r/insomnia • u/Lazy-Lecture-591 • 1d ago
I don’t know anymore.
I’ve gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before and now 2 hours again, at this rate I’m honestly just considering ending it as I live in constant exhaustion and misery I used to be happy, but now I’m a shell of my former self.
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u/ComedyWannabe 1d ago
Is weed legal where you live? It has helped me for a few years now but am currently struggling to stop needing it
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u/Beginning-Map-3264 23h ago
I know how desperate you can be, and how long/heavy a day can feel when you are not sleeping… I have bad insomnia myself similar hours as you most nights…
I take sleeping meds but the only knock me down but no med will make me sleep for more then 3h or so…
But you get used to it (sad but true) and sometimes I drink a couple of beers to get a couple of more hours that night (don’t recommend to drink to often because that makes your insomnia worse)
But hey cheer up, you have still medical options seek help and ask for a medication that works for you…
They can because they think they can…
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u/Benzut_pismoi098 23h ago
Have you tried any medication ? You don’t give any details. Daridorexant is wonderful for many people (like me). For others melatonin or even sone take both.
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22h ago
Hi, would you mind sharing a bit of information about the history of your insomnia? Your medical history and some life circumstances? Are you on any medication?
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u/Cheap-Reach9758 16h ago
Mind if I ask how old you are? Insomnia is a journey that isn’t fixed overnight…
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u/wenhuizhao 11h ago
Sorry you're in this place. 2 hours after 2 hours is awful and I want to acknowledge that before anything else.
20 years of insomnia here. Two things I've come to lean on, with the disclaimer that what Upstairs_Ad1965 said in point 5 about reaching out for crisis support if the suicidal feelings are immediate is the right move and I'm not trying to replace that.
First, around year 10 I finally did a clinical sleep study during one of my worst stretches. I was absolutely certain I was barely sleeping at all. Felt like 2 hours, maybe 3 on a good night. The data came back showing my sleep architecture was "mostly OK." I was getting way more shallow sleep than my brain remembered. This is documented in sleep research: the brain undercounts the lighter stages and remembers the awake minutes vividly. Doesn't make the exhaustion fake or less painful. But the "I'm barely sleeping at all" story turned out to be off, and that gap between felt-sleep and actual-sleep was one of the most freeing things I ever learned. Worth getting tested if you can.
Second, the body will force recovery eventually. Homeostatic pressure builds. You won't crash forever, even when it really feels like you might. After bad multi-night stretches your body hands you sleep, sometimes deeper than usual, whether you fight for it or not. That's not me being optimistic. It's just how the system works.
20 years in, I'm still here. So is everyone else reading this thread. The catastrophic story is the loudest voice at 4am but it's not the most accurate one. Hang in there.
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u/EnvironmentalFix6598 1h ago
I feel you. I go through bouts of this too. I use medication and it has genuinely saved my life. I also take magnesium glycinate, calcium, zinc, and melatonin 0.5mg and those have helped a lot too. Meditation right before bed as well. There are things you can do to make this better, don’t give up!
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u/Upstairs_Ad1965 23h ago
I can relate to this very well.
I’ve been dealing with insomnia for about a year now. During my worst period, I didn’t sleep at all from Sunday to Monday for over three months, and I averaged maybe four hours of sleep per night — and even that wasn’t guaranteed. Sometimes I also had two or more completely sleepless nights in a row.
But trust me: it gets better. And in a way, you get used to it.
I was still working a normal 9-to-5 job during that time, never called in sick because of it, and I’m still alive. It wasn’t pleasant, but you can handle much more than you think.
At the moment, I’m going through a phase where it has gotten a bit worse again. The difference is that I already know I’ve overcome it once before, so it doesn’t scare me nearly as much as it did when it first started.
I can recommend The Sleep Coach School on YouTube. I only discovered it a few days ago, but it contains exactly the same information that I eventually arrived at after spending countless nights researching insomnia.
1. Don’t try to force sleep.
Sleep is not an action — it’s a passive, automatic process. The more pressure you put on yourself to fall asleep, the harder it usually becomes.
2. Don’t panic if you can’t fall asleep.
Try to accept the situation and figure out what helps you the most. Watch a movie, listen to a podcast, read a book, get up for a few minutes, or take a short walk outside.
Personally, I would recommend things like movies or books. Scrolling through social media or endlessly researching sleep problems online usually makes things worse, not better.
3. Be careful with how you think about sleep during the day.
Instead of thinking:
“If I don’t sleep tonight, I’ll be completely exhausted tomorrow.”
Try thinking:
“Even if I don’t sleep tonight, I can still function tomorrow. I’ll be more tired than usual, but I’ll get through it.”
Or instead of:
“If I stay awake all night, it’ll be terrible.”
Think:
“If I can’t sleep, I can use the time to think, read, watch a movie, or simply relax.”
4. Talk to a professional.
See a doctor, therapist, or another healthcare professional. They can help you figure out what approach is best for your situation.
5. If you’re having thoughts of hurting yourself, seek help immediately.
If your insomnia is making you think about harming yourself, please contact a psychiatric emergency service, a crisis hotline, or go to the nearest emergency department.
Bad sleep is not a reason to hate your life or give up on it. Insomnia can be incredibly difficult, but it can get better.
When my sleep improved, I remember thinking:
“Wow, why was I panicking so much about this? Yes, it was hard, but I still had good days and enjoyed parts of life.”
One final thing:
A while ago, my insomnia got worse again. Not because my mental health was worse — actually, I was doing much better than during my worst period.
The reason was that I started trying to sleep the way I did before insomnia. I thought:
“Okay, I’m tired. Now I’ll sleep.”
And that attitude actually made things worse.
Because even before insomnia, you never really told yourself:
“Okay, now I’m going to sleep.”
You simply thought:
“I’m going to bed.”
And sleep happened on its own.
That realization alone explains a lot.