Last Updated on April 1, 2021
Symptoms by a sufferer:
A regular insomnia or something else…HELP!?
I am 22 years old. In the last couple of days, for no reason at all, I’ve began having trouble falling asleep. Usually I would fall asleep in like 5 minutes, but these last two days it took me 30 minutes, and last night 2 HOURS to fall asleep. I sleep 6-8 hours regularly, and I did get 6-7 hours (last night 6) of my sleep, but why does it take me so long to fall asleep?I am active during the day, I don’t smoke, don’t drink coffee, I’m not under any stress or anything. I am tired when I go to bed, and yet I’m tossing and turning in order to fall asleep. Really strange.
Did you have anything like that? What can I do to make myself fall asleep easier? I can never sleep during the day either, so I don’t even bother with that,
A friend told me I may have this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_familial_insomnia
Now seriously, WHAT KIND OF HORRIBLE DISEASE this is? It says it is genetic, but as far as I know, nobody in my family had it, but it also says that there is a sporadic version that can hit anyone……
My 2 cents on this:
As with the sufferer above, I’ve gone through exactly the same problem when I was about her age. That time, the pressure of studying for exams and something of a personal nature had caused a lot of tension. As such, my mind was not able to knock off and fall asleep. It’s as if the sleep button had been turned off. I feel exhausted throughout the day but when I lie on my bed at night, I suddenly felt wide awake.
It was as if I did not know how to fall asleep.
The problem subsided after my university days when I no longer need to push myself and worry about failing exams (and the fear of not able to graduate).
Medical definitions come about when there are new discovered strange symptoms that no one can put their finger on. So a new medical term is used to clarify it.
However in reality, the explanation could be very simple. Sometimes we are really stressed up inside, but we genuinely don’t realize it. We may try to push the symptoms inside, learn not to bother or ignore the fear or stress. But the unconscious mind does not forget and it can manifest into such symptoms.
We need to zero down on the fear, worry and unhappiness that we are not able to let go off. When we cannot let go, we cannot sleep. Precisely what is bothering us? Is there a way we can do something about it?
Would talking to a trusted friend or someone who had gone through the experience help? Or speaking to a counselor? For example, if it is due to exam pressure, sometimes, by having our parents assure us that ‘it’s okay, I will still love and accept you for who you are even though you fail the exams” is comforting enough to take our worries away.
When we have fear, the simple act of exploring: What’s the worst that could happen, and if it happens, what I would do about them?
Once we can answer these questions, we would then be able to ‘rest in peace’.
Whatever it is, consistently not able to sleep well is no good for our health as it affects our body functions- as we are not well rested. And yet we need to push ourselves to continue to work or study. In the long turn, something would surely break down. So, it’s best we find a way to address it, for our own sake.
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