How do you sleep better? Even though I was 21 and the abuse was years ago I still have trouble sleeping.
I sleep with a stuffed animal, with a light on, and with the door locked but I still don't sleep restfully. I take Ambien which still doesn't really help.
"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place." - Anon
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. " - FDR
I sleep with the teddy bear I've had since I was little. Door closed, but curtains open so there's enough light to see the room. My house creaks a lot 'cos it's old, so I put the radio on to play all night, to drown out the background noise! I've been sleeping very badly recently - worse than ever, so I've found it just helps to have everything completely under control. Play a CD or iPOD or something so that you know exactly what song is on next, even keeping a bottle of water by my bed, my phone in the right place... just stuff so that everything feels totally under control xxxxxbobbib
i have trouble sleeping, but then i also find it incredibly difficult to identify to the label "abuse survivor." i dunno. i think i have trouble sleeping mostly because my brain never stops thinking of ****.
the only reason i sleep is because all my meds knock me out, when i dont take them im screwed and when i didnt used to be on them, i could barely sleep.
i dont use teddies or anything like that, i dont think that would help me.
i normally just take my meds, get into bed and listen to a few tracks on my ipod until im asleep
i used to have a lot of trouble with sleeping from memories etc and noises in the house.
i had to have the door open, the passage light on plus a teddy and often my ipod or music on. i also couldnt get up once i was in bed even if i was desperate for the toilet as it was too scared and sometimes i lay all night scared stiff.
i worked through it in therapy though and now i can sleep fine whether the light is on or off or the door is closed or open and i can get up whenever i want.
the thing we did in therapy is challenge my fears. for example i had to get up during the night and just walk to my door and then back again. did anything happen to me? No. I progressed more and more until eventually i could get up without worrying so much. i also had to try and let the logical side of me in sometimes because its easy to allow your fears to take over at night. often if i heard a noise i immediately presumed it was someone breaking in. so i had a list of all the things in the house that made noises under my pillow. the heating, the wind, floors settling, mam and dad stirring, people walking past outside, cats in the garden etc etc. being able to read something like that when you cant think of anything but burglers is a great help.
finally getting some sort of regular and healthy routine is good too, stick to a regular bedtime, read or watch only nice things, no horrors or crime programs, no food too late, a warm drink before bed, a snuggly duvet, a teddy were all things that helped me.
For racing thoughts (i also got this a lot which would keep me awake till 2-3am when i'd been in bed since 11pm) i count. 1...2...3....4... theres something monotonous enough about that to slowly stop the thoughts. it doesnt directly send me to sleep but it means i can slow my brain down enough so it can at least relax enough to try. it doesnt always work but its worth a try
I sleep with the light on. I was working on reducing the level of light slowly (I have a dimmer switch) but lately things haven't been so great so my room has got lighter.
Something else which works for me but which sounds completely daft is that if I'm having trouble sleeping because of flashbacks I put underwear on under my pyjamas and sometimes even more pyjamas on top of that, it's sort of like I feel protected from the sensations I get with more clothes on.
Something else which works for me but which sounds completely daft is that if I'm having trouble sleeping because of flashbacks I put underwear on under my pyjamas and sometimes even more pyjamas on top of that, it's sort of like I feel protected from the sensations I get with more clothes on.
I hadn't thought about that; I sleep fully clothed (socks, underwear, t-shirt, trousers) although not in clothes I wear out during the day. It makes me feel more secure too.
For those doubts that swirl all around us
For those lives that tear at the seams
We know… we’re not what we’ve seen
For this dance we’ll move with each other
There ain’t no other step than one foot
Right in front of the other
I sleep with a pillow by my wall a teddybear and my baby blanket, I used to not be able to sleep without music on but I've gotten to the point where I can almost sleep soundly without it (my xbox that has all my music stored on it is retarded) I have to either sleep with my teddy bear ofr with my g/f next to me so that I'm laying against her back and I can't sleep without my baby blanket.
“Because everything that goes around comes around. Maybe it's luck or maybe it's fate, but either way, it comes back around."
Rest in Love Sar-sis. I'll see you the next time around hopefully <3 12/11/92-05/18/16
AJs mommy ❤️ 11/26/17
Married to my best friend and Soulmate 3/5/18 ❤️💍
Hope I'm not posting too late, I've been avoiding here lately while I was EMDRing my way through some pretty rough memories.
I have a total of 7 blankets on my bed at all times so I can snuggle into them and feel really warm and cozy. I bought a "king size" pillow and use my imagination to "think" my best friend into bed with me (he knows about this and actually thinks it's cute), tricking my mind that someone good and protective is here rather than someone hurtful (kinda like a good flashback?). I also walk around my room before bed and check any place someone could hide in to reassure me that no one bad is there. Oh, and I sleep with my phone in hand on bad nights so I can call/text without having to try to find it first.
Personally for me, the darker my room is the better because at least in the dark if I see nothing, nothing is there. Also the things I do before I go to bed really help. Like when I come in I have to close my curtains then get ready for bed in what ever I'm wearing then I close my wardrobe door switch the light and climb into bed,. usually feeling my way through things.
But even then it takes a while to get to sleep, and I always have music. Something that I do find helps now more than it used to is having some one in the bed holding me, Like my best friend will hold me untill I've fallen asleep because otherwise I won't if some one's in the bed. But I prefer it when it's my Girlfriend in the bed with me because I can fall asleep a little easier knowing I am most definatly safe with her and she also lets me stick to some kind of routine before I go to bed which is the main thing.
I have a table next to my bed to put things on, and even then it has to be in some kind of order, Books to one sid, music towards the back, phone(s) directly next to the bed so i can pick it up and look at the time or call or text if I'm having a bad night. But the drink does help, i find if i have some squash helps because it's cool but has a flavour to it so its not so, i unno, mouth shocking in a way, if I can use that.
But yeah, that's what I do to try and help me sleep better and it usually works okay, but it does take a while to kick in, just not as long as if i didn't do these things at all.
I've just realized I do that with a pillow. Hold it tight to me as though it's another person. I'm not sure if that person exists, or if it's just my 'idea; trusted person, but it helps me sleep a little better.
I agree with most of this stuff. Though saying this I don't sleep much at all. But when it comes down to it Ranger Fairy is very right. it is all about feeling safe however you do that. If it's cuddling up to your pillow or teddy or watching something that relaxes you on the TV or leaving the light on (all things I do) but it's hard to give advice because it's different for everyone. X
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself, And covered with a perfect shell, Such a charming beautiful exterior. Laced with brilliant smiles and shining eyes and perfect posture but you're barely scraping by...
I wrap my blanket around me and then wrap my duvet around me and sleep facing the wall side and plug in my ipod to calm me and make me feel not so alone and when my eyes are sleepy I turn my ipod off and put it under my pillow, and try and go to sleep but recently it hasn't worked so well cos my mind just goes 100 mph at night thinking bad things. I also have my phone under my pillow, helps me feel protected and have my teddies and suck my thumb sometimes. And if things are really bad then I sleep in my day clothes like hoody and trackies, rather than pjs as it makes me feel safer somehow.
Amy x
'Cause I'll always remember you the same.
Oh eyes like wild flowers within demons of change ♥
