who needs sleep?
"when you're in an insomniac, you're never ever fully awake or asleep: --fight club
It's been like ohhhhhh I dunno 16 years, which clearly clearly clearly falls into the one month thing. It's as if I can't turn my brain OFF or once OFF it is terrified it's gonna miss something and turn the fuck back on. Barb says I'm not supposed to check my blackberry when this happens. I can't say I didn't check it, but I can say I didn't write back. So that's progress.
There are many many others I know, insomnia seems to be a disposition of us artsy fartsy literary types...too freakin anxious to get to sleep, too freakin anxious to stay asleep, and sometimes I'm so anxious I worry I'm never ever going to sleep like I should or used to sleep again. Ever.
It's like twice as many women suffer from insomnia. And I swear to you there have been three significant men in my life (which may be indicative of too many supposedly significant men in my life and perhaps solves the whole "why dont I sleep?" problem right there) who I ended up essentially living with for both a short-ish time and a long-ish time...I suppose a long time if you count the ongoing mental effects of the whole thing...who complained and complained about NOT sleeping, and upon sleeping WITH them, they would fall asleep like freakin babies and me wandering around eating bread with honey, and warm milk and honey and meditating and switching my placement in the bed so my head was NORTH facing listening to relaxing music OOOHHHHH I even had one of those soothing noise makers by the bed that like made the sound of lightening and waves and a heartbeat (FREAKY) and calming music....ANYWAY so I'd um "sleep" with these guys who would POOF fall asleep immediately after, and the first few times I'd think, well if I can make a chronic insomniac sleep I'm either WAAAAAAAY good or WAAAAAAAY bad. Turns out, after spending a couple more nights with them (YEARS, and a couple visits to "Sleep Clinics" and "Sleep Specialists" with THEM for THEM) that in reality my performance or lack thereof was absolutely NOT indicative of their ability or inability to sleep because they slept ALL THE TIME. I would be awake all night WATCHING them freakin SLEEP all night. So although I will thank Carl to death for allowing me to take with my boxes of books and unfortunate outfits when I left, his entire supply of Ambien, I also want to make the point that the only thing more frustrating about NOT sleeping or waking up at 2am and NOT sleeping are people who INSIST they are insomniacs and don't sleep...and upon further investigation...sleep like fuckin babies everytime their head hits a dull surface.
I used to do all the stuff they tell you. Aromatherapy (the little liquid dispenser you rub all over your forehead and crap)...meditation (I like my thoughts, this is rather the problem, I am AFRAID of clearing my head and losing all thought processes so this is really counter-productive isn't it? Why people insist on telling insomniacs, who as far as I'm concerned are the anxious of the anxious to clear their minds of thoughts is beyond me), Herbs (the pillow stuffed with lavender and sage), "make your bed just for sleeping" (Bullshit! But allowed for some of the most creative and illegal spots to do other things generally done in bed...) No caffeine, no nicotine, no sugar hours before bed...EVERYTHING. And honestly, it's 330, I've been up since 130, I have to get up for work in like 4 hours...I'm now going to go to my little black and white kitchen, and I am going to make myself a cup of tea of my choice, because I think, not being able to sleep is bad enough...but if I want a fuckin cup of tea at this point, I'm gonna have one. And suffer tomorrow I will but I will regardless, at the very least I can have my tea, my honey and my Atwood for a couple hours before the bitchiness sets in.
INSOMNIACS UNITE!
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV),[21] a diagnosis of primary insomnia may be assigned if the difficulty persists for at least 1 month; causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of function; and is not associated with other specific medical, psychiatric, or medication-related conditions. The clinical severity of insomnia is determined by the frequency, duration, and effect on daytime functioning.
As specified by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders,[22] which has a more detailed diagnostic scheme for sleep disorders than the DSM-IV, contains a few diagnostic entities which correspond to the DSM-IV diagnosis of primary insomnia. These include:
Adjustment sleep disorder. This common disorder is caused by acute emotional stressors such as a job loss or hospitalization. The result is an insomnia, typically a difficulty in falling asleep, mediated through tension and anxiety. Symptoms usually remit shortly following the abatement of the stressors. Treatment is warranted if daytime sleepiness and fatigue interfere with functioning or if the disorder lasts for more than a few weeks. Treatment modalities are similar to those outlined for psychophysiological insomnia (see below).
Psychophysiological insomnia. Insomnia characterized by somatized tension and learned sleep-preventing associations that result in difficulty sleeping and decreased functioning during wakefulness. After a few nights of insomnia, the bedroom becomes psychologically associated with not sleeping. Therefore, as bedtime approaches, anxiety increases and reaches maximum intensity after retiring. Patients develop anticipatory anxiety over the prospect of another night of sleeplessness followed by another day of fatigue. Sufferers often spend hours in bed awake focused on and brooding over their sleeplessness, which in turn aggravates their insomnia even further. Persistent psychophysiological insomnia often complicates other insomnia disorders.Treatment of this condition is usually comprised of judicious use of hypnotic agents combined with behavioral modalities, described more fully below
Insomnia associated with medical and psychiatric conditions. Causes of insomnia can include chronic pain, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), congestive heart failure, upper airway allergies, and asthma.[1,3,23] Medications or substances commonly associated with insomnia include stimulants, steroids, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, stimulating antidepressants (eg, fluoxetine, bupropion), theophylline, lamotrigine, felbamate , beta-blockers, and beta-agonists.[1,3,24] Withdrawal from sedative agents may also provoke insomnia.[1]
In certain settings, insomnia is categorized based on symptomatic presentation. One such method uses the phase of the sleep cycle that is most profoundly affected (ie, sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance types). Such a distinction may be clinically useful in making treatment determinations (ie, whether to target the beginning or end of night with a hypnotic agent.[22] Insomnia can also be symptomatically categorized on the basis of duration, such as the distinction between acute and chronic insomnia, although there is some variability in the terminology used. For example, acute insomnia may be defined as insomnia that lasts for 1 month or less, subacute insomnia may be defined as insomnia that persists for longer than 1 month but less than 6 months, and chronic insomnia may be defined as insomnia that has a duration of 6 months or longer.[22] On the other hand, insomnia may not affect patients on a nightly basis but can have an intermittent pattern, affecting patients on certain nights and not others. In this case, acute insomnia may be defined as periods of sleep difficulty lasting between 1 night and a few weeks; chronic insomnia may be defined as sleep difficulty at least 3 nights per week for 1 month or more.[3]
Regardless of the definition used, many regard longer-term insomnias as being related to more serious, underlying, conditions such as depressive disorders or medical conditions. Longer-term insomnias that occur on a nightly basis may deserve, therefore, greater medical diagnostic scrutiny. On the other hand, short-term insomnias, especially those that are intermittent and occur only on certain nights and not others, may be more likely to be responsive to behavioral modifications and judicious use of hypnotic agents.
"when you're in an insomniac, you're never ever fully awake or asleep: --fight club
It's been like ohhhhhh I dunno 16 years, which clearly clearly clearly falls into the one month thing. It's as if I can't turn my brain OFF or once OFF it is terrified it's gonna miss something and turn the fuck back on. Barb says I'm not supposed to check my blackberry when this happens. I can't say I didn't check it, but I can say I didn't write back. So that's progress.
There are many many others I know, insomnia seems to be a disposition of us artsy fartsy literary types...too freakin anxious to get to sleep, too freakin anxious to stay asleep, and sometimes I'm so anxious I worry I'm never ever going to sleep like I should or used to sleep again. Ever.
It's like twice as many women suffer from insomnia. And I swear to you there have been three significant men in my life (which may be indicative of too many supposedly significant men in my life and perhaps solves the whole "why dont I sleep?" problem right there) who I ended up essentially living with for both a short-ish time and a long-ish time...I suppose a long time if you count the ongoing mental effects of the whole thing...who complained and complained about NOT sleeping, and upon sleeping WITH them, they would fall asleep like freakin babies and me wandering around eating bread with honey, and warm milk and honey and meditating and switching my placement in the bed so my head was NORTH facing listening to relaxing music OOOHHHHH I even had one of those soothing noise makers by the bed that like made the sound of lightening and waves and a heartbeat (FREAKY) and calming music....ANYWAY so I'd um "sleep" with these guys who would POOF fall asleep immediately after, and the first few times I'd think, well if I can make a chronic insomniac sleep I'm either WAAAAAAAY good or WAAAAAAAY bad. Turns out, after spending a couple more nights with them (YEARS, and a couple visits to "Sleep Clinics" and "Sleep Specialists" with THEM for THEM) that in reality my performance or lack thereof was absolutely NOT indicative of their ability or inability to sleep because they slept ALL THE TIME. I would be awake all night WATCHING them freakin SLEEP all night. So although I will thank Carl to death for allowing me to take with my boxes of books and unfortunate outfits when I left, his entire supply of Ambien, I also want to make the point that the only thing more frustrating about NOT sleeping or waking up at 2am and NOT sleeping are people who INSIST they are insomniacs and don't sleep...and upon further investigation...sleep like fuckin babies everytime their head hits a dull surface.
I used to do all the stuff they tell you. Aromatherapy (the little liquid dispenser you rub all over your forehead and crap)...meditation (I like my thoughts, this is rather the problem, I am AFRAID of clearing my head and losing all thought processes so this is really counter-productive isn't it? Why people insist on telling insomniacs, who as far as I'm concerned are the anxious of the anxious to clear their minds of thoughts is beyond me), Herbs (the pillow stuffed with lavender and sage), "make your bed just for sleeping" (Bullshit! But allowed for some of the most creative and illegal spots to do other things generally done in bed...) No caffeine, no nicotine, no sugar hours before bed...EVERYTHING. And honestly, it's 330, I've been up since 130, I have to get up for work in like 4 hours...I'm now going to go to my little black and white kitchen, and I am going to make myself a cup of tea of my choice, because I think, not being able to sleep is bad enough...but if I want a fuckin cup of tea at this point, I'm gonna have one. And suffer tomorrow I will but I will regardless, at the very least I can have my tea, my honey and my Atwood for a couple hours before the bitchiness sets in.
INSOMNIACS UNITE!
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV),[21] a diagnosis of primary insomnia may be assigned if the difficulty persists for at least 1 month; causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of function; and is not associated with other specific medical, psychiatric, or medication-related conditions. The clinical severity of insomnia is determined by the frequency, duration, and effect on daytime functioning.
As specified by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders,[22] which has a more detailed diagnostic scheme for sleep disorders than the DSM-IV, contains a few diagnostic entities which correspond to the DSM-IV diagnosis of primary insomnia. These include:
Adjustment sleep disorder. This common disorder is caused by acute emotional stressors such as a job loss or hospitalization. The result is an insomnia, typically a difficulty in falling asleep, mediated through tension and anxiety. Symptoms usually remit shortly following the abatement of the stressors. Treatment is warranted if daytime sleepiness and fatigue interfere with functioning or if the disorder lasts for more than a few weeks. Treatment modalities are similar to those outlined for psychophysiological insomnia (see below).
Psychophysiological insomnia. Insomnia characterized by somatized tension and learned sleep-preventing associations that result in difficulty sleeping and decreased functioning during wakefulness. After a few nights of insomnia, the bedroom becomes psychologically associated with not sleeping. Therefore, as bedtime approaches, anxiety increases and reaches maximum intensity after retiring. Patients develop anticipatory anxiety over the prospect of another night of sleeplessness followed by another day of fatigue. Sufferers often spend hours in bed awake focused on and brooding over their sleeplessness, which in turn aggravates their insomnia even further. Persistent psychophysiological insomnia often complicates other insomnia disorders.Treatment of this condition is usually comprised of judicious use of hypnotic agents combined with behavioral modalities, described more fully below
Insomnia associated with medical and psychiatric conditions. Causes of insomnia can include chronic pain, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), congestive heart failure, upper airway allergies, and asthma.[1,3,23] Medications or substances commonly associated with insomnia include stimulants, steroids, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, stimulating antidepressants (eg, fluoxetine, bupropion), theophylline, lamotrigine, felbamate , beta-blockers, and beta-agonists.[1,3,24] Withdrawal from sedative agents may also provoke insomnia.[1]
In certain settings, insomnia is categorized based on symptomatic presentation. One such method uses the phase of the sleep cycle that is most profoundly affected (ie, sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance types). Such a distinction may be clinically useful in making treatment determinations (ie, whether to target the beginning or end of night with a hypnotic agent.[22] Insomnia can also be symptomatically categorized on the basis of duration, such as the distinction between acute and chronic insomnia, although there is some variability in the terminology used. For example, acute insomnia may be defined as insomnia that lasts for 1 month or less, subacute insomnia may be defined as insomnia that persists for longer than 1 month but less than 6 months, and chronic insomnia may be defined as insomnia that has a duration of 6 months or longer.[22] On the other hand, insomnia may not affect patients on a nightly basis but can have an intermittent pattern, affecting patients on certain nights and not others. In this case, acute insomnia may be defined as periods of sleep difficulty lasting between 1 night and a few weeks; chronic insomnia may be defined as sleep difficulty at least 3 nights per week for 1 month or more.[3]
Regardless of the definition used, many regard longer-term insomnias as being related to more serious, underlying, conditions such as depressive disorders or medical conditions. Longer-term insomnias that occur on a nightly basis may deserve, therefore, greater medical diagnostic scrutiny. On the other hand, short-term insomnias, especially those that are intermittent and occur only on certain nights and not others, may be more likely to be responsive to behavioral modifications and judicious use of hypnotic agents.
posted by Faint faint faintedink at 3:02 a.m.
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