I wanted to share some strategies for sleep. If you are in psych med withdrawal and sleep has been a problem, these are some of the things I learned the hard way about sleep, what can help, and what to avoid.
I offer support groups and 1:1 coaching for those going through withdrawal. If you’d like someone to walk with you through this season, I would love to meet with you. My withdrawal was brutal. I know how dark it can get. I also know how real healing is. I’m now in a place of joy, health, and full life, and I want to support you on your way there.
👉 Go here to see my calendar and register
Why sleep gets hard in withdrawal
One of the things that happens when you're getting off meds is your body can have an accelerated alert system. It’s like you are in high alert. Your body is taking danger cues. It’s very activated and sensitized to stimulation.
That’s part of why it’s hard for our bodies to deescalate and get into that place of relaxation, rest, and drowsiness.
What I found is that cueing your body and doing certain things to cue your body about being restful can make a difference. Mindset can also make a difference. I’ll cover both, mindset and strategy.
Mindset: acceptance and allowing
Something that’s important about sleep is allowing and acceptance.
We can get into cycles like, “I need sleep to heal, so I need myself to go to sleep right now.” Then you try to sleep under pressure, and you can’t sleep. Then you might loop over it and get really fixated on forcing yourself to sleep. That can become its own loop.
What you want to do is take your sleeplessness and accept it as part of your healing process. Take the pressure off.
It’s sort of like telling someone to relax when they’re under a gun. You can’t relax. So take the pressure off and say, “All right, sleeplessness is part of the process.”
If I’m having a sleepless night, that means I’m going through the healing process. That’s another night done of dealing with sleeplessness.
Think of insomnia as a symptom that needs to run its course, like a fever with the flu. It runs its course. You get through the days of symptoms, and then your body recovers.
It’s not going to hurt you to not be able to sleep right now. It can feel dangerous, but it’s your body running its course and getting through withdrawal symptoms.
Strategy: help your body wind down
Your body is in high alert and your mind is in high alert. You basically need to help your body cue into being more drowsy and more relaxed.
Screens and light
One thing is screens. If you get off your screen an hour before you go to bed, that helps because light activates our bodies. If you're in withdrawal, it can be super activating.
Also, lights in your house. Start dimming the lights. Use a smaller lamp rather than overhead light. It can cue your body that it’s the end of the day, time to calm down, time to deescalate.
Sugar
The other one is sugar. I love sugar and I want dessert right before bed, but I found that avoiding dessert in that last hour helped me feel more calm and drowsy.
So, sugar, screens, and bright lights right before bed, try to slow those down in that last hour.
Have a routine
A routine cues your body about what time of day it is and what it’s time for.
Honestly, like toddlers, they have a whole routine. Brush teeth, read the book, rock in the rocking chair, then lay down. That queuing routine helps their bodies relax and know what’s coming next.
You kind of have to treat your nervous system like a toddler. You’ve been an adult. When you’re tired, you go to bed and it’s fine. Now it’s different. You have to nurture your nervous system and care for it.
Your routine could include cutting down lights, maybe a meditation, a calming app, nature sounds, brushing your teeth, taking a shower. Make a routine of the things you do to be calm and restful, and try to do those things every night.
Some people even watch the sun go down because that can cue them into, “It’s the end of the day, I can be calmer now.”
Try to do your routine at the same time each day. Our bodies are like clockwork. Your body can learn the rhythm of when it is time to deescalate.
If you’re in bed and sleep isn’t coming
Tell yourself: “It’s okay if I don’t sleep, I’m getting rest.”
Consider resting in your bed as healing for you. Instead of pressure to fall asleep, it’s, “I’m getting rest now.”
If it goes a long time and you’re just laying there, you can get up and go do something in another room that’s boring but calming. Rock in a rocking chair. Read with a dim light, if you can. Listen to an audiobook. Listen to nature sounds.
Keep lights down. Keep it boring. Then when you get the drowsy feeling again, go back to bed and tell yourself, “I’m getting rest. This is good for my body.”
Any sleep is bonus points
If you fall asleep a little bit and wake up again, consider it bonus points.
Instead of “I should have gotten six hours and I only got 30 minutes,” say, “Any sleep I get is bonus points.” You’re working through your insomnia symptom, and once the symptom runs its course, you’re done with it.
Sleep will come back
Don’t be afraid that because you’re not sleeping, you won’t heal, or that you’ll never sleep again. Looping fearful thoughts can be part of withdrawal.
Your nervous system is sensitized right now. Your body can figure out how to sleep again. You can feel natural drowsy again. You can get solid nights of sleep again and wake up refreshed again.
This too shall pass.