I used to regularly get good sleep for a while pre-pandemic, but ever since then my sleep has become so dysregulated and I've basically become dependent on weed to fall asleep. It's gotten to the point where I get nerve pain and restless legs (that in itself contributes to insomnia) if I don't get high before bed, no idea if this is a shared experience with other NDers. On top of the fact that this makes weed less fun and it makes my tolerance out of control, I also don't like relying on a substance to fall asleep as it seems to just make it more difficult to try and go without the longer I continue this pattern. I am trying to refrain from using weed to fall asleep for the next short little while but the first night I'm unable to fall asleep at all. Anyone have any advice or experience with a similar situation or just for regulating sleep in general? I know sleep difficulties are part and parcel of the autistic, ADHD, ND experience generally. I can't function if I don't get good sleep and I'm desperate.
You're welcome!
Well, shit. Sometimes I genuinely hate being right about things. Autistic pattern recognition can be a hell of a thing.
There was one person I worked with who showed all these signs of sudden onset MS but spent months struggling with this "mystery illness", where all I wanted to do was to scream out that it was MS but I couldn't so I held my tongue. Of course, she eventually told me of her new diagnosis and it turns out that it actually was MS. The full story is actually kind of a wild and I don't think I've ever told anyone about it before. Sometimes I wish I could turn the pattern recognition off because it's stressful as fuck and it requires extra masking.
Idk where I'm going with this. I guess parting advice would be to strongly encourage you to keep at it with self-care as your primary focus; if there's one thing that life has taught me it's that autistic burnout is similar to addiction in the sense that you will think you have hit rock-bottom but if you don't do something about this, it will surprise you and show that the lows can get even lower still.
I don't mean to come off like I'm some doomsday prophet trying to terrify everyone but it's too important to not warn people about this. So yeah, keep on prioritising your wellbeing and recovery and you will be okay.