b022xx

Hi,

This may seem a little heavy for a Friday lunchtime but I would appreciate any input that people feel is relevant.

I have also come to realise that over the years this board can provide some very insightful inputs from people that have no doubt helped a lot of people with whatever they needed help with.

Here goes….since being very young I have suffered with a lot of anxiety surrounding sleeping and going to bed, I know this may seem daft to a lot of people but please bear with me. A lot of this is probably down to my father.

Brief background.

Dad didn’t want children – so in turn resented the son he had.
This manifests into being constantly angry with everything – especially me.
When I couldn’t sleep as a child 4-10 and wanted my mum he used to go crazy breaking things and then storming out of the house.
This made me even more paranoid and anxious about going to bed which has continued to be a fixture in my life (now I’m in my early twenties)
My relationship with him is probably the reason that I have suffered with depression and Obsessive compulsive behavior (OCD) for many years.

For the last 5 months or so I have been suffering a rather persistent bout of depression etc that has started to impact on my sleeping patterns. I get really paranoid as to what happens if I can’t sleep – this then gets me more worked up and in turn awake. My mind then starts to go crazy worrying about everything etc etc…. I then fall asleep have vivid dreams and then wake up feeling like rubbish.

The reason for this post is to see if anybody else has had similar things to deal with i.e. anxiety surrounding sleep, depression, OCD or even a similar father/mother/son/daughter relationship and how have they dealt with things + any other constructive input is welcome.

Thanx, B

StickyMicky

nytol one a night sleeping tablets work a treat and are availible everywhere if you want to knock yourself out at night?

i gave one to my G/F a few nights ago, she is having trouble sleeping as she is stressed with her uni exams which are coming up very soon (she spends most days reviseing in my pad)

i woke up at 7am to hear her doing a mad snore noise so i think they did the trick LOL.

i used to take 2 of them to put myself asleep after niteshifts and they worked 100% for me

cant help with depression

ChefDude

It makes no sense to sledgehammer yourself to sleep without addressing the other more fundamental issues.

Go to your doctor. he'll prescribe immediate help AND give u constructive advice on who to talk to.

you'll feel better.

MJW

Tell this to your GP and he should prescribe either citalopram or fluoxetine for 6 months which should help you sleep and level off the chemical imbalance.
Also counselling might be worth a shot, although I didn't rate it myself.

fitzscoob

Sounds like it would be best to talk to a professional about this, we can all speculate as good as the next person - but someone professional should be able to help you get closure on the issues you had as a child, and help you get back to some normal sleeping pattern.

One thing I will say is its natural to get worked up when your in bed trying to sleep and you cant. Its something I get so I am sure others get this too, the more you worry about it the harder it is to sleep.

Try doing a full day outside in the fresh air, plenty of exercise one day and see how you sleep that night, all you need to do is get into a new pattern.

b022xx

thanks for the prompt replies guy's.

started seeing a therapist about 4 months ago, it has helped me to think about things differently but I still feel like cr@p most of the time so not sure how much its helping.

I'm loathe to take any medication for sleeping as I usually am asleep within in 30 mins or so, the problem is the state that I get myself in beforehand. I sort of worry about how bad things will be if I develop insomnia etc....
Plus I don't like being the only one awake in the house, which gets me worked up when I hear the g/f fall asleep and parents when I was younger.

Nigel H

I can't offer any advice about your Dad, you've clearly got some big stuff to deal with. I find that following of some use

1. Understand what's the root of the problem and deal with it - this may be difficult in your case

2. Write down what your problems are and read them. Think about how to resolve them

3. If you're still awake 10 mins after you woke up, then all you'll do is to keep going over the same things. You need to get it off your mind. I either switch on a radio, read a book, watch the telly. Sometimes I write the stuff down as well (#2 above)

It doesn't work all the time, but it helps

Good luck

b022xx

Quote[I've always been prone to depression, dunno why,i've always had a good life. The last couple of years though i've learnt to not let it take a hold and get over it before it gets too much. I just remind myself about all the good things in my life, friends, things i do, places i go, cars i drive etc and sort of give myself a talking too/slap round the face and don't let myself fall too far into it.

OCD, lol. I'm a ****** for things being tidy and in their places, everything in my house looking perfect. I have a good laugh about it with my mates and just accept that that is me. At the end of the day my house always looks perfect and everythng is where it should be and that makes me happy/calm. Is your OCD very serious, does it effect your every day life? I spend an hour a day or so cleaning, tidying and stuff and that doesn't bother me. If it was any more than that though it would be effecting me life and would be more serious i think.]Qoute

Yeah i'm the same with things having to be in thier place, cars being cleaned 2/3 times a week etc. But it also manifests itself in things like getting through a light at normal speeds before it changes to red - if I do things will go well today etc.

King RA

The 10 ways to a happier life (from making Slough happy)

Take 1/2 hr exercise 3 times a week
Count your blessings......at least 5 times a day
Plant something. Keep it alive - Got a bonsai tree for Christmas
Phone a friend
Have an hour long, uninterrupted converstation with your partner (or closest friend) every week
Have a good laugh every day
Talk to, and smile at, strangers
Watch 1/2 as much television
Give yourself a treat every day
Perform an 'act of kindness' every day

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

You say you're seeing a therapist mate, are we talking a counsellor or psychologist? There is a big difference.

NS04

Ted Maul

what you've been describing is obsessive behaviour, which is significantly different to OCD

davyboy

Oi nutter!

Ted Maul

I'm no doctor so don't know exactly/clinically, but basically if you want to hoover regularly and love having a tidy house you have obsessive behaviour, however if you stay awake all night hoovering the same piece of carpet, for hours, and get into a hot sweat/panic attack at the thought you may have missed a bit, and have to hoover again and again, but you can never convince yourself you've clean it enough, thats OCD.

richiewong

OCD Diagnostic guidelines:

King RA

I always thought you were a bird called Natalie, am I wrong in this conclusion?? Some previous posts of yours did confuse me, ladette springs to mind!!

davyboy

oh dear god, don't give him an OCD over it!

davyboy

are you sure?

King RA

Glad we've cleared things up.

I think I've got OCD, I can't stop hitting these keys infront of me!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!

davyboy

David Lock

"Overcoming Depression" by Paul Gilbert (Robinson) is a self help Cognitive Behavioral Therapy book which is often suggested by medics as a starting point. atb, dl

SiPie

Unfortunately advice like the above is all too common these days

The easyfix with SSRI's

Admittedly go and see your GP but I'd strongly question a precription of anti-depressants when you NEED to get help with the root cause of your depression.

Hopefully your GP will take time to listen and suggest a referral to a good cognitive therapist (this could take up to 6 months on the NHS at present) or perhaps a hypnotherapist/psychoanalyst.

All depends on the counsellor.......some are good and some are diabolical.

As for anti-depressants, I'd suggest St Johns Wort for a while to see if that helps before taking anything else.

Good luck

b022xx

I suppose she would be classed as a counsellor.

What do you mean by a big difference.

The aspects of OCD that affect my life more are things like I can't spend an evening in without at least going for a short walk before bed or needing to be kept busy (i suppose so I don't have time to think about things negatively)

One thing i am starting to realise though is that these types of things do affect a lot more people than you would imagine.

richiewong

That's probably what a GP will prescribe, more then like Fluoxetine(Prozac).
Mainly used for depression and OCD, remember this is the same family as the controversial Paroxetine(Seroxat).