Cannot sleep please help!

[VenalWinfrey]

Please could somebody help me with a question, - though of course I know I ought to go see my GP. But in the short term: I seem to be suffering from anxiety, or anxiety attacks. It's making my sleep minimal at best, and for the last two nights I have not been able to switch off at all, and have just laid awake waiting to get up. It's now affecting my work.

I seem to not be able to turn my brain off, and stop it thinking of things. I worry quite a bit about work, money, family, usual things. But it seems to be getting worse.

What I wanted to know is, does anybody know of anything I can try that might help me get some sleep? I have tried Nytol and it does work, but makes me feel funny the next day and I don't think it is giving me a restful sleep.

Any thoughts appreciated. I am 30 years old.

[LoftyLottie]

I would see your GP because it is important that you get some sleep. I suffer from the same problem and actually take tablets long term from anxiety. Sleeping tablets can make you feel awful the next day and that will affect your work. I couldn't cope with Nytol at all and the herbal variety did nothing.

Your doctor may well prescribe a short course of sleeping tablets to get you back into a pattern of sleeping, but you need to address the anxiety problem before you can really benefit.

One thing I have learned is that if I can't sleep it is best to get up, get out of the bedroom make a cuppa and perhaps read for an hour. I often can then go back to bed and fall asleep. Laying in bed getting more and more awake makes it so more worse and problems get exaggerated out of all proportion.

[LoftyLottie]

'for anxiety'

[rinkins]

Spooky, I could have asked that question myself!