Really sorry to hear that. I’ve started having sleep issues ever since I’ve been off antidepressants. It was an unexpected and unpleasant side effect. Has taken me months to figure out what’s working best for me to restore a healthy sleep schedule. I still wake up every couple of hours, but it’s gradually become easier to fall asleep at once, and overall I get 5-6 hours of sleep most nights, but my REM sleep is still poor. A combination that’s worked for me includes swimming twice a week, mental hygiene, as in no international news and political shows for me, and no internet scrolling before bed. And keto diet (not hard core: I allow myself honey, bananas and chocolate).
I would recommend finding a psychiatrist that breaks your distrust and working with them on your PTSD. It could change your life, let alone your sleep problem… You can also try some natural options, like Chamomile, Valerian Root and Magnesium. They’ll improve it a little, however, you should address your trauma first.
All PTSD cases are different. It’s hard to advise you anything without any knowledge of what you’ve already tried, but I’d think antianxiety medication should somewhat help with nightmares and morning panic attacks. I think a regular healthcare professional can prescribe those. I also suggest listening to soft soothing music 30 minutes before bed and try sleeping with earbuds in all night listening to the so-called “white noise”. You’ll find mobile apps for that. I’ve tried it during a particularly stressful period, and it seems to help calm down my mind and reduces unexplainable night awakening.
@Margarita +1 to sleep music before bed. I’ve found myself falling asleep right on the coach while listening to Jason Stephenson’s Deep Relaxing Sleep music (it’s three hours long). Lots of audio tracks online, the trick is to choose the voice that you like most.
You are not fighting it alone! We’re all having some issues, so you’re not alone in your feelings. I discovered that fresh air and a nightly high dose of probiotics improve my sleep. I’m very sensitive to cold and used to sleep with my windows closed at all times except the hottest summer months, but now that I discovered that I need shorter night rest when I sleep with my window open, I keep it that way. I had to buy thermal blankets and get used to waking up in a rather cold room. Of course, it’ll work only if your windows don’t face a busy street.
What are some comfort things that give you a safe feeling? May be anything, from comfort night food to a particular thing you can take to bed with you. How do you feel about animals? Maybe you could start learning to fall asleep with a pet curling nearby, as an added comfort.
I feel you completely, a lot of the time I feel like I’m alone in this too. My wife won’t even believe I have bipolar. For better sleep, I have a standard routine: warm shower and reading non-fiction in bed. If I have to work the next day, I take sleep pills (not melatonin, mind you, it helped only for a short period of time). On weekends I may even drink a shot of vodka after a good supper, but only when I’m desperate or overly irritated.
I know it's frustrating not to be able to sleep, and I’m sorry about your stepfather, it’s awful! I don’t know about your work schedule and whether you can afford it, so I’ll just share my experience. I found all advice about healthy sleep schedules etc not working for me. I’m working from home now, so I allowed myself to stay up as long as my body wants, even if it’s 4 am. For some reason, my mind feels safer around 4 and finds sleep easier. So I shifted my working schedule to later hours which isn’t ideal but who cares, it works for my sleep.
@wobblesnest That’s a very nice suggestion, thank you. I like pets, we had a kitten when I was small. He disappeared later, my stepfather probably made him run away. He was cruel and sadistic. I’m hesitating to take a pet as long as I can’t take proper care of myself. It’s a responsibility that I may be not ready for. I like the smell of coffee, it’s very comforting and homely.
@irrelevant I understand about your hesitations about having a pet.. I still sleep with my childhood plush toy sometimes and am writing it with no shame! :p It’s great that you love scents! Maybe try late evening aromatherapy. I’m very fond of citrus smells, they make me happy, so I bought that. Drinking coffee before bed is supposed to be a bad idea, but maybe smelling it will put your mind off of sad ruminations?
Nightmare is a common sleep disturbances associated with ptsd due to nature of traumatic event. It is very important you go to a certified psychologist for this as therapy would help to address the trauma.
Along with therapy you can try these :
Imagery rehearsal therapy where you have to rewrite the script of your dream with less threatening version during waking hours. By rewriting you keep training your mind to think of it with less traumatic situation. it is just changing the storyline of repetitive nightmare in a way that increases the person's sense of mastery and ocntrol over it and then rehearsing the new script in imagination before going to sleep. It is just creating a pleasant path for the dream to follow. This a psychologist can help you with.
you need to check if there is any triggering points which leads to memory creeping in.
It could also be that you are afraid to go sleep because you worry about you will have nightmares. This will lead to just spending hours lying down on the bed with racing thoughts. If you have been in the bed for more than 20 min and you have these thoughts running then get up from the bed. Go to another room and start meditating. This will calm you down.
You should exercise everyday at least for 40 min.
You should spend some time outdoor in the sunshine everyday to regulate your waking and sleeping cycles.
You can try this technique of breathing. Rest a palm on belly and on on your heart. Focus on beating of your heart and rhythm of your breath. Breathe in through nose hold it for 4 seconds and then breathe out through mouth.