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Tired in Toronto

It's not falling asleep that's the problem; it's staying asleep. It has now been officially a month since I slept soundly through the night. Possibly longer. The last time I remember sleeping through the night was the first week of January, for one night. Before that...well, I started paying attention at the end of December, after my fourth experience of sleep paralysis, this time accompanied by the shadowy figure of a man in my bedroom doorway.

I'd guess I'm still getting 6 hours of sleep a night, so I'm not dying from sleep deprivation. I have not gone to the doctor (I don't even have a doctor!). And I don't like to over-spiritualize this sort of thing... So I'm left waiting it out.

Other suggestions I've received include a glass of wine before bed, melatonin, some type of nasty-tasting tea.

That is all. Just telling the world. A shared sorrow is a half sorrow, right?
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Comments

  1. Silas5:44 PM

    has anyone suggested acupuncture?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katie V.7:56 PM

    Sorry to hear this is still causing you probs. I've had some old hags myself (apparently the folkloric name for this phenomenon). Freaky. Ideas.....acupuncture sounds like a great suggestion. Maybe massage? That is just good anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ry9:40 PM

    May I seriously suggest prayer? Its not over-spiritualizing it, but rather how we communicate with him who gives all things good. I will even pray for you if you don't want to, haha.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beth11:35 PM

    silas - you are the first to suggest acupuncture!

    ry - prayer is ongoing, but i'll take yours too :)

    katie - massage happens every few weeks... and i am curious about the folklore!

    ReplyDelete
  5. becca11:35 PM

    hey beth, i think it's brave of you to share about this sort of thing. i've experienced it before, and i would lean towards a spiritual explanation. now, i grew up southern baptist, so all things "spiritual battle" were foreign and scary to me until about a year or so ago. i've just finished reading neil t. anderson's "the bondage breaker" and he has some good insights. mainly, we can't say that something someone is experiencing is only spiritual or only physiological, because neither of those elements cease to exist at any point in time. i.e. there is never a time when you exist outside of a spiritual realm or a physical realm.

    while that might feel scary, don't be scared! you are a child of God and the evil one canNOT touch you! :) i learned from this book that when i'm scared of the devil or his minions, i'm believing a lie that he has more power than he does. he's so tricky! he uses scare tactics (and they often work) but they're just smoke screens! you are safe!

    anyway, i could go on about this, but you should read the book. i really appreciated that the focus of the book is on Christ's words (which are so true, especially in this sort of situation), if you know the truth, the truth will set you free! you are a child of God, you are in Christ and Christ is in you, and the devil cannot touch you. resist the devil and he will flee from you. if it happens again, just start with those thoughts.

    man, if i heard someone say all this stuff to me not too long ago, i would've been freaked out and thought they were loopy. hopefully you and your readers don't think that about me. ;) but it's so simple, the truth sets you free.

    praying for you. for real.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beth7:40 PM

    becca - thanks! i read that book in high school, and it changed my perspective on spiritual warfare as well. i definitely think the whole sleep paralysis has a spiritual connection. what i'm unsure of is whether or not this restless sleep is "random" or not...

    thanks for the prayers :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Silas8:16 PM

    i only suggest acupuncture because i tried it last year and it helped significantly. oftentimes i would fall asleep during acupuncture (that is common) which was a relief. i can suggest someone in toronto if you wish! i know it sounds pretty intimidating at first

    ReplyDelete

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