Racing Thoughts Preventing You From Sleeping?
by Tanisha
(California, USA)
The past couple years have been rough on us all as the economy took a dive our stress levels were on the rise.
I was caught in a vicious cycle of being stressed and exhausted from working two job but then not being able to fall asleep at night because I couldn’t stop thinking of all the things I had to get done or couldn’t forget to do.The first thing I was prescribed by my doctor was Xanax .5mg. I would take 1 at bedtime and it was for short term use.They worked well but are addicting so not a long term solution.My doctor next put me on Ambien.It was great at first until the “Ambien Blackouts” started to happen.This is when you don’t go to sleep right away after taking the pill and you do things you don’t remember doing.Some people have been known to drive cars or leave their houses. Nothing like that happened to me just conversations I don’t remember having.Once I did fall asleep I seemed to have a decent rest. But that was enough for me, I didn’t want something bad to happen.I was afraid, so I stopped taking them. Even though my stress levels are high, I’ve realized that diaphramatic breathing, keeping to a routine, and reading about 30 minutes before I want to fall asleep is the best way for me to relax and go to sleep on my own.The reading takes my mind off of all the things I need to do and it’s also enjoyable.I also keep a notebook next to my bed so that I can write down any of those thought I don’t want to forget.I hope this helps and I wish you all a good nights sleep.
