Can't Sleep Anymore...

[greatman07]

Hello. I've been having trouble sleeping lately; I haven't had a good sleep in weeks (and I mean WEEKS), and trying to visualize something protective doesn't help; I still feel scared whenever I try to go to sleep. My family tells me that I do indeed sleep at night (or when I nap), but for some reason, I never feel like I've slept. I've felt tired every single day for the past 4-5 weeks, and it's driving me crazy. I have a few questions:
1.) What does it feel like to go to sleep? I think I need to relearn this one...

2.) What are some visualizations/techniques one can use to go to sleep, besides the traditional warm glass of milk (I HATE MILK)?

3.) I also feel like I'm unable to relax or feel relaxed. I'm always on edge, and it prevents me from enjoying myself most of the time. I start to feel really depressed, sad, and/or angry at times, and I don't know why. What do you think could be causing this, and how I could avert this problem?

I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong forum or if I'm asking too many questions, but I'm really desperate, and at this point, I feel like I won't be able to reverse the pitiful state I'm in...

p.s. On an unrelated note, why does some Spanish music make you feel happy and makes you want to dance? I got this Spanish mix music CD from my Spanish teacher, and so far, I've been in a pretty good mood since I started listening the the CD (It has some really good dance tunes that have a really happy feeling to them)...

[CFTraveler]

Hello. I've been having trouble sleeping lately; I haven't had a good sleep in weeks (and I mean WEEKS), and trying to visualize something protective doesn't help; I still feel scared whenever I try to go to sleep. My family tells me that I do indeed sleep at night (or when I nap), but for some reason, I never feel like I've slept. I've felt tired every single day for the past 4-5 weeks, and it's driving me crazy. I have a few questions:
1.) What does it feel like to go to sleep? I think I need to relearn this one... Is there a time when you were so sleepy and tired that you couldn't keep your eyes open? That's what you need to remember. There has to have been a time when this happened.


2.) What are some visualizations/techniques one can use to go to sleep, besides the traditional warm glass of milk (I HATE MILK)?
Other than melatonin or L-triptophan, I'd say don't try to go to sleep. Stay up reading until you can't keep your eyes open. Then just let go.


3.) I also feel like I'm unable to relax or feel relaxed. I'm always on edge, and it prevents me from enjoying myself most of the time. I start to feel really depressed, sad, and/or angry at times, and I don't know why. What do you think could be causing this, and how I could avert this problem? From your post there's no way to know for sure- I'd advise you speak to a professional about that.


p.s. On an unrelated note, why does some Spanish music make you feel happy and makes you want to dance? I got this Spanish mix music CD from my Spanish teacher, and so far, I've been in a pretty good mood since I started listening the the CD (It has some really good dance tunes that have a really happy feeling to them)... It depends on the music and the frequencies- some frequencies tweak the 'happy' side of the amygdala and some other frequencies tweak the 'fear' side- so this particular music may either bring you a 'happy' association or resonate this way with you.

[greatman07]

Ok...thanks! IDK, I've tried staying up and reading till I can'tdo it anymore, but after the boredom gets over with, i still end up pretty wide awake, unable to sleep really well...

I do remember what it feels like to be that sleepy, but so far, I haven't been that sleepy...

Well, thanks for your advice!

[ButterflyWoman]

The symptoms/situation you're describing sounds very like a prolonged anxiety attack. They can, indeed, last for a long time.

One option is to see your doctor and describe what's going on and see what they recommend.

Another option is to consciously work on releasing the anxiety, which can be done, though it take some practice to learn how. I'm prone to anxiety (though not so much lately) and the way I get rid of it is to acknowledge it, then gather it all up and put it in a very strong bubble, and send it off into nothingness, where I know it will be dissolved.

I find that meditation where I consciously connect to the earth and heavens and "cycle" my energy, replacing negative with positive, is very helpful.

Another thing to try is to just acknowledge the anxiety and the emotions it stirs up (fear, etc.) and then refuse to react to the emotions. Easier said that done, at least at first, but it DOES work if you keep at it. You say "Okay, I feel like I'm being watched, but that's just an illusion. I'm alone, and I'm okay. I only feel that way because of the anxiety." (Obviously, you name whatever emotion you're feeling.) With practice, you get to where you can sort of "ride above" it and while you're very aware of it, you don't let it overwhelm you (an analogy is that it's a bit like surfing, riding the wave, rather than having it crash over your head and drag you around). Practice this long enough, and you can start to sense the beginning of an anxiety episode and sidestep it entirely.

There are a lot of techniques, both metaphysical and practical, that can work for dealing with anxiety, certainly.

[greatman07]

Hmmmmm...I never thought of it that way..That was some really helpful information!

[Beekeeper]

You may find something useful in this thread:
http://forums.astraldynamics.com/viewtopic.php?t=10208&highlight=

As for a visualisation technique, you may find quietening the mind as much as possible more conducive to sleep. If you really can't sleep, maybe a lucid dreaming technique would at least give you something to do. You can find some ideas here: http://www.dreamviews.com/tutorials.php

[ButterflyWoman]

For actual sleep induction, I've used the following techniques with some success:

Lie down, as comfortably as possible. Relax as much as possible. Then slowly put "weights" on my body, starting with the feet. These are comfortable weights, not like iron chains or anything, but they're heavy and very comforting. I start with the feet and slowly move up my body until every part of me is comfortably "weighted". Usually, I don't need to even go much past my hips before I'm asleep, but I've done this visualisation for many years, so I'm quite well conditioned to it. If you find that once you're fully weighted you still can't sleep, try to go back to the feet and consciously make the weights (I always think of them as sandbag type of things) warm, or cool, as you prefer. The idea is that you're concentrating on the weights or the warmth or whatever, and not on whatever else is going on.

Another thing I find helpful is to visualise myself in the safest place I can imagine. I have a very detailed garden with high walls that I constructed for this very purpose. It's got a hammock in it and it's a place where nobody can find me unless I invite them. I just go there in my mind and visualise the scene as completely as I can. Sometimes I spend some time examining, say, a rose in the garden, seeing the leaves, the thorns, the blossom, etc. Sometimes I just go right to the hammock and lie down and feel the swaying of the hammock and listen to the birds, etc.

Another thing is to put on a fan or some other sort of mechanical drone. I like a fan because the sound isn't a perfect drone, but you can really experiment and see what you can find that works. Then I listen to it, really LISTEN to it. I allow the sound to completely envelop me, until it sort of forms a cocoon around me. It's hard to describe, but the neutrality of the drone is comforting in a very strange way, and it takes my mind off of everything else.

[greatman07]

Hmmmm...

[nightdrift17]

For me, whenever I cannot sleep, I just try to stay awake with my eyes closed. I trry to empty my mind of thoughts and try very hard to stay awake. It works always within a few minutes it works. Just don't try to sleep.

[sleeper]

because it's so difficult to stay awake when trying to project, I recommend that poor sleepers use AP Visualization techniques. I think Robert Peterson and other people recommend this also. Most people are asleep in minutes after visualizing a small box hovering over their head. Instead of a box, however, i usually suggest that they visualize any type of thing that they want to dream about, like a kitten or basketball, or cheesecake.

[CFTraveler]

Or brownies. Brownies.....
http://www.blissfulbrownies.com/images/flavor_12_sm.jpg

[sleeper]

My first lucid dream was at about age 8 (I think) and I dreamed of going to Rite-Aid and eating rainbow sherbert ice cream. It was an awesome dream. Until I freaked out.

[Tom]

In terms of prescriptions, baclofen comes to mind. In terms of amino acids, l-theanine from green tea. (Obviously to get the prescription you will have to check with your doctor anyway.)

Have you tried brainwave entrainment, so that you ramp from beta or gamma down to deep alpha or high theta and then take the headphones off? With isochronic or monaural beats if someone here has NP2 you don't even need to use headphones.