Posted by Alara on November 29, 2002, at 21:02:53
In reply to Question for you about sleep cycles and mood, posted by ItsHowdyDudyTime on November 27, 2002, at 21:27:40
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> I personally believe the real solution to severe depression is sleep. I believe that if I could once again sleep totally normally, get into a deep nice sleep again my depression would eventually go away. I once read that sleep is your body's "damage control" system and sleep is where your body recovers at. No good sleep and its impossible for your body and brain to fully recover. The result being that you live in a state of severe depression all the time.
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Hi Howdy,These are my thoughts exactly. Deprive me of good sleep and my anxiety levels will go through the roof, resulting in depression.
During the last few months I have been working on more natural solutions to my sleeping problems and have gradually realised that the quality of my sleep is directly related to my quality of self-trust and self-care. A Xanax by itself will allow me to fall asleep in the first place, but unless I am in the right emotional place, the quality of sleep will be questionable. For truly restorative sleep, I need a certain degree of inner peace.
How do I achieve inner peace? If something is troubling I force myself to face the problem by sitting down for half an hour and writing down the problem. I then use cognitive behavioural techniques to put the problem into perspective and, amazingly, my anxiety levels go down. I then zone out in front of the TV.
Pre-bedtime rituals also help to promote a sense of calm. A cup of herbal tea and a good shower before bed work wonders for me. I also try to make sure that I have made my lunch and sorted my clothes for the next day so that I don't lie awake panicking about getting to work on time the following day. These things sound like common sense - but you'd be amazed at how much I used to avoid doing all these things. (In the past, I believed that doing these things would heighten my anxiety at the time when I most wanted to switch off and recover from the day. It has taken me a long time to learn this lesson!)
Of course we would love to discover and conquer the physiological phenomenon that makes us struggle so much with getting a good night's sleep. Meanwhile we have drugs and natural remedies. However, I also believe that we underestimate the power of psychological factors. If we tackle the mind, we have already won half the battle.
Good luck,
Alara
poster:Alara
thread:129660
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021127/msgs/129979.html