Since the middle of September, I have not been able to fall asleep. In September, I was raped. For a long time when I would try to sleep afterwards, I would see him. I was so frightened, that I would fight with myself to stay awake. Slowly the images faded, but I was having difficulty falling asleep. In December, my dog became extremely sick and I would stay up most nights with her. She passed away three weeks ago. For two weeks every night, I would see her dying when I closed my eyes. I now can control both images, I can dismiss them. But I still cannot fall asleep. I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. I've tried counting as high as I can go, I've tried yoga, repition of text in my head, I've tried imagining I'm in a forest, counting sheep, focusing on "sleep music", I've tried tylenol pm, deep breathing. The closest I've come to sleep is a trance state. I go in and out of consciousness and every bump wakes me up. I need to get into a normal sleep pattern before I go to boot camp. But I think I have forgotten how to fall asleep. I don't want to have medications because I don't want to get addicted. Is there any thing, home recipes, old wives tales, that could help?

The medications you might need aren't addicting, so please don't avoid them for that reason. The meds can calm down your anxieties enough so you can talk with a counselor and make progress in defeating these feelings and be able to sleep naturally. The meds would be only short-term.

Please call the rape hotline and make arrangements to meet with a rape counselor. Or ask your doctor to recommend a good counselor who can deal with the rape as well as your grief.

Hi Josie,
Sounds like you've got some serious post-traumatic stress disorder. Are you feeling otherwise stressed and anxious? Do you feel withdrawn from activities that you used to enjoy? How are you feeling in general, besides tired?
Seriously, this isn't something that can be resolved by taking sleeping pills or by meditating. Although meditation might help you to relax, it sounds as though you're in serious need of help in other ways.
Have you tried seeing a counsellor and talking about what you've been going through? Talking through your experiences and discussing calming techniques with a professional might be very beneficial for you. And a psychologist would have the ability to prescribe medications (not all of which are addictive) to help you to sleep, reduce anxiety and many other things. It's worthwhile to try.
Take care,

Kal

Make an appointment with a physician who specialized in Sleep Disorders. He can give you a sleep test(overnight stay in a facility) with the goal of discovering what is going on with you.

Then, when the results are in, he/she can make suggestions to you.

You have to do everything you can to restore your sleep. Don't go on too long or this insomnia will become very intrenched.

Best wishes,

I'm at peace with my grief and I have dealt with the rape accordingly. I very good at moving on. The only thing left is sleeping.

Thank you, but I don't think I have a stress thing. I talk too much in my head and I can't shut myself up sometimes. I want to try to find a way first before I involve a professional.

Something is still wrong if you're not sleeping. You may not be as at peace as you think you are. A counselor won't shove a pill down your throat right off the bat. Please make an appointment with one. If you need help finding a good one, let me know.

Hi Josie,
Sounds like you've got some serious post-traumatic stress disorder. Are you feeling otherwise stressed and anxious? Do you feel withdrawn from activities that you used to enjoy? How are you feeling in general, besides tired?


I still do the same things I always do. I feel normal, except when I try to sleep. I become anxious when I realize how much time has passed. But I've covered my clock, and its stopped that.

thankyou, but i dont think i have a stress thing. i talk to much in my head and i can't shut myself up sometimes. i want to try to find a way first before i involve a professional.

I didn't say you have to see a counselor for stress. You need to find out how to shut off the headnoise. There are ways to do that. If you refuse to see a counselor, have you tried yoga?

I worked graveyard shift -- had to program my body to change

Went to work at 10 PM and got off at 7 AM -- Tried to stay awake

So when I went to sleep -- I slept very hard-- Rested good

What I would suggest is relaxation -- And deep breathing

Take deep breaths -- hold -- exhale --

Imagine fog or clouds in your mind as you inhale -- Deep breaths

Whisper relax in your mind as you exhale -- blow out hard

Turn off your mind and relax -- Good Luck

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I have tried yoga. I've been practicing for four years. I did shut the headnoise off before, I had been very good at it. But it seems that with what I've been through, I forgot how to.

Plese make an appointment with a counselor. You need a soundingboard, a real-life person who will listen and who will help you come up with ideas you haven't tried. This doesn't commit you to something for the rest of your life, but it might be the springboard you need to get past this last bump.

First no, while you are telling yourself you have moved on, it is effecting your life in this way, and I would bet in one of a few other ways also, that you either don't see or will not admit. You need professional help for the tramma and perhaps for a while some medication, maybe not for sleep exactly but a professoinal will know for sure,

As one that has worked with all sort of people in various needs, I can say that anyone who says they have moved on in just a few months without professional help may have adapted but have not healed, moving on and healing are two difffernt things.

I know how having both those images goes and it is hard. You feel like you are reliving it and/or you feel like "I should have...."
You have to refocus your attention. Think about your hopes and dreams for the future.
It is hard but you need to get your body in a regular routine. You say you tried this and you tried that. Try them ALL for a month.
Try taking a hot relaxing bath, listening to music to sleep, having a routine bedtime, turning off thoughts that keep your mind awake, reassure yourself.

Exercise will help your body sleep. When my brain is on a talking roll, I use a mantra in a language I don't understand. I use prayer beads too. Have you tried sleeping at a different house, in a different bed?

The herbs Skullcap and Valerian can really help you relax. They are not addicting and you wake up (if you got to sleep) with no hangover feeling.

Thanks. I've been taking baths for three nights now and I've been getting to sleep pretty quickly, well way quicker than usual

Ever since I got the stomach flu in the middle of the night, I have been none stop anxious about sleep and have a hard time at night.I also have had panic attacks in my sleep before which makes me dread bedtime.(I used to love it!)

If I am having trouble with sleeping I take melatonin.So far it works every time for me.

This is just awful and being unable to fall asleep can be the precursor to many health problems. I can't know what it is like to have had a traumatic experience like yours. I am curious though as to why you would seek help via a website and - if I have read your posts correctly - unwilling to see a counsellor about it. There are some things in life we really don't have to solve all on our own. None of us have all the answers. Practically, exercising a few hours before bed is great - nothing too strenuous, melatonin 3mg (full strength not homoeopathic [this spelling is correct] two hours before bed helps too). And there are many passive, non-drug ways to fall asleep, hypnosis I think was suggested in one reply and the relaxation technique described above sounded great to me. It's important for you to understand this: one day you will get through this. You may be half way through, a third of the way or almost all the way. If it were me, I'd be crawling over broken glass to get help - pullling in every doctor, herbalist, hypnotist, personal trainer, yoga master, whatever - to get me to sleep! Good luck - maybe you will let us all know how you go.