hey everyone,
So I have bipolar disorder, and right now I'm in an extremely depressive phase. I think it's screwing up my sleep, because I haven't slept properly in over a month. I can't sleep through the night, I'm constantly waking up and uncomfortable, and when I do sleep I have horrible, vivid dreams. I know the things in the dreams aren't real but when I wake up I feel terrified and I stay that way. I've been feeling increasingly paranoid and extremely jittery. It's almost like manic symptoms except I feel extremely anxious and depressed all at the same time. I've had three panic attacks today alone. I start to shake and hyperventilate at random times. I'm always feeling scared and like something really bad is about to happen. I'm sure the paranoia and anxiety are a result of exhaustion. In addition, I've been sleeping more and more to supplement my loss of sleep at night. This is causing me to miss school and work, which is really bad. Then when I do haul myself to school or work I'm paranoid and jumpy, and I don't perform well. I feel like I'm in this cycle that's just getting worse and worse. This hasn't ever happened to me before. Has anyone experienced these kind of sleep/exhaustion issues? Any ideas for how to fix it? Thanks.