Insomnia or bad sleeping pattern?

Hi all.

I do have a little post below, but i decided to make a new post.

Firstly I'm 18 years old and have had insomnia on and off since I've finished school last November . Well it started about 3 weeks since I left school. Im pretty sure I have insomia. I try everything to make myself sleep, exercise, warm milk, stress pastels (they calm me down but not make me tired). Sleepy coca (does the same as the pastels), reading for half an hour to an hour, trying to stay off electronics an hour before i go to sleep, taking another shower, sleeping on the couch etc. The only thing that does help is a quarter or half a tablet of my mums sleeping tablets which I'm not supposed to take... I do take some medication but for the heck of sake I don't know what it's called and I can't be bothered to get up right now and see what it is called but it is an anti-depressant and it helped for about nearly 1 month and a half but the past week i cannot fall asleep until 3-6am. Then I wake up at 10am-12pm. I'm not worried about anything at the moment. Honestly I feel fine... I just can't sleep... But that does come in that I start thinking of when I' am going to get to sleep, I just want to fall asleep as soon as I close my eyes (maybe that's the problem?)!I'm just so bored tossing and Turning. It's unfair knowing my mum, dad and sister can sleep.

I have difficulty counting sheep or counting numbers or whatever. I find that boring so quickly so I end up thinking about something else.

I've been to the doctor and I did what he told me to do which was read, exercise and be off phone for an hour and it didn't really do much.

My parents try to help me but they get angry because I can't sleep and they don't know how it is.

Is it because i don't have the routine I would have for so many years ? I would oftenly sometimes have trouble falling asleep when it was school holidays. I don't have a job yet, I'm searching very hard and i have a possible one coming up with week and I have no clue at all what to study at TAFE. So basically I, at home all day doing nothing but I meet up with friends whenever.
What do I do to fall asleep? I'm out of ideas

Hello,

you say that you sleep from 3-6 to 10-12. That looks like you actually get 6-7 hours of sleep per night, am I correct? I don't think it's insomnia if that is the case. But you might have indeed de-regulated your sleeping pattern -- or perhaps you're just a "night owl".

Something that you might try is melatonin, which is a hormone regulating your sleep pattern. I don't know if you can buy it over the counter where you are -- here it's just available in pharmacies and health stores.

It is also possible that your antidepressant is a problem. Are you taking it because it was prescribed to you? Assuming you are, you might discuss it with your doctor, as some antidepressants do affect sleep patterns. Perhaps try taking it at different times, i.e. if you now take it in the morning, take it in the evening and vice versa (again, discuss this with your doctor, as I am not a professional). It might also be a question of dosage.

This "stay off electronics and read" advice has never helped me either, but what I did find helpful was meditation. Not of the "ommmm" type but focusing on images I'd make up in my mind; peaceful images like empty beach, sound of waves, or -- contrastingly -- staring into a bonfire at night. I'd just try to imagine this in as much detail as possible and at some point my thoughts kind of go blurry and I know that I will be asleep in 2-3 minutes from then.

Big hugs, I hope your sleep gets better soon!

Hello
Well i slept fine for the past week, until yesterday my insomnia kicked right back at me. It's currently 2:30 am here.

I don't know what to do anymore i try so much and nothing works. Haven't yet tried that medication you told me about. I have trouble with meditating i cannot do it. I can imagine but it doesn't help me sleep.

I'm so lost I HATE INSOMNIA

Especially if it can be a temporary thing, I would just try to move past the anxiety that you feel for insomnia and do something productive. I have spent my entire nights learning how to code on the computer because I knew that I was not going to sleep anyway – and I refused to spend my time watching re-reruns of shows I had already seen. Try to let go and see if your body will eventually return to a normal pattern.