I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I was as usual being asked about my worries and source of stress. HD did almost slip out of my tongue. I kept it. I only blamed work pressure and some other reasons.

About 5% of the population in Hong Kong suffer from GAD, according to the doctor, and so it is nothing to be really worried about. I trust so and am now taking Prozac.

I am learning meditation which seems to be of some help. My teacher is teaching me to gather scattered thoughts in my mind. Indeed it is cruel to observe and realise and face all these thoughts flying around, but it seems helpful at least in the sense that I am trying to deal with them and bring peace (and hopefully wisdom too!) to myself.

Last Sunday I meditated before sleep. I woke up at 4am gladly to realise that I had been able to sleep! But probably I was a bit over excited by this, I was then awake on my bed, until it was time to go to work.

Ken

I'm certainly familiar with "the more you try to sleep, the less you're able to" problem!

Meditation and self-hypnosis can help. Deep breathing.

Sometimes I read a bit - or get up and take a short walk in the fresh air.

Of course, whether a night-time walk lessens or adds to your anxiety, would depend a great deal on the safety of your neighborhood!

One thing I WOULD say about my own experience with Prozac, is that it can cause sleeplessness. It's very important to take it in the morning, rather than at night.

And sometimes, you can take Prozac in the morning - and take another compatible anti-depressant with sedative qualities (such as Trazadone) at night.

Sometimes it takes some trial and error to discover just what works for you....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2007 09:42PM by JL.

Ken,

I've had difficulties sleeping off and on for a couple of years. I sometimes have trouble falling asleep, but most of my trouble is waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to go back to sleep. I haven't been diagnosed with GAD or anything like it, but I know for sure it's related to my stress level.

My Dr. has prescribed Ambien for me, and it works wonderfully. I take it the majority of nights, but a half dose works just fine. When I'm very tired and expect to sleep hard, I don't take it and sleep fine. As with any medication there are possible side affects, but addiction in the sense that your body begins to crave more, is not one of them for this particular sleep aid.

Stress can do a lot of damage to a body. Sleeping well consistently can do a body a ton of good too. I hope your strategies for getting some good rest work well for you!

Hi Kensanto!
Im an insomniac when Im worried or hormonal and this morning I've been awake since 4 am. I'm going to my first genetics testing apptmt on Friday and Im preoccupied with that.
I used to stress about waking early, but it never helped me go back to sleep. My strategy is to get up and read with a cup of Sleepytime herbal tea, or take a bath with aromatherapy oils (sleep-inducing or relaxing ones). Sometimes I can go back to bed and fall asleep after that -- as the body cools down from the warm bath, you drift off.
What REALLY helps me is to get up once I realise Im not falling back to sleep, and write down all my worries. Whatever they are. Or a list of things to do that is on my mind, tasks for the next day or week, whatever. This helps me feel like its as sorted out as it can be for now, and help me relax for sleep.
Today I've just got on this site and read people's contributions and written a few, and that has been just the right thing. I'll be tired today, but that's okay.
I dont let myself get frustrated if I dont fall back to sleep, because sometimes its just not gonna happen.
I noticed you said Sunday nite is your insomnia night. What is happening on Monday that you are worried about? The working week, work concerns, a particular individual you might have to see on Monday? What is it in particular that you might be dreading?
Im a counsellor and as part of my training I've had loads of counselling myself, but Ive always been a big fan. I use it to talk about HD a lot, because Im anxious about my at-risk status and my family members with HD. If you can get/afford weekly counselling, go for it -- and dont give up til you find someone you like who you think is good.
You may have lots of niggling worries that a counsellor or psychotherapist can think with you about. And finding out what those might be could help you to sleep better on Sunday nights. For my money, talking is better than anti-depressants. But that's just me.
All the best!
fleur

Good questions, Fleur!

But I must demure a bit on the anti-depressant issue. I think it depends on whether you have "situational" depression - or "clinical" depression.

I tried talk-therapy, and none of the psychotherapists I attended (and there were number of different ones) - were able to help me in the least!

It wasn't until I read about the effectiveness of anti-depressants on people with clinical depression (which is physically based - a malfunction of the neurotransmitters) - and asked whether such treatment might be tried - that I discovered that it IS effective for me.

I think that every person should consider both approaches. And try them until they find what's right for them.......

Hi JL, thanks for adding that. Youre right, everyone has to find their own personal solution, and for some people medication works best.
I'm sorry you never found a therapist that helped you -- it must have been discouraging to say the least. But it sounds like anti-depressants are working well and you are feeling better, and that's what's important. I'm glad they've been helpful.

Fleur

For situational depression, talking is better. I find antidepressants a bit scarey from a previous experience
Its about knowing whether you have clinical or situational depression & I think for clinical, medication is needed for chemical imbalance, but for situational...patient, understanding friends work best.

Thank you for all the feedback.

My problem began with work pressure I suppose. I still cannot figure out why it only happens on Sundays though. There are usually not particular things that I am worried about for Mondays. If it is related to work, I should suffer sleepless nights during weekdays too.

My guess is that after so many sleepless Sundays (for years), I started to get really stressful about "sleeping on Sundays". It has then become a biological cycle for me to lose sleep regularly.

On a sleepless night I can stay awake on the bed all night long and I can get rather emotional and anxious. Thoughts would come in and they could be strange and about anything (including HD of course).

Besides taking sleeping pills, I have tried many other ways to make myself sleep - reading, writing, exercising, music, wine, herbs etc. Now I have got some little hope on meditation which seems helpful to calm and control my mind. I will surely continue to learn and practise it.

JL - about Prozac, you are right, my doctor's advice was to take it in the morning. I did not ask him why, but now I understand. Thank you.

I think I ought to learn how to better deal with stress and anxiety.

Ken

Fleur and JL, I do both! I take meds (Prozac and Trazadone) and I have both individual and group therapy weekly. I really am crazy, I guess.......but I like both ways to get help.

Ken, have you ever tried this funny method -- when you can't sleep, try NOT to fall asleep. Spend as much effort in staying awake as you can. I do this once in awhile during sleepless times and fall asleep rather quickly. Like telling a kid to not do something, and the kid does it anyway sort of psychology.

Not crazy, no way! I've heard that a combination of therapy and meds works for many people and it's really good you've found yourself the support you need. Im definitely needing extra support in my life since HD has progressed in our family...
fleur

Hi Ken,
It sounds like you've tried almost everything over the years. It's good the meditation is helping a little lately.
It is intriguing though, that your insomnia only happens on Sundays.
It makes me wonder whether you are really busy during the week, with work and other activities, so you dont have much time to worry or think about difficult things Mon to Sat.
Maybe Sunday is when you finally have some down-time, when you allow yourself to rest, and then the anxieties that have been kept at bay all week can finally come out. Or rather, rudely insist on making themselves known, by keeping you awake!
I suggest this because I know I keep myself busy with work and exercise and running around, and my busy-ness can effectively keep difficult thoughts and feelings away in the short-term. Sometimes I dont realise Im doing it, and at other times I do it on purpose.
I think it's pretty common, and for many people it's not a problem, in fact can be a healthy way of managing. I mean, who hasnt had to work on a day when they're feeling really rubbish? I guess it's compartmentalising, in a sense.
The problem for me is that being busy doesnt make my anxieties actually go away, and they push their way to the surface eventually. I usually fall to sleep okay, but I suffer from early morning waking (3 to 5 am). That's when my worry machine/insomnia really gets going.
This may be completely off-base for you, but it's just a thought... that maybe you're super-good at keeping your worries away during the week, and the Sunday insomnia is your body and mind's way of getting you to pay attention to them, that they're important.


from Fleur, on the dawn shift x

Thanks, fleur!

I think Fleur is right on track.

My non-hd husband had Sunday insomnia.

It was because of two things. It is because he sleeps longer on Saturday and most Sundays so he is not tired enough to go to sleep easily and it is because Sunday is the only day that he slows down- so it is the night that all the anxieties about what he should have gotten done already and what he need to acomplish next week flood him. It was a very serious issue for awhile.

The doctor prescribed him Xanax to take one only on Sunday night. Worked like a charm. Now I am finding that if we are the most active on Sunday I can wear him out and it does the same thing. And the xanax is still in the cabinet so that gives him a peace of mind that he could take it if it comes back. But so far the vigorous exercise on Sunday (starting early Sunday morning) has been working very well.

Hope this helps.

This is very true, Fleur. I usually get exhausted after work during weekdays and am able to get to sleep pretty easily. During weekends, my sleeping hours are quite the same but I do sometimes take naps. Another reason I can think of is that I go home every weekend to see my family. Probably it is a chance for thoughts, worries and anxieties to arise; plus my anxiety of "Sunday insomnia" itself, all these just make Sunday nights a difficult time for me.

Like what Tracie said, I also have some sleeping pills handy. I usually take one on Sundays and it works. In fact my doctor was also puzzled. He said occasional sleeplessness was common. If one cannot sleep for a whole week or many days in a row, it is then something to be seriously dealt with. My situation is fine because it just happens once a week. But my concern is that the problem has been going on for years and it seems it is not going to end.

If I cannot get into sleep next Sunday, perhaps I can try the way Alice suggested.

Thanks everyone.

Ken