Well, it's been a month or so since I last wrote. Doesn't mean I haven't been checking back here, planning to write... because I have. I just didn't really feel like writing. Not that I've been depressed or anything. Or manic, really, either. Maybe a little of one or the other at times but generally I've been okay. Had a good holiday season with family and friends, and I have been keeping busy recently with moving house. Moving nearer to the beach. Leaving the city to be by nature. Kind of. That will be the result, anyway, regardless of the many reasons behind the move.
I haven't seen my psychiatrist in a while. Long story... And meanwhile I stopped taking everything other than Zoloft (because I ran out of all the other meds two weeks ago). So far I seem to be doing fine. Which is great! Even a meager week or two off of prescription sleep aids made it so that my body no longer expected to be pilled to sleep, and I am actually managing to get some real, non-drug induced sleep. I like it.
I'm still not falling asleep instantly and waking refreshed to bluebirds chirping outside my window, mind you, but I must say- not bad. I purchased my first audio book at audible.com , which I turned to for a few nights. Recently I have simply been reading myself to sleep. I'm reading a nice, long, educational biography. Keeps me learning and interested in turning the page, while also making it completely impossible for me to even attempt to finish it in a single sitting. I'm a big big Abe Lincoln fan, and if you're looking for a great book, I highly recommend this one.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Perhaps I'll write more about the book some other time.
Anyway. Do let me know if any of those sleep solutions helped you guys out. Meanwhile, a happy 2008 to you all.
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sleep solutions. More relaxation music that works
Well. It's been a while since my last post. A lot has been going on, and I've been on both ends of a few rapid cycles since I last wrote, but I can't really be bothered to rehash. Might as well note, though, that yes- I was tipping into mania when I wrote that last post. Quite noticeably. But I guess it's alright, since I'm still here now and doing okay.
Sooo anyway, a couple of posts ago I wrote about Sounds to help you sleep, pointing out some websites that I've found to be helpful in that regard. And using Sitemeter (a simple, free gadget I'd recommend to anyone just venturing into websites or blogging) I noticed that I actually dO have a precious few people checking out my half-assed attempt at a blog! About half of the entry points are from Google searches for sleep sounds, solutions, bipolar + sleep, or some other such combination of search terms.
It definitely is an issue plaguing a big ol' bunch of us, eh?
There are a few things I could add at this point, but tonight I am just going to note one more helpful site:
www.shuteye.com --> Soothing voice lulls you softly into slumber with progressive muscle relaxation and mental relaxation techniques.
*** More specifically: www.shuteye.com/sleep-solutions/relaxation-techniques.aspx
I would recommend trying both of these techniques. They really do work wonders for relaxation. Might even be helpful during those episodes of agitation, and not just for sleep purposes. It follows that plan that we always aim for, that people tell us to follow- that whole "Just stop your brain from thinking so much, and you'll fall asleep!" idea... but actually made doable with a little audio help. The soft voice is accompanied by lovely background music, and her words carry your mind away from your day's thoughts to a pleasant, cushioned resting place just for you. There is an additional 20 minute clip of relaxation music you can listen to after you've tried the mind and body relaxation exercises and it is quite beautiful as well.
I am listening to the music now, and I think it is working its magic already.
Good night. :)
----- Current Medication and Mood-Meter Reading -----
Am back off the 'emergency' Zyprexa (and am consequently feeling much better, or more "me" again). Still taking Zoloft in the mornings, a Klonopin in the evening, but now just half a prescription sleeping pill if I can't sleep at bedtime. Yes, most of the time I do take that half-pill. After a few wild emotional pendulum swings during the last month or two, I think I am currently feeling relatively comfortable and stable.
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Sooo anyway, a couple of posts ago I wrote about Sounds to help you sleep, pointing out some websites that I've found to be helpful in that regard. And using Sitemeter (a simple, free gadget I'd recommend to anyone just venturing into websites or blogging) I noticed that I actually dO have a precious few people checking out my half-assed attempt at a blog! About half of the entry points are from Google searches for sleep sounds, solutions, bipolar + sleep, or some other such combination of search terms.
It definitely is an issue plaguing a big ol' bunch of us, eh?
There are a few things I could add at this point, but tonight I am just going to note one more helpful site:
www.shuteye.com --> Soothing voice lulls you softly into slumber with progressive muscle relaxation and mental relaxation techniques.
*** More specifically: www.shuteye.com/sleep-solutions/relaxation-techniques.aspx
I would recommend trying both of these techniques. They really do work wonders for relaxation. Might even be helpful during those episodes of agitation, and not just for sleep purposes. It follows that plan that we always aim for, that people tell us to follow- that whole "Just stop your brain from thinking so much, and you'll fall asleep!" idea... but actually made doable with a little audio help. The soft voice is accompanied by lovely background music, and her words carry your mind away from your day's thoughts to a pleasant, cushioned resting place just for you. There is an additional 20 minute clip of relaxation music you can listen to after you've tried the mind and body relaxation exercises and it is quite beautiful as well.
I am listening to the music now, and I think it is working its magic already.
Good night. :)
----- Current Medication and Mood-Meter Reading -----
Am back off the 'emergency' Zyprexa (and am consequently feeling much better, or more "me" again). Still taking Zoloft in the mornings, a Klonopin in the evening, but now just half a prescription sleeping pill if I can't sleep at bedtime. Yes, most of the time I do take that half-pill. After a few wild emotional pendulum swings during the last month or two, I think I am currently feeling relatively comfortable and stable.
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Monday, October 29, 2007
Sounds to Help you Sleep... some websites I like
My goodness, the bipolar mind can really spin itself into a frenzy sometimes, eh? (reviewing my last entry...)
Anyway, today I just wanted to mention a couple of helpful and natural tools I have found here on the Internet for those dreaded sleepless nights. I am curious as to what others find useful for getting to sleep, but I suppose I should wait on opening that Q up for discussion til (if/when) I have more readers. :)
These three sites have helped me on occasion:
1) www.librivox.org --> Have someone read a story to you until you nod off into dreamland.
Perhaps it is a comfort based on nostalgia, but this has helped me sometimes. Volunteers reading aloud works in the public domain. Here you can find some old goodies from childhood to get your imagination painting pictures like they used to, with stories such as The Secret Garden or The Wind in the Willows. You can find works by Dostoyevsky, Hemingway, Flaubert, Tolstoy, or if you prefer, de Tocqueville, Thoreau, Machiavelli, Kant, Nietzsche... or you can even find Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, or audio versions of amendments to The Constitution. Plenty of everything for whatever floats your boat, and for whatever you're in the mood for that day.
2) www.live365.com --> Internet Radio.
There are some soothing music channels on this site that can aid in relaxation. Channels such as Healing and Relaxation, Meditation Music, or Econocast with nature sounds... pretty new-agey, I know, and not of my usual music genres but these can help nonetheless. Of course, this site also has loads of channels encompassing almost every other type of music you can imagine, so there is a lot of mood-boosting to be found here.
3) www.soundsleeping.com --> "Relaxing music, sleep aids, anxiety reduction, relaxation tools"
Here you can find an array of sleep-inducing music to download as well -- including music with 'delta waves' (slow, low frequency waves which apparently correspond with your brain's deep sleep mode). There's a cool tool here with separate volume and pan knobs with which you can, for example, listen to birds chirping quietly over the lulling sound of a babbling creek. Or crickets with rain. Or windchimes and the ocean. Or you can sit back and close your eyes to just the crackling of a bonfire, which I personally like to do from time to time (although I'd prefer the real thing...!).
Hope these help!
Anyway, today I just wanted to mention a couple of helpful and natural tools I have found here on the Internet for those dreaded sleepless nights. I am curious as to what others find useful for getting to sleep, but I suppose I should wait on opening that Q up for discussion til (if/when) I have more readers. :)
These three sites have helped me on occasion:
1) www.librivox.org --> Have someone read a story to you until you nod off into dreamland.
Perhaps it is a comfort based on nostalgia, but this has helped me sometimes. Volunteers reading aloud works in the public domain. Here you can find some old goodies from childhood to get your imagination painting pictures like they used to, with stories such as The Secret Garden or The Wind in the Willows. You can find works by Dostoyevsky, Hemingway, Flaubert, Tolstoy, or if you prefer, de Tocqueville, Thoreau, Machiavelli, Kant, Nietzsche... or you can even find Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, or audio versions of amendments to The Constitution. Plenty of everything for whatever floats your boat, and for whatever you're in the mood for that day.
2) www.live365.com --> Internet Radio.
There are some soothing music channels on this site that can aid in relaxation. Channels such as Healing and Relaxation, Meditation Music, or Econocast with nature sounds... pretty new-agey, I know, and not of my usual music genres but these can help nonetheless. Of course, this site also has loads of channels encompassing almost every other type of music you can imagine, so there is a lot of mood-boosting to be found here.
3) www.soundsleeping.com --> "Relaxing music, sleep aids, anxiety reduction, relaxation tools"
Here you can find an array of sleep-inducing music to download as well -- including music with 'delta waves' (slow, low frequency waves which apparently correspond with your brain's deep sleep mode). There's a cool tool here with separate volume and pan knobs with which you can, for example, listen to birds chirping quietly over the lulling sound of a babbling creek. Or crickets with rain. Or windchimes and the ocean. Or you can sit back and close your eyes to just the crackling of a bonfire, which I personally like to do from time to time (although I'd prefer the real thing...!).
Hope these help!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Bipolar / Manic / Depression / ADHD Blog Beginnings... Well, here goes.
My first post. My first blog ever, really.
I am not sure what triggered it, but I needed a place to vent, muse, collect information, store helpful tips... And so here we find ourselves. I have absolutely no idea whether this will remain my own private littering ground for the ramblings of my mind, or whether I will eventually grow this blog into something that may be helpful to others, but I do hope it is the latter.
I suppose that the usual way of going about this would be to introduce myself. But I'm not really in the mood today, so I'll leave that for another day. Today I will just say hello.
----- Current Medication and Mood-Meter Reading -----
Anxious, agitated, worried, a bit sad... I didn't forget to take my Zoloft this morning, and I already took my nighttime Zyprexa and Klonopin a while ago. Perhaps the jitters have calmed just a bit, but I am still feeling uneasy and uncomfortable in my own skin. (I am back on the Zyprexa. I hate how it makes me sleep for 10-12hrs straight, but I have to admit it does usually slow the mind enough to sleep. A last resort when sleeping pills don't work. I still don't like it though. But anyway. More on that another time.)
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I am not sure what triggered it, but I needed a place to vent, muse, collect information, store helpful tips... And so here we find ourselves. I have absolutely no idea whether this will remain my own private littering ground for the ramblings of my mind, or whether I will eventually grow this blog into something that may be helpful to others, but I do hope it is the latter.
I suppose that the usual way of going about this would be to introduce myself. But I'm not really in the mood today, so I'll leave that for another day. Today I will just say hello.
----- Current Medication and Mood-Meter Reading -----
Anxious, agitated, worried, a bit sad... I didn't forget to take my Zoloft this morning, and I already took my nighttime Zyprexa and Klonopin a while ago. Perhaps the jitters have calmed just a bit, but I am still feeling uneasy and uncomfortable in my own skin. (I am back on the Zyprexa. I hate how it makes me sleep for 10-12hrs straight, but I have to admit it does usually slow the mind enough to sleep. A last resort when sleeping pills don't work. I still don't like it though. But anyway. More on that another time.)
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