Waking up in the middle of the night and anxiety

[dgreen97]

I recently just graduated college in December and have developed a sleeping disorder around the beginning of february. I sleep about 5 hours a night now and I always wake up around 6 every morning. I read a while ago that not getting enough sleep can affect your problems with dry eye and fatigue. What happened was in my stepmom recently got a new job and she started her car around 6:40 one morning. It woke me up and then I started to become worried about getting enough sleep each day because I knew every morning around that time a car was going to start. Now I think it has become ingrained into my subconscious to wake up around that time to expect that event to occur. I've controlled the noise though and I don't hear much of anything in the morning but i still wake up around 6 each morning thereby losing hours of sleep. It usually takes me 30 minutes to 45 minutes to fall asleep at night too. I think it's a combination of anxiety about having problems the next day with my eyes because of lack of sleep and then worrying about being woken up by a noise in the morning. What can I do about this? It's become a viscious cycle now where I'm not getting enough sleep and it's making it difficult to go to work every day. I work on the computer for 8 hours each day so that's why i would be worried about my eyes. I think my worries about my eyes has become an obsession and I can't stop thinking about it.

I've tried relaxing music, earplugs, blocking out the noise with a fan, and some other stuff and still every morning I wake up around that time and can't fall back asleep. I just lay there half asleep/half awake. I should also note that I started having a lot of anxiety when I found out when I was going full time. Obviously since I was already having a problem with dry eyes and eye fatigue when I was working 24 hours a week, going to 40 hours a week only increased my worries.

I already know I have generalized anxiety disorder and OCD so these are definitely contributing to these problems... however I even worry about the drugs I can take to prevent this because the side effects of these drugs are "dry eyes, dry mouth, etc". How can I possibly be confident in taking a drug to combat the anxiety problem when I know the side effects of it contribute to the main problem itself?

Does anybody have any ideas on how to combat this? I'm sick of being obsessed with this problem because it's taking over my life. I know some of you have the same problem.

Alex

[dave25]

I started having difficulty sleeping around the middle of January. My sleep has definitely improved over the past 2 months, but it is still not perfect. I have to wake up at 5 am 3 times a week for school and on the days I don't have an early class I still wake up at 5am, so I can totally relate to you waking up at 6am each morning. The biggest thing for me was to accept the fact that I was going to wake up at 5am each morning, not worry about it and then try to fall back asleep on the days I didn't have to get up that early. I know this is easier said than done, but the less you worry the easier you will sleep.

I have also used Xanax at night when I know I am going to be extra anxious, for example a night before a big test. That has helped, but my eyes do feel drier the next day so I try to do this as little as possible. The natural way is probably the best way. Another thing that has really helped is meditation. Not just for sleep, but for overall anxiety. I created a similar thread a few weeks ago and I got some great suggestions. Check out the link below, there is some really good advice.

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showthread.php?t=10754

[fed up kate]

hi alex

i know where your comin from im havin a similar problem where i think i have to quit my job as it seems to make my eyes worse and i cant stand them getting worse at all,it worries me insanely to like you say it takes over my life.
so i lie awake to th early hours thinking how the hell im ever gona get a career,earn money etc so i keep wakin up really early every mornin when i dont have to be in til like 10 so i cud get a decent kip if i wanted to but i dont so im like a walkin zombie the next day.

i suffer with bad anxiety to and to worried to take anythin due to side effects but i have tried natural calmers which do seem to help a lil and with them bein natural wont cause any bad side effects.

also ive started to lie in bed with ear phones in listenin to some music or the radio and concentratin on that seems to take your mind off things and does help you sleep.

i just think its a case of tkain each day when it comes and i know its easier said than done but i think your body clock as gone like mine so make sure your bedroom is realy dark in the morning like no light as that may b wakenin you up as well so hopefuly trickin your mind that its stil dark may help you sleep longer only an idea.

sorry i dont have the answer but gettin tips off people may help you

hope it does

take care

kate

[Michael2]

getting sleep was the most important part in helping me fight this...for 3 months, i got barely any sleep, night after night. ambien helped me push through this when pain would wake me up, and it made such a big difference. i also discovered benzo's had a great calming effect on me psychologically, and i trained myself as best as possible to emulate that 'calming' feeling when i was not on them

in terms of how it affects your eyes, i guess its personal. i cant speak for how drugs effect eyes, but i cant imagine a long term effect from using sleeping drugs for some time. ambien and even tylenol pm, which has antihistamine in it, does not dry me out at all, while with caffeine i can see an immediate horribly negative effect. i always try to keep in mind how a drug dries out my mouth, and that helps me decide whether to use it, cause my eyes are all over the place so its hard to judge

[ringo]

Like Michael said, you should watch out for the drying effect on your mouth, or if this effect is listed in the leaflet for the medication for sleep. I have been suffering with inability to sleep for a long time, and even befoe the severe dry eye I developed.
Currently I am taking clonazepam which seems to have a minimal drying effect compared to others I have tried-- so I am willing to trade that setback off for the little sleep I get. But sometimes the anxiety is so much that even with clonazepam i wake up too early; also according to my doctor it is addictive.
In my experience, sleeping problems become a part of the whole dry eye thing, and they do complicate it a lot-- not only the dryness, but also the anxiety and depression that are part of it.
I think that you should consult a psychologist/psychiatrist, and explain to them the reason for your lack of sleep, as well as emphasize your dry eye problem and that your eyes may get dry from certain sleeping medications and antidepressants.
The other alternative is to go to something like a SPA resort for a while, if you could afford that, and pamper your body, mind and eyes, and give life a total relaxation.Preferably somewhere with a humid climate.I went to Thailand myself and spent the entire holiday interactin with pristine nature and animals-- I remember that for the first time in more than 10 years I slept one night for 9 and a half hours, and woke up totally fresh at 6 in the morning. I slept in a dilapidated wooden small house built on a big river, near a Buddhist temple that takes care of 48 tigers.I did not need any pills, had no anxiety whatsoever, and felt truly rested in every sense although my eyes were far from perfect.

[dgreen97]

going to thailand sounds like a good trip. lots of good scenery? thanks for the responses guys. thats why i got off of citlalopram.. it has the side effect of dry mouth and i'm not going to complicate anything by taking a drug that potentially causes the problem i'm trying to cure. i too take clonazepam now for days when i'm having some bad anxiety. i haven't noticed any side effects from it yet and i only take it once in a while. it's addictive so i won't take it every day.

[ringo]

yes, lots of good GREEN scenery, soothing the eyes
also the interaction with animals-- I do not knowhow you feel about that, but I think interacting with my pet or other animals gives me a lot of relief,even in physical terms. I have no scientific explanation for that, but I know that at least with me itis a mainstay therapy

[dgreen97]

definitely i love animals so being around them just makes me happier in general