I’ve had insomnia for 4 years and I need advice — insomnia is taking over my life
I’m 19 years old, and mentally, I’m completely exhausted right now. Insomnia is so frustrating and overwhelming. Four years ago, I started experiencing sleep-maintenance insomnia. I didn’t have trouble falling asleep back then, but I started waking up once or twice every time I slept.
Nowadays, I wake up at least five times a night. I sleep for about an hour, wake up for 10 or 15 minutes, and then fall back asleep, repeating this until I accumulate around 5 to 7 hours of sleep.
Lately, though, it has become much harder for me to fall asleep than it used to be. I used to fall asleep within 1 or 2 hours of going to bed, but recently I’ve only been sleeping 2 to 4 hours a day because it takes me 4 or 5 hours to actually fall asleep.
I miss my old life. I feel like I’m alive but not really living, and I know I’m not the only person who feels this way.
I’ve tried many psychiatric medications, all of them prescribed, obviously: zolpidem, clonazepam, risperidone, zopiclone. Nothing seems to work for me. I’m incredibly sleepy, but I just can’t sleep. My eyes feel so heavy, and I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.