Can’t sleep, again!

Despite having taken my Nytol at 9pm intending to have an early night, and despite being sure that it kicked in over an hour ago, I still can’t get my stupid brain go switch off enough to fall asleep!

  • It's good, in a way that you've had enough online support, although I will miss your witty responses to my 'caption this threads! What do you think you will do offline?

  • That really is about all the F2F understanding I have had since diagnosis. It's been well over two years now, and my daily cycle of acceptance & rejection has been quite persistent until recently. I have probably received enough online support for the time being. Now seems to be the right time to be a bit more proactive offline.

  • Shame. It's been windy here too, noisy weather at night doesn't help! 

    I'm glad that you had a productive time, finalising your building plans! being able to build inside in the dry seems like a fabulous idea given the ongoing rain!

    How was Rick and Morty?

  • I can see how taking a break from the forum would free up time to do other things. Personally, I'm still less than a year post-diagnosis so I'm still in the phase of needing to spend a lot of my time speaking with other Autistic people. I'm not sure that this phase will ever end, it may be that I eventually find other avenues through which to do so.

    I'm glad that you got a diagnosis and some advice about your health from your GP. It must be good to feel that someone understands you?

  • One thing about taking a break from it is that it often frees up some space to take constructive action.

    A quick visit to my GP helped immensely. Just one of those slight problems that old geezers inevitably get. I had quite a long list of possibilities myself; from severe to relatively minor.The examination and diagnosis was almost instant. I am lucky to have a GP my own age, who trained in the UK. It seems he has the same problem himself, and despite his being a retired hospital surgeon, he admitted that he had no intention of submitting himself to the scalpel for this complaint, unless things really took a turn for the worse. But plenty of constructive free advice, nonetheless. I really do think he enjoys talking, as it is a busy all-day clinic.

    And a bonus. I decided to inform him of my diagnosis a few weeks back; just so it was on my record. I still have no expectation of any real support, either here or in the UK (But it helps me to help myself, sort of thing!) A couple of years ago, I told him that I had self-identified. He was a bit taken aback, but quickly referred me to a more specialist clinic; which eventually turned out to be a dead-end (So off I went to the UK for diagnosis.) This time around he started talking about the benefits, and then admitted a member of his own family had been diagnosed. Now just think. Why is it he enjoys talking about this work in some depth to some clients? We may never fully know, but the conversation is welcome anyway. He even dropped a massive hint as to why certain subjects are taboo in local society.

    Less forum still seems quite a good idea, though!

  • Yes - the Dremel is way too noisy.      Been up since 2am again - it's really windy here so there's lots of external noise keeping me awake.

    Had a useful time this morning - going through various approved versions of planning & building regs drawings spotting the many tiny errors that produce ambiguity in what I'm actually building that allow me to build what I want, how I want.

    It's a mixture of a wooden frame version and a steel framed version - and I can justify a hybrid version that's actually much easier to build without having to revise the drawings.   

    I've solved all of the tricky things that would make things slower to build which risks having the roof open to the elements - my new version can be built from inside in the dry.   Smiley

    It's 3:30am so I'm watching tv now - Rick & Morty from last night.

  • What's making you think about taking a break from the forum? I probably do need a break sometimes, I'm not very good at giving myself a break though!

  • Thank you! Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight! I read somewhere that if you can't get to sleep after an hour in bed then its best to get up and do something and then go back to bed afterwards. I don't like to be up too late though as I often have to be up at 6am with my litluns!

  • Oh no! Sorry that you didn't get back to sleep! Is model boat building too noisy to do in the small hours?

  • And remember to brush your teeth after a late night snack.  A stale and horrible feeling in the mouth can affect sleep.

  • Well, I've a good mind to take a break from the forum for a while. I'm sleeping quite well these days, but I've noticed something about my physical health that could be exacerbated by too much thought about the subject matter hereabouts. And I'm wondering if you might also sleep a bit better if you took a break from it. You can still draw on all the advice above, of course! But don't be too tempted to fill the resulting vacuum with too many other good deeds. Sometimes, you owe yourself a break.

  • I find that if I can't sleep one night, I sleep better the next night.   Or fall asleep during the day.  Sleep catches up to you eventually. 

    The real problem is when you want to sleep and you can't! 

    I try getting out of bed and watching TV or a dvd,  a good horror movie sometimes helps.  And going against conventional wisdom,  a small snack and a cup of tea /coffee helps.  After a relaxing hour out of bed I feel sleepy,  although it may be 2 or 3am.

  • Nope - been awake since 2am.     Watched repeats of 'Destroyed in Seconds' and 'Overhaulin',   If only I had a silent hobby - I could make some real progress through the nights!  Smiley

    .   

  • I hope that you got some sleep in the end? 
    I know right, the things we have to suffer at the mercy of our brains!?

  • You're not the only one.   Disappointed

    I'm currently nocturnal.     Trying to find something interesting on tv in the small hours is futile.

    My brain thinks it's the ideal time to solve complex structural issues or maths problems.     Great.     It's like I'm along for the ride.

  • Yeah by ‘making’ my brain focus on the numbers it stops it from being able to focus on everything else. Right time to try to get to sleep #2 Hopefully this time I will succeed!

  • My brain just happens to think that right when I’m trying to get to sleep is the best time to think about absolutely everything! Stupid brain!

  • I think that's the thing isn't it - its stopping your brain running away with its self, the repetition of counting gives your brain no room to do its own thing. What ever you do be kind to your self. Hugging