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Can't Switch My Mind Off - Insomnia & Prescription Sleeping Pills

by Jo
(New Zealand)

I started getting insomnia when I was 20. If there was something on my mind i just could not switch off. Then it became mind over matter and the next night no matter that I was beyond tired I had put so much pressure on myself to fall asleep, that I couldn't. I would be getting up and going to work on no sleep.


When my mother was sick I got bad anxiety because i was bottling up all emotion. I couldnt talk about it even though i needed to. This led to no sleep as I was thinking about it all and my heart was racing. When she died suddenly it all got worse and in a way I feel like I was punishing myself by not sleeping.

End result, prescription sleeping pills which were my saviour. I am finally back in a better sleep state but every now and then if there's something worrying me I still find it hard to switch off my mind and fall asleep.

Comments for Can't Switch My Mind Off - Insomnia & Prescription Sleeping Pills

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Apr 27, 2016
 Three months of talking in my sleep NEW
by: Anonymous

Spouse sleep apnea for 17 years. Past three years
I have had neck surgery and shoulder surgery.Pillows have become impossible to locate a comfortable position for continual sound sleep.
Mind racing while trying to get comfortable on pillows. Lethargic each day, no appetite and 20 pound weight loss in 4 months.
I take a mood stabilizer which works great. I no longer take Zoloft for depression.
IS THIS WITHDRAWAL FROM ZOLOFT? ALEVE P.M. WORKS BUT I WONDER IF IT IS SAFE TO TAKE IT FOR AWHILE TO SEE IF MY SLEEP IMPROVES.

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Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

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