So I’m currently recovering off alcohol dependence. A choice of my own and an issue I identified myself and I cannot sleep for the life of me. It’s literal torture. I go to sleep sleepy yet can’t. My sleep is so fragile that a slight noise or change in my position will wake me up. So I have no choice but to sleep in the morning/afternoons as I’m awake the whole night.
This morning I went to sleep and couldn’t whatsoever so it ended up being later in the afternoon. But my family kept barging in and making noise (if I’m not honest not unbearably loud they were just going about their day as normal as they have normal sleep schedules). But they don’t know about my dependence of alcohol and they just think it’s me being on my phone or being undisciplined that’s causing my erratic sleep schedule. I told them to be mindful and I did get very angry to the point I shouted at them simply because I am sleep deprived and exhausted. They said they shouldn’t have to cater to me as the times I sleep isn’t normal.
You do have a choice. You be sleep deprived for a couple of days until you’re tired enough to sleep at night. You’re making shit worse right now and putting your family through more of what I’m guessing is just the tip of the iceberg of issues caused by alcoholism.
INFO: Are you sleeping in a common area? When you say they’re barging in do you mean they’re barging into the room where you sleep or the house in general?
My instinct is Y T A for yelling at them when they don’t even know the source of the problem but I’m confused about what you mean by “barging in” here.
Sit down with your family and explain to them 1) exactly what you’re going through physically and emotionally and 2) why barging in is absolutely unacceptable. I never had an alcohol problem myself, but I’ve fought depression and PTSD, and people would barge in on my and say “WAKE UP, you lazy bum!” I won’t tell you waht I wanted to do to them.
When you say barging in do you mean barging in your bedroom?
I mean it has to be expected they will go about their routines during typical waking hours.
OP, how old are you? Are you an adult with a partner and children, or are you younger and live with the family you were born into?
Alcohol dependency changes how your brain functions for a while, and coming off can require some retraining. Alcohol is a sedative and your brain adapts to that by being less relaxed than usual to offset regular alcohol usage. When you’re no longer applying that sedative, your brain doesn’t know to relax automatically. It’s trained into a habit. You can take some over the counter supplements to help or talk to a doctor for something stronger if necessary.
If you’re an adult, then you need to talk to your partner about helping the kids understand that you’re recovering from some health stuff and need the extra sleep time for a little while. Get some earplugs, tea, whatever, and get some rest fast.
If you’re living with your birth family, then you can tell them the truth or just tell them you’re having a bout of insomnia, but you need to recognize that it’s their house and your responsibility to handle your sleeping requirements. Earplugs, white noise, whatever you need to retrain yourself to sleep without depending on the rest of the people to walk on eggshells.
You need to know that sleep deprivation affects your emotional impulse control, so you will need to curb what you say and use your brain rather than your emotions to dictate what you say. If you need to sleep when people aren’t up and about, then sleep at night. Get up during the day, even if you’re exhausted, and get in the habit of trying to sleep at night. Don’t let your brain get used to sleeping during the day, or you won’t relax at night.
YTA
YTA. Are you for real right now??
Two days ago, you were posting about being on a day+ long bender. Eleven days ago, you posted that you had just discovered alcohol.
If this is a true story, YTA. If you’re making it up, also TA.
*jeeeeeesus what*
You could use a light benzo to help you with the alcohol withdrawals and get some decent sleep, like Librium or Ativan.
YTA. Don’t yell at people going about their day. Calmly discuss it. Primarily not knocking or entering your bedroom. I’ve had sleep problems for the last year that just started working themselves out in the last 6 weeks. I’d recommend eye mask, white noise machine, earplugs, and magnesium. That’s what’s helped me the most and all are nonprescription. If you’re still having trouble talk to a doctor.
Jeez. Get over yourself.
YTA. The messed up sleep schedule and the irritability are unfortunately common in those who are recovering from substance use. However, that does not give you an excuse to snap at your family, especially because they have no idea you are in recovery.
Best thing you can do for yourself during this time is hold yourself accountable, take whatever amount of sleep you can get and try your hardest to work through your dependence. I wish you the best of luck moving forward!