3 hours ago, HopeOfHealing said:

@Luke, I know you’ve experienced extremely poor sleep yourself - how did you get through the nights when you were barely sleeping?

I just laid there. All you can do is try to rest either way.

You started this thread with the same question. Several people answered it including me. We linked you to the post we have written on this topic, nearly 1600 words.

2 hours ago, Sminismoni said:

And the more we provide this reassurance, the more we enable that pattern too. It's actually best on some level if we don't do this. Please read

Thank you. Read the article. Hand't though about it this way - brief relief but then again a spike resulting in the same question. It is just very unnerving to live in the "unknown" but i get why the asking questions doesn't help. Will try to look towards my husband for assurance, he seems to be a lot more calm in this storm.

sending some love ❣️❣️❣️❣️

I actually agree with what you are saying. Constantly writing, checking and asking for reassurance helps me in one way, but I can also see how it adds more anxiety and keeps my focus on symptoms.

I’ve also noticed that thoughts like “this is so unfair” take away what little strength I have. When my mind says “I can’t anymore,” I sometimes try to change it to “What can I STILL do?” Sometimes that helps.

But there are moments when it is simply too much and I desperately need support.

I have two truths I keep holding onto: I desperately want to live and I have so many reasons to. And I don’t want to make desperate medication decisions while my nervous system is this sensitised. So for now: patience, however difficult that is.

The sleep deprivation is probably the hardest part. Yesterday the extreme anxiety/akathisia finally calmed considerably and I had two genuinely nice walks and conversations with my husband and a friend. Yet last night I still only got around 4 hours of extremely fragmented, shallow sleep.

After weeks of this, part of me is screaming: “I can’t keep doing this. I need real sleep.”

So rather than asking again whether insomnia is withdrawal, I would really love to hear personal experiences from people whose sleep stayed severely fragmented/shallow for weeks — especially during a late wave — and then improved.

What did the turning point actually look like? Did sleep slowly become deeper, or did you suddenly start getting better nights? And when you were still in the middle of it, what helped you trust that your ability to sleep would return? I really need some lived experience and success stories to hold onto right now.

Meanwhile, I will keep reading the success stories and looking for experiences similar to mine as well as rereading @Chippypost https://antidepressantrecovery.org/topic/40-sleep-in-wd/#comment-30807. Sometimes finding someone who has been through something this severe and eventually got their sleep back gives me something concrete to hold onto when my own hope is very low. ❤️

You have told us that you have found success stories which are helpful. Keep reading those and others on SA. This needs to be enough right now. We are enabling and perpetuating your distress if we continue giving reassurance to the same question again and again.

Great job on getting outside and walking. Keep it up.

The last few days have been extremely difficult with wired/restless hyperarousal and almost no sleep.

My last three nights were 0h, 3h and 3h. Even the 3h nights mean spending ~8h in bed and waking every 20–30 minutes. I’m exhausted.

I’m now considering medication again despite my previous severe reactions. I really don’t want to go back on medication, but I feel I need a plan before reaching a point where I end up in the ER where noone will care and will just stuff me with meds to the MAX. I have an appointment with a psychologist/psychiatrist on Monday.

I hear everyone’s advice about acceptance and reducing symptom focus. Believe me, I’m trying. I’ve repeatedly read the WD sleep topic and watched The Sleep Coach School videos recommended by @PomogranatePi. Last night I tried not to fight the thoughts, anxiety or wakefulness - just accept and rest. But real sleep still barely came.

I do believe this is a WD wave, but right now I’m exhausted and desperately want to sleep.

@HopeOfHealing I'm sorry it's so tough, it will get better. Have you been to any online wd group sessions before? Can be an extra source of support to keep you on track with your recovery

Edited September 17Sep 17 by Amy B

1 hour ago, Amy B said:

online wd group sessions before

@Amy B actually never hear of such group sessions. Could you share more?

Hi @HopeOfHealing Acceptance won’t take away your symptoms. It’s not going to help you sleep. It’s about trying to accept the poor sleep without fighting or ruminating about it. I just wanted to clarify that for you since you said you’re trying your best to accept it and still can’t sleep.

I’m really sorry this is so hard. Instead of looking at a three day pattern, try and look at a bigger pattern of 1-2 weeks to draw any insight into your sleep. Hang in there. I had very poor sleep after I stopped mirt. I think it’s a very common issue at discontinuation but eventually levels out. Your nervous system is sensitized right now.

34 minutes ago, Wildflower said:

Hi @HopeOfHealing Acceptance won’t take away your symptoms. It’s not going to help you sleep. It’s about trying to accept the poor sleep without fighting or ruminating about it. I just wanted to clarify that for you since you said you’re trying your best to accept it and still can’t sleep.

@HopeOfHealing this is it. Acceptance is not a cure, it is just about letting the symptoms be, including sleeplessness if that is what happening at the time. You accept the symptoms as they are, accept that you cannot change them, and float through them.

Drugs have not helped you in the past and are what got you into this situation. In fact I’m seeing in your signature that you had paradoxical effects and adverse reactions to some drugs. I think it would be a very bad idea to go back on them simply because you are currently in a wave.

2 hours ago, HopeOfHealing said:

@Amy B actually never hear of such group sessions. Could you share more?

Yes ofc, there are quite a few out there, some charge and some are free. Sometimes I go to Angie Peacocks taper support circle. She also has other groups for acute WD and protracted WD. The first session is no pressure from my experience, you can just listen and see if its for you. https://www.angiepeacock.com/

There's Barbara Bell a benzo withdrawal coach, she updates her blog almost daily with a reassuring message. She also does free zoom talks on Mondays and Saturdays.They've carried me through some hard days.

https://www.barbarabellcoaching.co.uk/

Xx

Edited September 17Sep 17 by Amy B

@Amy B thank you for sharing! I will definitely check them out.

Hey @HopeOfHealing

20 hours ago, HopeOfHealing said:

I hear everyone’s advice about acceptance and reducing symptom focus. Believe me, I’m trying.

This is the thing here, acceptance isn't about trying, if you are trying you are resisting and this is the opposite to acceptance. Acceptance is radically learning to not care if you sleep. Don't assume accepting will be a magic pill, it isn't, what it is a way to reduce the suffering and frustration. It will help with sleep (once you truly stop trying to fix) by stopping any second fear from adding to this, but it can't sort the actual issue which is your injury. Acceptance is about accepting this is WD, accepting there are no quick fixes, accepting you won't sleep as much as you would like, accepting it really ****ing sucks, accepting you have no idea when it will end, accepting you have the strength to endure this, accepting you WILL get enough to survive even though it won't feel good. Acceptance bring peace in extreme painful circumstances. If you are trying to accept or thinking about taking other drugs than you are not accepting. Just let go. Give us. Let the body do what it has to do. You will be ok. This won't last forever. xxxx

On 9/16/2026 at 9:53 AM, HopeOfHealing said:

So rather than asking again whether insomnia is withdrawal, I would really love to hear personal experiences from people whose sleep stayed severely fragmented/shallow for weeks — especially during a late wave — and then improved.

@HopeOfHealing it is not productive to answer this question now. It has been asked and answered so many times, among tens and tens of other ones. This is a selection of quotes, there were many more asking just this one question, let alone the others.

On 8/20/2026 at 7:04 AM, HopeOfHealing said:

Has anything like what is happening to me right now ever happened to any of you with your sleep? If not personally, have you ever seen someone else here describe something similar? I just find what is happening to me right now almost impossible to comprehend.

On 8/21/2026 at 2:01 PM, HopeOfHealing said:

Has anyone experienced this particular pattern, where you can fall asleep, but somehow can’t remain asleep for long?

On 9/6/2026 at 7:13 AM, HopeOfHealing said:

Please share anything that helped you get through moments like this. And if you had sleep this broken and strange, did normal restorative sleep eventually come back?

On 9/8/2026 at 8:10 AM, HopeOfHealing said:

What else can I do about the sleep? Why might the emotional/cognitive symptoms improve so dramatically while the sleep remains so fragmented and shallow? Can sleep simply lag behind the other improvements and eventually return to normal?

It's okay to come and state that you're struggling and need support, but this is not productive at all. @Sminismoni quite rightly pointed out that repeatedly answering these is not helping you, if anything the opposite. The above quotes are only a few of many sleep questions, and I could pull up an equally large list for several other repeated questions.

Also, it's not fair to anyone else. Every single person who has responded to you is also suffering, many of them really quite badly. I can only speak for myself, but I've repeatedly written detailed, long posts responding to these questions, gone and found links to read, sat and thought about what I could suggest for considerable amounts of time etc. and then I come back and you've both ignored it and asked it again.

You repeatedly state that you're not ignoring answers, but this is becoming very clearly untrue now. I will again point out that my best nights of sleep, after years, are not as good as your better nights within this wave and never have been.

Do you have any thoughts on the numerous pieces of advice on sleep hygiene that you've been provided with and are you putting these into practice?

Will you be interacting with others on their threads as a more productive means of connecting with and relating with others outside of this anxious, question and answer loop, and seeing that actually the symptoms you're asking about daily are very common, as previously suggested? No posts have been made on any thread other than this one.

I want to help you, and you're welcome to post, but you're not helping yourself and you're demanding a lot from others who are suffering at least as much as you are and it is becoming increasingly clear that if they put significant effort and time into helping you, suggestions will be ignored and you'll ask for the same thing again.

@Luke, thank you for being direct with me.

Reading those quotes together, I can see your point, and I’m sorry.

I genuinely do read your answers, often several times, and they have helped me enormously. But when the fear and sleep deprivation peak, I guess I just lose all perspective and start seeking the same reassurance again. I can see that this has become a loop. Like described here - https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/13492-dealing-with-emotional-spirals/

I also understand @Chippy point - acceptance isn’t another thing I need to try harder to achieve or use as a tool to make myself sleep. Need to write it on the mirror or something.. Learn to let go of trying to fix every night, accept that this is awful and uncertain, and allow my body to do what it is going to do.

I do realise how much time and energy you and others, while suffering yourselves, have spent answering me. I’m genuinely grateful! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ I do read other people’s threads and would love to contribute more. Just... Right now... I honestly feel I have very little to give or advise anyone while I’m struggling this much myself. I hope that changes. I hope that one day I could help to support others.

Thank you for still wanting to help me and for being honest with me. ❤️

Edited September 18Sep 18 by HopeOfHealing

21 minutes ago, HopeOfHealing said:

But when the fear and sleep deprivation peak, I guess I just lose all perspective and start seeking the same reassurance again

I have been here, but trust me, it will get better. These fear and sleep depravation is hard. Continue to hold and cope with everything. Things will get better. Fear eventually will be weaker.

1 hour ago, HopeOfHealing said:

I also understand @Chippy point - acceptance isn’t another thing I need to try harder to achieve or use as a tool to make myself sleep. Need to write it on the mirror or something.. Learn to let go of trying to fix every night, accept that this is awful and uncertain, and allow my body to do what it is going to do.

I do realise how much time and energy you and others, while suffering yourselves, have spent answering me. I’m genuinely grateful! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ I do read other people’s threads and would love to contribute more. Just... Right now... I honestly feel I have very little to give or advise anyone while I’m struggling this much myself. I hope that changes. I hope that one day I could help to support others.

I completely understand you. I read your thread about depression and those distressing thoughts. I’ve always been a very strong woman who could handle anything—laughing things off and finding the positive side of everything. The hard part about withdrawal is the uncertainty. The fact that you can’t run away, can’t hide, and really can’t even find a distraction—especially when you’re depressed. Of course, you eventually have to accept your situation because you have no choice, but that’s easier said than done. I think that, as human beings, we are challenged by withdrawal. It’s as if withdrawal is saying: "Here I am; I come and go when I please, and I do whatever I want with you." I try to hold onto my "windows" of relief, though that isn't always possible—certainly not during a severe "wave." I’m not going to give you a bunch of tips, since I haven't quite mastered applying them myself yet, but I do want to offer you some encouragement. Big hugs, Sarah.

Small update:

Yesterday evening I fell into a very deep depression - nothing mattered, I couldn’t see any purpose and everything felt hopeless. Then it shifted into complete apathy and emptiness. Strangely, even that gave some relief from the intense physical/emotional distress.

I managed some little sleep early in the night, but kept waking from catastrophic, bizarre dreams - losing my child, my teeth falling out, strange people and situations.

Later I developed what I can only describe as “brain/mental akathisia” - almost like tiny bugs crawling all over and inside my head. An unbearable internal restlessness where I wanted to run, scream or escape my own head. It made sleep almost impossible.

I hear Luke and Chippy’s advice: less analysing, less fighting, more acceptance and time. Yesterday spent the evening with my husband reading dozzens of success stories to remind that this is something that has happened to others and that this is something you can survive if you give it time.

I’m just… very exhausted and very scared, but still holding on to hope. Just sharing where I am today. ❤️

@HopeOfHealing yep you will heal, it's fine to have symptoms, it's fine to not do well, as long as you survive you are moving forward ❣️

10 hours ago, HopeOfHealing said:

Small update:

Yesterday evening I fell into a very deep depression - nothing mattered, I couldn’t see any purpose and everything felt hopeless. Then it shifted into complete apathy and emptiness. Strangely, even that gave some relief from the intense physical/emotional distress.

I managed some little sleep early in the night, but kept waking from catastrophic, bizarre dreams - losing my child, my teeth falling out, strange people and situations.

Later I developed what I can only describe as “brain/mental akathisia” - almost like tiny bugs crawling all over and inside my head. An unbearable internal restlessness where I wanted to run, scream or escape my own head. It made sleep almost impossible.

I hear Luke and Chippy’s advice: less analysing, less fighting, more acceptance and time. Yesterday spent the evening with my husband reading dozzens of success stories to remind that this is something that has happened to others and that this is something you can survive if you give it time.

I’m just… very exhausted and very scared, but still holding on to hope. Just sharing where I am today. ❤️

Even with all those symptoms, you made it through a hard day and night. See yourself as strong. Try and get outside today if you can.

It is now week 6 of this wave, and I’m becoming very concerned about the sleep.

Earlier in the wave I still had some better nights and longer daytime windows. This week I’ve had two nights with 0 sleep, while other nights have been only a few hours of very fragmented sleep, often waking from vivid/nightmare-like dreams.

The hardest part now is being completely exhausted but unable to switch off. I lie down and try to drift off, but repeatedly get a surge of hyperarousal. My brain feels constantly “on”, my body is tense and even breathing seems accompanied by this strange physical anxiety.

I really want to get through this without destabilising myself further, but I’m reaching the point where I need practical help.

For those who experienced withdrawal insomnia this severe, what actually helped? Did anyone use low-dose melatonin or an antihistamine? Did it help or make the hyperarousal worse?

I’ve read the sleep thread and understand that withdrawal sleep can become extremely disrupted and eventually recover. But after six weeks and now completely sleepless nights, it is becoming very difficult to trust that my sleep can still normalise.

@HopeOfHealing I have experienced completely sleepless nights and nights with very fragmented sleep, as have many others on here. I think very likely the answer you will hear from most of us is that all that really helped was time and acceptance.

Any over-the-counter medication has its risks. If you are really set on trying something like melatonin, then start with a very low dose (Chippy usually recommends starting with 0.5 mg of melatonin and increasing very slowly from there). At higher doses melatonin can become paradoxical. I have seen several people on here have bad reactions to antihistamines in WD so I wouldn't recommend going that route.

Edited September 20Sep 20 by SarahMc

I take a very small dose of melatonin at times. 1mg or less.

I broke out in hives last week. I took 1/2 of a Claritin and did well without impact to sleep. Took 1/2 a tab again the next night to help with itching and it had the opposite effect. I was very wired. I think it can go either way.

@HopeOfHealing IMO there is nothing to help WD sleep apart from time and acceptance. I think if you are struggling to get to sleep on a regular basis it would be completely reasonable to try a very low dose of Melatonin as Sarah has mentioned. You can buy 1mg tablets, use the scales to weigh a 1/4 of the tablet and start there if you are worried about trying it.