I’ve dealt with short periods of insomnia since I was a teen and I’ve never really figured out how to prevent it. It often follows periods of stress but not always and each time I figure out a trigger or a way to ease it a new dynamic crops up and I’m back to square one.
The past few times I’ve had issues with insomnia have been different. My problem has always been in falling asleep not staying asleep. In fact I’m such a sound sleeper that when my oldest was born I worried her cries wouldn’t wake me.
The past few times I’ve had sleep issues it has included waking up in the middle of the night which has never happened before. It doesn’t seem to have an impact on how long a bout lasts, which is about a week, but I get hit by it much harder and much faster.
Last night under my normal pattern of insomnia I still would have gotten an OK sleep, well comparatively. Instead I woke up after only 2 hours and never managed to really sleep again, drifted once in awhile but never found that deep restful state again.
People who have never had problems with sleep don’t understand how a lack of sleep affects you. I’m normally an optimistic things will work out kind of person. After a few nights with little or no sleep it seems nothing will work out, the world is coming to an end and it all just sucks. I’m in a constant state of agitation and generally anxious.
Usually it takes a few days of slowly worsening sleep to get that bad, this time after only one night I’m already there. So I shall say adieu as my current state of mind would just lead to some unreasonable blog about how I hate some innocuous stupid little thing, like insomnia.
