Do you suffer from nightmares or any other sleep disorders?

Hello  

I also suffer from problems sleeping. Its been like this for as long as I can remember. I take a long time to get to sleep and when I do it is restless, constantly changing my sleeping position and moving around. Its exhausting!

I do have nightmares or recurring dreams a few times a week however I have PTSD also so I am unsure if this is what is behind the nightmares. 

So far I haven't found anything that helps, other than getting to the point of total exhaustion and being unable to stay awake any longer. I can't ever remember waking up feeling rested. 

Hi Almond,

1. Yes I have very frequent nightmares, most are ones I have had before. It can vary wildly from past events, traumatic experiences and generic though most is linked to events in my past. It is worth mentioning that I have cptsd so it’s not uncommon to have nightmares related to past trauma.

2. I was given advice to guide me on changing the outcome of nightmares by becoming aware that I’m asleep (lucid dreaming). It is extremely difficult to do and mentally exhausted.

I have managed it a few times but because of how much mental awareness it takes most of the time I can’t do it. I’m trying to reinforce to myself on waking that it was just a nightmare and not my current reality. Some people don’t believe in it but we all have different views.

I cannot take any sleep inducing meds because of being diabetic so I’m just trying to push through it. Sometimes I don’t sleep at all or it is heavily disrupted so I get perhaps 5 hours if I’m lucky.

3. Yes I have read a number of articles suggesting a link between autism and sleep disruption or disorders. A couple of them said there is a clear connection between mental health conditions and sleep problems too. I don’t know how much of what I read is accurate though. 

I am sorry you’re experiencing sleep issues and hope you can find a solution that works for you. Best wishes 

Thanks for this! That has explained a lot of stuff which was very helpful. I have seen psychotherapists in the past but they were useless and said they couldn’t help me and all I did was talk with them, didn’t learn any skills or anything. That’s why I was advised about a psychologist as they have much more knowledge and can deal with autism patients and other issues better apparently. I’m just going by the drs words there. I’ve normally just seen regular counsellors due to the price being the lowest but still think I could be spending money on something that makes me happy than just talking to some random person 

Thank you for the article. From what I read, I feel I can relate to what is mentioned when I was with CAMHS years ago but unfortunately I wasn’t with them long enough to progress and discuss the medication route as I turned 18. I could have carried on and seen the psychologist private but we were moving to a new area so the commute would have been too much, plus we never considered online at the time. I have an appointment with the GP on Thursday but I can’t see that being helpful as I’ll only get referred to this really bad place where I’m not even allowed to see the psychiatrist and they don’t even have psychologists or even counsellors there. I could be wrong, will ask on Thursday 

I found this NHS careers webpage helpful when learning about the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist in the UK:

www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/.../differences-between-psychology-psychiatry-and-psychotherapy

Elfilis said:

I believe psychologists are like one below psychiatrists where as counsellors and psychotherapists are a lot further down due to amount of qualifications etc.

Psychologists have to have a doctorate degree in psychology which is 5-7 years of study.

Psychiatrists have 4 years of medical school and 4 in a psychiatry residence.

The most obvious difference is psyciatrysts can prescribe drugs while psychologists cannot and tend to view the patient with more of a medical view rather than psychiatric view.

This is a US based article and may be slightly different for the UK.

source: https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/psychologist-vs-psychiatrist/ 

I understand where you are coming from and I’m sorry this is the case for you as well! It’s even worse during the heat waves and that. That’s so kind of your psychologist to half the price and good of her to be so understanding. I’ve been looking at ones that can do online so maybe that might reduce costs a bit but I don’t really know. The thing with psychologists is that they have much more knowledge and understanding of an array of mental illnesses and can probably do more than a regular counsellor who is really just someone to talk to, well that’s been my experience anyway and not been given any advice or techniques. Also I believe psychologists are like one below psychiatrists where as counsellors and psychotherapists are a lot further down due to amount of qualifications etc. I might have to look for online appointments with psychologists as there aren’t like any in my area. 

Same; I've tried and indeed it is a counsellor (without much experience imho), and they directed me somewhere else, and then I gave up.

I am now seeing a psychologist (though for other reasons, and it's no specialist in sleep disorders); I told her I was giving up due to being too expensive, and she halved the price for me. This was kind and I am still grateful.

In my case, I wake up several times a night covered in sweat, many times I need to change the place in the bed, or dry myself with a towel. It feels good to find I'm not alone, well, to an extent (not happy of anyone having this.)

No problem! I was advised to look into seeing a psychologist as they are meant to be best for this kind of stuff but omg the prices!! And don’t know if psychologists are on the nhs when I’ve searched it’s been more counsellors. That’s my area though 

Sounds like we've the same issues. My condolences. 
Thanks for replying each question :-)

1. Yes I suffer from nightmares like every night and it is horrible. It wakes me up in the night or if I do managed to sleep all night I wake up all sweaty and scared and jittery etc
2. I tend to distract myself by either watching something lightheaded like SpongeBob either on tv or on my phone or I play on my switch or something. 
3. I haven’t come across anything but I do believe there could be a connection to autism and sleep disorders and I also believe other mental illnesses can connect to sleep disorders

I do take sleep aids but I had to talk with the dr for that but when they kick in I’m too drained to think about anything but I do tend to have nightmares of bullies or that creepy manager or other disturbing things whether experienced or made up. I also seem to have recurring nightmares and also in the dream I realise I’ve been there before or I’ve had this dream before 

Sadly, yes. I get trends of strong or unsettling dreams, but few are conventional nightmares. 

The problem is I haven't had more than half a dozen full sleeps since I was a boy. It is much worse now at 32 where I wake up regularly. Usually it's around 2am, then 4am, then between 8-10am. 

I used to have some recurring nightmares as a kid/teenager, but don't have them anymore. I still remember the full nightmare to this day. It's not even related to any of my big fears. If I dream.

I think it was 2 years ago I realised that I've suffered with insomnia for at least a decade. I don't know when it started or if it's always been a thing. It would often take me 1-3 hours to get to sleep 5-7 nights a week. Sometimes it has taken 3-5 hours. It was caused by anxiety and dwelling on things that I was trying to find solutions to. Sometimes technical challenges from my job, but many times trying to work out social or people problems.

I went to the GP about depression, but the help I got also helped with anxiety, insomnia, and many other things, and I've learned to separate work and life better.

I also seem to sleep better when away in my campervan. I think it's that it's a different location away from things that might be affecting me mentally, whilst also being a familiar space.

I don’t suffer from nightmares often but they are strong when I do. The only thing I have a problem with is waking up multiple times a night. If I could be knock out it would make a huge difference to my moods. Having kids though means you are often sleeping with one eye open and relaxing is difficult anyway.

I have lots of very strange dreams, I can often link them back to something I was thinking doing or something someone said, but I rarely have nighmares, (touch wood). When I tell people about my dreams they often wish they could watch them on telly or something, as they sound so interesting as well as odd.

I can't say I have a sleep disorder, just normal stuff when it's too hot and I'm an owl rather than a lark, to people who believe mornings are holy, that seems to be a disorder.

I don't tend to have nightmares but I often dream about something relevant to what I'm worried about or preoccupied with. Work will often feature in my dream when that's on my mind but it'll be a bizarre dream that isn't really about work at all, just something relevant. I've never found a way to stop that happening.

I used to be a horrendous insomniac, it was awful. I still have bad nights but nowhere near as bad as it once was. Couldn't tell you what helped with that. One day it just got better.

Stuart333 said:

I want to get a sleep tracker to see how much I really sleep.

I've had my sleep tracker (watch) tell me I was asleep between 4 am and 6 am one morning when I know I wasn't. I was sitting up in bed reading a book. Admittedly I wasn't moving much, but the tracker is really only making wild guesses most of the time. I rarely wear it to bed.

I do the whole waking-early-mind-racing thing most nights. If I can't get back to sleep in 30 minutes, I'll read for 30–60 minutes and try again (it took two rounds last night). I try to focus on my breathing and nothing else and that seems to bore me to "death" somewhat reliably. Foam ear plugs help a lot to keep me asleep when I finally get off. I can't wear them all night though (they get uncomfortable), so I pop them in around 4 am and hope for the best.

Proper nightmares are relatively rare, but I had a really bad one last year. A real PTSD job. It took me a day or three to recover from it. Most of the time I'm just dreaming. I feel I dream nearly all night every night and every time I wake it's from a dreaming state. My dreams are very vivid and "creative". I don't know where my brain gets its ideas half the time.

Unknown said:

did you find practices that helps reduce them?

Most of what I have read indicates that anxiety is the one thing that makes autists more prone to dreams and our low self esteem often makes us more prone to being a victim in nightmares. cPTSD can also influence this.

I've never suffered serious issues sleep wise but I do suffer from bad dreams more often during times of high stress, but found a way out that works for me.

Lucid dreaming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

It teaches you ways to identify when you are dreaming and take more active control over it, knowing it is a dream. It can be powerful in facing your fears and regaining some power.

If you do want to try it, I would recommend talking it over with a therapist to find a way to do it that works for you, and to process how it evolves for you. 

I don't have link to studies for this as I did this over 15 years ago.

I don't have nightmares commonly. Maybe only 1 or 2 in the last 30+ years.

I don't sleep well. I am not sure why.

I don't seem to need 8hrs anyway. I try to get 6 if I can. I wake up repeatedly. I have to be careful to try and blank my brain as once my brain goes to full speed there is no going back to sleep.

I am also sensitive to vibration. I only realised this a few weeks ago after 25 years wondering what was waking me up. There is a lorry or farm machinery that goes past around 5:30 every morning, 364 days a year.

I want to get a sleep tracker to see how much I really sleep.