Can't Sleep

Sorry for the text-dump but I feel like my problem won't make any sense unless I go into a little detail.

For about eight months, I've been struggling with some form of insomnia. I don't have any problems falling asleep, but whenever I do, I always wake up 2-3 hours later and have a really hard time falling back asleep. If I do fall back asleep, I can usually get about 2 more hours, but there have been many days where I can't get back to sleep and have to survive on only 2 or 3 hours. In fact, I would say it's much more common for me to not fall back asleep. It doesn't matter if I listen to music, watch TV, read a book, get out of bed, or just lay in complete silence with my eyes shut; my ability to fall back asleep seems to come and go at random. I have gone entire weeks only getting about 3 hours of sleep each night.

I've already seen my doctor, who didn't really give a shit because I "looked like I could function normally." Since I have problems staying asleep rather than falling asleep, the only medications he can give me are tranquilizers, which he (understandably) does not want to prescribe me since I'm only 18 years old. He gave me a referral to a "sleep education class," but all they talked about was the same old shit: spend less time on the computer before bed, get up at the same time everyday, exercise, etc. Well I've tried all those things, to no avail.

I really am at my wit's end. I walk around everyday feeling and looking like shit. The few times that I've gotten 6 hours of sleep have felt like God-given miracles and I can't even remember the last time I got 8 hours. Do any of you robots have advice on how I can overcome my insomnia?

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You need girlfriend to fall asleep. If you dont have any then find one and just be yourself.

Do you take any sleep supplements?
If no, I recommend 20 milligrams of meletonin, it's over the counter and you can get 10 milligram tablets at any Dollar general or Walmart. It helps me fall asleep and stay asleep and it may help you too, but keep in mind every brain works differently and will react differently. This one is particularly effective since it's a natural hormone your brain creates. Take 20 milligrams 30 minutes before sleep, and try to stay away from bright lights in that time frame.

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Do you feel depressed ? Anxiety ? Overthinking ? What about your diet ? How much do you exercise ?

Do feel depressed ? Anxious ? Overthinking ? What about your diet ? How much do you exercise ?

Yeah I've taken the 3mg gummies which make me fall asleep faster but don't really keep me asleep for longer. I tried 10mg pills for a short time but they didn't seem that much more effective than the 3mg. Maybe I should try them again though

Well I am a very anxious and pessimistic person, but I don't think of myself as depressed. I usually eat about 1500 calories and exercise for 45 minutes every day

Have you found the sources of your anxiety ?

Generally my anxiety comes from feelings of inferiority, but I feel like everyone has those. I don't have a girlfriend and it's really hard for me to be social, so I always end up feeling alienated unless I'm hanging out with my close friends. Plus there are some things that are beyond my control, like my parents divorce, which hasn't happened yet but will happen soon

Take 2 10 mgs. Some nights I take over 100 milligrams.

Not necessarily, your feel of inferiority must be more specific no ? You are 18, it’s quite young, you should identify the biggest sources of your anxiety and start to work on them. You can improve your social interactions. As for your parents, you don’t have to carry that weight. Have you planned anything for your future ?

I've been working on a novel for a long time but I'm still not close to finishing it. Other than that, I'm just trying to get through college

Oops I meant to reply to this with the comment above

Do you avoid social interactions ? What’s the plan after college ? Trying to get through college is not enough user

I don't avoid social interactions, but I'm not very good with them. I'm not good at small talk and I'm afraid that if I joke around with people I don't know I might cross some kind of line, so I'm really stiff when I talk to new people. As a result, people will usually only talk to me a few times before determining that I'm not worth the trouble.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do after college. I know that making a living as an author is almost impossible nowadays, but I honestly don't know what else I'd want to do. Maybe something in journalism. As long as it involves writing of some sort I'd be willing to give it a try. But I admit that I don't have many aspirations.

Practice your small talks and tryout your jokes, it’s fine if it doesn’t work all the time. It’s still better than mumbling few words. I casually crack jokes to random people, most people node with politeness at least. I’m older than you so I don’t care and don’t worry you will get there.

I would kindly advise you to think about it. Doesn’t mean that you have to find your true calling by the end of the year but isolate the points that inspire you. Try traveling, volunteering or anything else that can challenge you. It might help you to find out more about yourself. Get out of your comfort zone as much as you can. Plan your days and long term projects and keep working out every day.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to think about my future and practice socializing, but it's hard to change after you've been a certain way for such a long time

You are 18, the changes didn’t came yet, it will during your 20’s. Do this and it will decrease your anxiety, don’t be afraid to ask for help as well. You will handle it, good luck user

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I feel you, brah. Not being able to sleep absolutely fucking sucks and reduces your life quality a lot. But I have to tell you this:

I've noticed that it's one of those things that, the more aware you become of, the worse they get. It might sound stupid, but the times I had most trouble sleeping I was CONSCIOUS and THINKING about my inability to sleep. And it's not just a one night thing, it stays until you get out of that shit loop. And believe me, none of that "keep away from screens, keep your bedroom cool, exercise, etc." bullshit works at all.

That said, I'm not sure how you get out of that cicle, but these strategies have worked for me:

1) Focusing on "zoning off" instead of sleeping. Zoning off means that falling into that phase between being awake and asleep. I'm not sure if it's just a different idea or just semantics, but it works for me, just because zoning off is on your power, while sleep seems a lot more uncontrollable.
If you keep zoning off, at one point you'll sleep.

2) Just letting myself "faint", like, letting go my body. It's difficult to explain but it's like you throw in bed and you just relax every muscle and your mind and try to focus on escaping reality.

Unless you have an underlying disorder, remember that this is just an "elephant in the room" situation. You have to trick yourself to forget that you have trouble sleeping. If you forget that you have trouble sleeping, you sleep. If you keep sleeping every day, you no longer have trouble sleeping. But it's tricky to fool your brain and forget your worries, that's the hard part.

>frogpost
uh just try to do something till you get tired

I just get drunk every night, works for me.