[Lolla_]

Hi everyone,

Since I started having dpdr ( it all started in early 2017) my sleeping has not been the greatest. At the beginning, when I had panic attacks I was scarred to fall asleep. I felt like I was falling in a hole, and I had those weird thoughts about existence and death. I would ask myself what if I close my eyes and then I wont wake up? After a while, I took Prozac which helped me to calm my weird thoughts and I was able to fall asleep without being scarred. One year later, I stopped Prozac (I went cold turkey and it was on 20 mg), which was not the best idea. After 2 weeks or so I had the biggest depression, I felt like I had destroyed my life. I would cry and think that I cant get out of this dpdr. Anyway, after a few months -December 2018 I started to have insomnia which made my dp/dr worse. I usually sleep 6h on the weekdays and on the weekend i sleep longer. I find that when I oversleep it makes my dpdr worse.
Does anybody else experience the same? How is your sleeping with dpdr? How do you guys deal with this?

 

[Speedy69]

If you oversleep it will make dp worse and if you are sleep deprived it makes it worse. It’s best to have a routine sleep schedule if at all possible meaning go to bed at a certain time then. Wake up at a certain time. What everyone should do is get off this forum and any other forum. Stop feeding the thoughts and dp in general. If you want to ruminate over existential thoughts etc then do it when the mind is better. When those thoughts won’t hold the same power. Journal down your thoughts. Write to yourself on how your life was before dp and what it is now. These thoughts has so much more power right now because you have dp/dr and you are fueling it with anxiety from stress. You will stay depressed if you do not take the necessary steps of getting better. Of course your obsessed with existential thoughts dealing with existence because you FEEL unreal. It’s no different than if you felt hot all the time. Like you was on fire. Your mind would come up with thoughts about being on fire and they would be believable because you feel like your on fire. Your mind would fixate on it cause your anxiety. Idk how you got dp but just remember before dp you was never bothered by any of this. That’s because your life had meaning. You was happy. Enjoying it. But when dp hits it takes that all away from you making you feel disconnected from your self and surroundings. Any thought dealing with existence including death hits you hard. Harder than ever. Once dp is gone you will see. You need to get off of here. Stop feeding it with researching etc. stop talking about it. Start eating healthier, start working out mostly cardio, be sure to drink plenty of water. After your workouts take you some nice bubble baths with soft music like coffe house music, read a book while you do so. Working out followed by a bubble bath in the evening will set u up for a great night sleep. There are many differ t bubble bath or salts that can help you relax. If you want you can drink “sleepy time tea” it has a calming effect. You can take “calm” magnesium before bed it’s good for anxiety and helps you sleep and be sure to sleep enough but don’t over do it. You need things to do each day. Don’t just lock up in the room. Hang out with friends family. Distraction is key. Eventually over time you will get out of this. It is a very slow process but you must work at it. Stop feeding into to your thoughts. Once dp is gone and anxiety is back to normal the thoughts will not have the same effect on you.

 

[Lolla_]

With the sleep I have trouble even If i go sleep at the same time. I used to take sleeping pills and I got addicted. I think this also fucked up my cycle since i used to take them for 3-4 months and the doctor never told me anything about the side effects.
I put them down and I try to take herbals, like Valerian and drink chamomile tea. I also take magnesium. Hopefully this insomnia will go away so I can concentrate on getting rid of this dpdr for once. I believe sleep helps alot in the recovery.
I got dpdr cuz of severe anxiety, I diagnosed myself, I was under extreme stress for 6 months and had insomnia. I used to sleep around 4-5 h and go to work like a zombie,drink 2 espressos everyday and eat lots of sugar to keep me awake. I would overthink , my mind would race and wouldnt stop thinking, lots of negative thinking. I guess my mind couldnt take it anymore so then the panic attacks started and everything went down the hill.
I know its not easy to go back but with small steps I will get there
sometimes i even forget about the dp and i feel normal.. the moment i think about it..then it starts. But its not that bad, I think its getting better ????

 

[Speedy69]

I highly suggest to make time to exercise. Run for for 30 mins to an hr. Then relax in a bubble bath then go lay down with your herbal tea. You will be able to sleep trust me. It takes time but you will get better. I recovered twice. Main thing to remember it is your anxiety and yes not sleeping...being sleep deprived adds sooo much stress to the body and eventually anxiety sets in and for me dp/dr. The two times I fell into it sleep deprivation was a huge factor. So be sure to get enough sleep but don’t over sleep.