Sleep Disturbances
Question:
yep we have big problems sleeping at night. nightmares, panic attacks etc. we sleep a lot in the daytime when it’s possible. for us, having anyone in the room (even the S.O.) makes it ten times worse. so we rely on sleeping pills too. don’t know *what* it’s related to – only that we’ve always been terrified of the dark and most of the full-fledged panic attacks we’ve had have been when the sun is starting to slip below the horizon. sorry we can’t be of more help… take care, –gillian+ Your e-mail reply to this message WILL be *automatically* ANONYMIZED.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I wanted to know if others have sleep problems. I have had sleeping problems since I was a small child. I have terrible insomnia, feel very agitated when I try to sleep at all. When I do remember sleeping I have very bad nightmares (often). I was sleeping a bit more comfortably the last few years,since my SO and I were together, but now he’s gone, and the problems seem worse and worse. My SO used to say that some of my little ones were afraid to sleep, they said they were afraid something would happen to them. He promised to protect them, and eventually that started to help a lot. One of the strangest things is I can sleep fine during the daytime, when I was in High School I often had to sleep when I came home from school, because I was so exhausted from our nighttime vigils. One of my questions is: Does anyone think this might be linked to nighttime traumas? I have not discussed it much with my therp yet. Does anyone have suggestions? I am tired of watching the sun rise every morning, or taking sleeping pills… Thank you Kitti
Dear Kitty; Definitely stay off the sleeping pills if you have long-term insomnia. They really mess up the normal rhythms of sleep and all (or almost all) are addictive. If you think meds are a good idea, I’d say check it out with a sleep specialist. Enough medical advice. I really relate to your words and have awesome insomnia, too. Even in my residency, when I’d come home post-call after 36 hours of no sleep, I’d stay up till or after midnight, reading. And I can easily stay up till 3 AM or dawn at the drop of a hat. I’ve just kind of accepted it and, thankfully, my SO has too. I sleep best with the lights on, the TV going, and all the blinds shut so no one can look in and see me. Even with these steps, I sleep fitfully. And if I run myself ragged (which I tend to do perpetually), I can at least sleep for a few hours. For unexplained reasons, I go through weeks where I sleep well. I assume this reflects good work internally, so that my parts have periods of peace. Be safe, Eudora * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Tears can make a river to take you somewhere new." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Response:
Hi everyone, Kitti talked about sleep disturbances. I can really relate. I have very little sleep now if any at all. At best I can get an hour a night. I know my little ones are afraid of the night and the dark and sleep. Bad stuff comes at night. I have heard them cry in the night just to keep me awake. I have never found anything like a SO to help me sleep. My husband was not even any help in this unfortuantely. It was not from lack of his being there, it was just not a comfort for some reason. Now we never sleep together because I am awake most of the night and disturbed a great deal at night so I started hiding from him at night and eventually ended up in seperate rooms in seperate beds on sepeprate floors of the house. So the partner to comfort me at night ahs become a faint memory. Actually, things have gotten so bad at night that I don’t want him to see me that way. So it is better that we are apart at night. i think it makes a great deal of sense that we ahve sleep problems due to the bad things that happened to us at night in our past. I am even morea fraid of the day terrors I have because there is no connection to bad things there to make sense out of them. Any suggestions for dealing with day or night terrors. I am new at this and dealing with it completely alone. My husband and family have no idea of my situation or its severity. I have enough extras here to keep them from knowing so far. I am not sure I will be able to keep that up forever. I can’t imagine the reaction at that time. Yuck!!! Thanks for listening. I really appreciate all the responses to my first posting. As scared as I am, I know you are all good people and that this could be a place I can feel safe one day. Thank you again. You all have my thoughts with you. Take care and be happy and healthy!!! Chi This was really a strange note to write as it is the first time I have ever spoken of anyone but myself. What I mean is that I mention the little ones and others in black and white so they are right here in front of me. It is a horrible thing for me, I have tried to pretend to myself I could make them go away if I only denied them. Kind of like ignore the people who pick on you and they will eventually go away. Would that it was that easy.
Response:
Hi, I wanted to know if others have sleep problems. I have had sleeping problems since I was a small child. I have terrible insomnia, feel very agitated when I try to sleep at all. When I do remember sleeping I have very bad nightmares (often). I was sleeping a bit more comfortably the last few years,since my SO and I were together, but now he’s gone, and the problems seem worse and worse. My SO used to say that some of my little ones were afraid to sleep, they said they were afraid something would happen to them. He promised to protect them, and eventually that started to help a lot. One of the strangest things is I can sleep fine during the daytime, when I was in High School I often had to sleep when I came home from school, because I was so exhausted from our nighttime vigils. One of my questions is: Does anyone think this might be linked to nighttime traumas? I have not discussed it much with my therp yet. Does anyone have suggestions? I am tired of watching the sun rise every morning, or taking sleeping pills… Thank you Kitti
Response:
Kittie, We have LOTS of problems sleeping. There are weeks where we get very little sleep or only sleep when we can’t go on any more. Other weeks we sleep, but not what is conisdered ‘normal.’ It takes the body at least an hour to get to sleep. We listen to nature sound tapes and do meditation exercises and these help. Our SO is overseas for the next six months so we know what you mean when you say it is worse now that he is gone. We used to sleep an average of 6 to 7 hours a night for the most part, because we felt safe. Now we are very lucky if we get 6 hours, usually it’s 4 or 5 and lots of times we wake up periodically during the night. The funny thing is we still function really well even though we are tired lots of times. During times when memories are coming up it is significantly worse. There are also certain times of the year where it is bad. During these times it doesn’t matter if our SO is there or not. From talking to others with DID you might even want to ask who DOESN’T have problems sleeping. It is also common in survivors of any abuse. Rose & Company . . . and some day good WILL prevail over evil.
