anxiety issues

[ciounoi]

Hello again,

Compounding matters with neck pain (see previous post), I am also having some problems with anxiety as I fall asleep. While I don't have anything actually diagnosed (although sometimes I wish I did so they could just drug me up with abandon! ), I am a pretty nervous person and tend to obsess/worry/panic about many things during the day. When I get in bed, I tend to start worrying whether or not I am going to fall asleep, due to the recent neck pain and some cold bipap air issues (recently fixed). This of course keeps me up, which makes me more anxious, which keeps me up even later, which makes me more anxious, etc, etc, etc, until it's 5 AM and I haven't slept. This does not seem to be a tiredness problem. I'm sleepy enough and try to mantain good sleep hygiene (no caffeine, sweets, etc). It's almost like I dose off to the point of ALMOST being asleep, but I can't actually fall asleep... I just wake up again. And the cycle repeats. And yes, I know I'm not sleeping, I check the clock.

I went to the doctor and she gave me some Benadryl (which I haven't used because again, being sleepy is not the problem) and some Atarax (which seem to help simply because they calm me down). The Atarax also makes me hyperventilate. Any ideas/suggestions as to what to do next? Should I ask the doctor for some anti-anxiety meds? Is there a certain "trick" to falling asleep that I'm somehow missing? Suggestions appreciated!

[WillSucceed]

Unlikely that the Atarax is making you hyperventilate. It could well be drying you out so, you might want to turn up your humidifier a little if you take the Atarax before bed.

[Reddwarf]

Anxiety runs in my family. Lucky me. See your Doctor about it. Mine gave me a script for Alprazolam (generic Xanax). It helps a lot. This may sound silly to some, but meditation also helps. I've not been too successful with as I have not been disciplined with the routine required, but the little I have tried seems to help. I highly recommend reading Mental Resilience: The Power of Clarity: How to Develop the Focus of a Warrior and the Peace of a Monk by Kamal Sarma. I found it at my library and then bought it for my Kindle.

Good luck!

[ozij]

Get hold of the book called "Sound Sleep Sound Mind" by Dr. Barry Krakow -- read it, and do what it recommends.

http://sleeptreatment.com/sleep-books/b ... sound-mind

O.