anxiety is the avoidance of fear

I was taking very low dose Mirtazipine with some Chinese herbs. that combination was working to give me decent sleep. I don’t know why but it worked for a few months! I’ve been advised not to take them together as it could lead to heart issues so I felt I had to stop this week. Hence, been feeling low this week. This week I’m trying Chinese herbs, magnesium, l theanine, lemon balm, apiginen. Not getting good success without the low dose Mirtazipine. I wonder if anyone has any advice on herbals? I tried melatonin, ashwaganda, valarian, passion flower, CBD previously but they didn’t do much to help.

 

Have you considered that the agitation is simply being magnified by removing the Mirtazipine, and that you’ll feel a bit better in a few days?
Hang in there. I had horrific symptoms, panic attacks.. it felt like I was going nuts.. but that is passed. This will pass for you.

 

Be careful what you think about in the afternoon and evening. Try to drain your brain. Sometimes dumping all your thoughts on paper can drain your brain. Also: I read once that Depak Chopra said that lying perfectly still and meditating or keeping your mind calm is equal to getting some sleep. I know when I get insomnia I always think about that and it keeps me from freaking out so much, which also keeps me awake. A little exercise (any!) during the day can also help.

 

Chapter 20 in Hope and Help for Your Nerves (yes, Claire Weekes) is all about Sleeplessness, and offers advice. I tried to cut and paste from my kindle but it wouldn’t let me copy that much.

 

Interesting, I listened to the audiobook but can’t recall. Perhaps I download the kindle copy.

 

I appreciate your discussion here. I want to share something...it might sound insane to be honest but I'll share anyway.

I watched a guy on YouTube a few weeks ago, he was talking about organic nicotine. And the tremendous positive effects on the body if used in tiny amounts. He's a chiropractor and nutritionist, his name is dr Ardis. Anyway...I went to pharmacy and got nicotine patches, the ones that you stick on your skin. I cut them in tiny pieces and I'm wearing them daily for 7 hours. Then, after 7 hours I get rid of them. I'm wearing 3.5 mg /day.

It helped me sleep for 7-8 hours/night. And this is a miracle for me! Because usually I get up at 2 or 3 and suffer in pain like crazy. I would spend 2-3 hours in pain and do my best to read/knit/cross stitch/sometimes do light exercise etc. And then after 2-3 hours...I would go back to sleep and continue for another hour or so to sleep.

With the nicotine patches, I get up and go to the bathroom and then go back to sleep immediately. I tried to double to douse to 7 mg but it's too much, not good. So I'll be using the 3.5 mg/day and that's it. It's hard to believe that I can sleep for 7-8 hours/night. Again. Because I used to do it in the past, all my life, until...I started to suffer from this pain. I don't want to talk about the pain, I prefer to mention it like this - pain - and not get into specifics.

There are studies that show the positive impact of nicotine on the body/mind etc. I thought it might be a placebo but it's not.

Just wanted to share.

 

This is fascinating, thanks for sharing!!! Do you have the link to the YT video?

I found this on Bing:
nicotine can increase alertness and arousal, which may help individuals with insomnia stay awake during the day. However, in low doses, nicotinecan also promote relaxation and reduce stress levels, making it easier to fall asleep.

 

My husband watched him, the entire thing. I found the link, I remembered that there was a girl there, the owner of the channel. My husband watched all of it and then called me and I watched with my hubby a few key points.

I try to stay away from screens as much as possible. I just don't have the patience anymore to watch or listen if it's too long.

But yes, you're right. I guess in my case nicotine works as a light tranquilizer. To be honest I don't really care how and why as long as it works. And it does, indeed.

 

I'd recommed the book How Emotions Are Made, by Lisa Barret, but I got to be honest and tell I just read a couple of chapters and sent it to the backlog. Anyway it defends the idea that emotions are not universal, which is the standard theory. Meaning, I believe, it's somewhat pointless to spend time with semantics since the emotion you feel might be very different from others'. Sam made a video where she discuss the difference between acceptance and allowance and I found it so off the point. She's the one I watch the most, since I like that jungian perspective, but man... if they want to reach out to Buglio's audience, they're gonna have to slow down with the overthinking.

 

I swear like a sailor so THAT must be the draw. LOL

 

Sorry you're feeling rough, @mikeinlondon . I hope you're able to get some sleep tonight. Lack of sleep is so hard on top of symptoms already.