u/Zweilancer — reddlx

I just wanted to make this post in case it would help someone else out there. I was desperate for a solution until I came across someone else’s post and followed his advice.

I will try to keep it as short as possible. Exactly a year ago an extremely stressful event made me neglect sleep and triggered my insomnia. I lost the ability to form thoughts and was bedridden for 2 months. I could not do basic things like hold a conversation because my brain was constantly semi-blacking out the entire day. It slowly got better after 2 months, I could leave my bed but not really leave the house because the exhaustion would take over. The whole ordeal lasted 9 months.

So in a desperate attempt to reclaim my life, I stumbled upon the reddit post, had a long talk with my doctor and put together this regiment that worked:

Melatonin 2 hours before bed. I thought I was immune to melatonin but apparently it takes 2hours to trigger, this advice from my doctor changed everything.
Take plenty of breaks throughout the day. Doctor said not to take naps but the naps was part of what made the recovery possible. Go easy on yourself.
Go to sleep before 11pm. While I’m back to my old bad habits of sleeping at 2am, it was essential during the recovery phase that I prioritized proper bedtime.
Aim for at least 7.5hours of sleep every night. It took 9 months before I got there. As I recovered, I got more and more hours of sleep. The process was slow and grueling.
Super important: when you wake up, don’t get out of bed. Stay in bed, keep eyes closed and mind empty. NO THOUGHTS. The only thought you should have is: rest. Lay there for as long as you need (I needed 2 hours every morning) until your mind feels its ready to “wake up”- this means it no longer feels exhausted/ like fainting. I could not even get up to pee because it would trigger full wakefulness. If you’re lucky, you might even fall back asleep. #5 is by far the most important trick I learned.
Let it be. There will be good days and bad days, my brain needed almost a year to rewire itself. Just accept the bad days and let it pass. On bad days, take more breaks and more naps.

I don’t know if this is the right solution for everyone but me losing the ability to think or get up and walk was the worst health-related problem I have ever experienced. I hope this helps.