Carl Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I wonder if there is anyone else out there who's brain will not shut down. I know my train of thought is often derailed and I have a harder time focussing than I used to but even when I am off track thoughts seem to cascade like a deck of cards, sometimes the same thought never leaving sometimes related thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnS Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Hiya Carl, I get like this too and in fact it is the source of my insomnia. When my brain gets going, it simply will not stop. People always tell me to go to bed and get some rest, but I don't get any rest because my brain never stops. To begin with, I thought perhaps my mind was trying to piece together the weeks that I lost immediately after the sah, but surely that can't still be the case 11 months on. Dawn x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill C Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I get this too, usually when I am tired my brain boosts up & won't stop going!! Its usually as I'm getting in to bed it starts & wont stop so I try to read a little before trying to go to sleep. I have been known to write stuff down to get it out of my head, I also plan card layouts at this time which is very very frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winb143 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I will say to you what I said to David.....no laughing now.... Ready ? Head up ..now place chin on chest....now lift head turn it to left shoulder....Slow tut..hear the bones going..lol okay now head to right ...there...now back to chest ..and point chin on chest SLOW !!! lol now repeat ... Have you forgotten what was in mind? lol Be Well Carl....and if David laughs tell him off lol Regards WinB143 xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahLou Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 For me, sometimes my body is so tired my bones ache but my brain is wide awake doing cartwheels. At other times I'm so mentally exhausted I can actually feel my brain going into shut down. It's helped me to try and match mental and physical fatigue together, that's why I make sure I walk for an hour a day. Although of course put a work day on top of that and sometimes I end up totally zonked!! SL Xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Me. I cant be shattered too tired to sleep but as soon as I try the brain clicks into thoughts over & over they go. today was at the building society with only 3hours sleep woke up at silly o'clock and couldnt stop thinking about our appt.... so your not alone in this Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryB Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) I think that is what insomina really is..... I had been that way for years..b4 sah b4 fibro. I have friends the same way without SAH. But with stress of kids ( I think that is why so many mothers end up with insomina), illnesses in general, work worries. I am so lucky to have a Dr. that felt giving me something to relax my mind that may be addicting was less harmful than not sleeping was to my body & mind. One night of not sleeping and having my mind race from thought to thought does me in for a week. I think not resting and sleeping is the beginning of not being well. I you do not sleep your body cannot heal and the cycle begins. Just adding my thoughts. Maryb PS sorry I just reread Carls post . sometimes during the day my thoughts are jumping all over the place. I do best if I make a list and STICK to it, sometimes I have to turn on TV so I can just listen to something other than my racing thoughts when I am home. WHen I know I am having a hard time getting control over them. I like silence but I will use music or TV to have me stop listening to the voices in my head. Another thing when I quit smoking many years ago I would start thinking about a smoke and I would just say STOP to my thoughts, I do that now as well. When I find myself with racing brain I say STOP and try to focus. Since my SAh my ADHD is so much worse so some of the things I use to control myself I need to use more often. Wish I coudl fix that filter from my brain to my mouth! Edited July 18, 2012 by MaryB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amexdm Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Hello all: Carl- Yes I get same thing sometimes. I had started a thread about songs stuck in my head. Sometimes I get a song stuck in my head and cant get it out. It keeps repeating like a broken record. But by nighttime my brain is mush and I lay in bed and stare at the weather channel and listen to its light music. That helps. Mary- Voices in your head? that explains alot...kidding. I hear voices too. they say rest David. I laughed Win. Then I did your exercise. Put me to sleep. Thanks Win. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 I am going to start walking again. A friend just rang me and suggested we go out tonight. I hope the mosquitoes are kind to us. I felt so much better when I walked every day. It is a strange thing, a rampant brain. Part of it says pull yourself together and get on with life, the other part seems to wallow, not in self pity but more in a state of confusion. I really think my biggest problem is a form of apathy. I want to move on but my mind is running in circles. Analysing things, getting side tracked, then running back to the start. It feels like I don't care. Perhaps this is just aggravated by recent stresses. I have no doubt that stress plays a big part in our recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryB Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Good for you Carl to start walking again. We all know how badly the stresses are for us. I know exercise it so helpful and my charting shows it does. I just wish I could do it while I am on my work week..I found it great effort to wash my hair when I showered after work so adding a walk or anything is overwhelming for me most of the time.In fact I wish somene would bring me a glass of water as I am dying of thrist! Keep it up Carl - I am proud of you for being able to do it. Feel free to inspire me. Maryb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winb143 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I feel like I want to dance when Alan puts on music...so I just stand and move hips... Well they are the biggest part of me ........one day I'll be Dancing in the Streets ahhhh a song !!! All ya need is music sweet music there'll be music everywhere See brain has jumped again lol Love to All WinB143 xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macca Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Carl, you have a knack of putiing your finger right on the button. Maybe it's a body clock issue. Sometimes I sleep when I should be awake and then I'm awake when I should be asleep!! Either way it can be troublesome to deal with. I have also had bouts of apathy but I think this is down to a bit of depression sometimes in my case when I think I don't care - or maybe I've just put some things in context and things that were important before are relegated to a lesser position. When I go to work I park in a car park about half a mile away from my office so I have to walk there in the morning and walk back for my car in the evening. I also make a point of going for a walk at lunchtime, to stretch my legs and clear my head. You are right though, once something is in your head it keeps going round and round and it can be hard to let go but you have to make an extra special effort to dispel its creeping importance before it gets out of control. Talk to someone about the issue if you can, usually I find when I do that, the other person has put a different slant on it and suddenly it doesn't seem so important anymore and I then wonder what I was worried about. That is our unfamiliar minds playing tricks on us and it worries us because we forget that it is different to how we were pre - SAH. Interesting post this Carl and you make some good points too David, as usual. Win, can I have a pint of what you are on please - you are crackers but you always make me laugh - good on yer girl!! Macca Edited July 19, 2012 by Macca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaggett Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I definitely can relate to this. I've started meditation to help. I'm learning to quiet my mind as I sit in silence. Most of the time, I can quiet it if there is a distraction like music, but it is very hard to quiet myself on my own. Hopefully, I'll get better at this as I go along. Its a practice - process, so I know it will take time and dedication...but I already have seen effects on my mental state during the rest of the day. NOW, if I could just get that at night too. I, like many of you suffer from insomnia. I wonder if it is stress that ensues or from the actual SAH? I haven't figured it out yet. I do know that sleep does involve turning off some of the centers in the brain-stem, while leaving others alone - hence active dreams without consequences or morality. The pineal gland is also what secretes melatonin and is located near the 3rd ventricle (some ventricles are where SA blood goes-it differs from person to person as to which ones are most affected) so that's a possibility. The hypothalamus sends light signals (to regulate sleep wake cycles) to the brain stem. The brain stem/spinal chord is where SAH can pool before it gets absorbed. Who knows, I'm still trying to figure it out. All that really matters is I'm not sleeping well. ~kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hi guys The way I cope with this (and this is going to sound wacky) is to imagine I am pushing all thoughts from my head down my body and out of my toes (I even wiggle them to "release the thoughts" lol). Then I take slow, deep breaths and count backwards from 400 -it stops thoughts entering my head and I have never been awake to reach 300!!! Good luck x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winb143 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I'll try it Skippy/Sami...but if I get up to use calculator or if I reach 1 I'll be cream crackered lol..... I'll try yours also KP...but when I sit quiet things race through my mind about trivial things..like ...Hmm Sadie is quiet... hmmm did I put washing on..lol...but will try it Love to All WinB143 xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kempse Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I have in the past experienced the annoying "chatting brain" syndrome, but at the moment at least, it does not keep me awake at night which must be the most frustrating time for your brain and thoughts to start working overtime. My brother-in-law suffered badly with this and last year actually wrote a book on the subject with various stratergies to help combat the problem. If anyone would like to take a look at the book to see if it might be of any help to them, it can be found on Amazon on the following link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discover-Calm-Neale-Daniel/dp/1447710185/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342716835&sr=8-2 Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivien Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Hi all, I found that over stimulation was a problem for me during the first couple of years after my SAH. If I had a quiet boring day, then I would sleep well, if I did anything out of the ordinary my brain would go into overdrive trying to process everything. So I gradually realised that if I went out in the evening then I would be awake most of the night, but took this as the price worth paying. Now five years on, it happens rarely and I no longer am a night wanderer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandi K Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Vivien, that's what happens to me. A quiet uneventful day that is evenly paced means a good night's sleep. A busy day with exciting or extraordinary events means time will be required for my brain to slow down before sleep. Sandi K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryB Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I so long for quiet easy going days where I can go at my own pace. How wonderful it is not to have a demanding schedule and be able to have a pleasant day, week, month of going at my own pace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaggett Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I've also noticed that a stimulating day means a hard night. I'm so glad to hear that some of you are doing better with this than at first. Even a phone call after dinner is too stimulating for me! "Hold all my calls!" It's so freeing to say this...I mean to shout it out. I never really thought that others might have experience with this. I thought it was all part of my uptighness...maybe it is, but it's nice to know that maybe someday, I'll get it under control. ~Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.