Posted by dj on July 12, 2000, at 0:30:50
In reply to Tired but Can't Sleep Lately-Frustrated as Hell, posted by tina on July 11, 2000, at 20:52:18
> Gotta know something: Do AD's eventually keep you up at night? I've noticed in the last few nights, a week now, I have been dead tired at night but unable to sleep. I can't stay up but I >can't sleep.
Fatigue, stress, anxiety and depression have lots of interesting links many which are explored in the book: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, etc..." which I and others have referenced on PB and Dr. Bob has listed in his book section.
I've been pondering posting on a similar but differet paradoxical effect, that of getting a full nights sleep and waking up and being exhausted much of the day. I'm not on ADs currently (haven't been for some time and hopefully will never be again) and am generally coping well with lots of potential stressors that in the past may have put me over the edge, if sustained.
I've been working on patterns for breaking what I've termed the Achey-Wakey Exhastion pattern because I link it to waking with my muscles being very tight indicating I may have had some very anxious dreams and/or did not sufficiently stretch when on the computer too long and/or need to deal with some deep sources of anxiety and/or, etc...
In Zebras, Sapolosky the author comments, in his chapter on the biological and other links between stress and depression on how: "While depressives have the trouble falling asleep that one might expect, they also have the problem of "early morning awakening"... Not only is sleep shortened, but the "architecture" of sleep is different as well...
An additional vegatative symptom is extremely relevant...depressives often experience elevated levels of glucocortocoids. This is critical for a number of reasons...and helps to clarify what the disease is actually about. When looking at a depressive sitting on the edge of the bed, barely able to move, it is easy to think of the person as energyless, enervated. A more accurate picture is of the depressive as a tightly wound coiled spool of wire, tense, straining, active - but all inside...depressives bear some resemblance to an animal sprinting across the savanna - no wonder they have elevated levels of stress hormones." pg.-233,4
So part of the answer, for me at least, is working actively at deeply relaxing particularly large muscle groupings (eg. - shoulders and neck, thighs). Soaks in hot baths help, stretching, dealing with internal conflicts, yoga, walks, etc...on a regular and consistent basis. The practices of looking after oneself and paying attention, deeply and compassionatly to what one's body/mind is expressing...
Sante!
dj
poster:dj
thread:40118
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000708/msgs/40148.html