Healthy Sleeping Patterns in Addiction Recovery - Crystal Meth

Addiction Recovery and Sleep Hygiene

Using alcohol and drugs takes a severe toll on the ability to get quality, refreshing sleep. In recovery, it is vital to get enough sleep.  Go to bed and get up at the same time each day. This will help reset your body's clock. Crystal meth use interrupts the sleep cycle and causes problems because of sleep deprivation. Not getting enough sleep can lead to out of whack hormones, weight gain, depression, irritability and a whole lot of other emotional and health problems. Paying attention to your sleep health is very important because it is like a domino onto everything else. If you cannot sleep then seek advice from a doctor about how to fall asleep.

Get help for medical conditions that affect sleep.  If you snore a lot and do not feel refreshed in the morning consider seeing a sleep doctor for possible Sleep Apnea.  Sleep Apnea means that breathing stops during certain sleep cycles and because the body is trained not to die, it brings the body out of a deep sleep, but this also causes its own problems over time like fatigue, memory problems, and daytime sleepiness.  Restless leg syndrome is another medical condition that affects sleep patterns.  Also, pay attention to your weight.  Putting on weight leads to increased blood pressure and poorer sleep.

It is important to understand you are not going back to "normal" overnight. Crystal meth has a very devastating impact on the brain. There have been studies that show that memory is intensified by crystal meth. What this means to you is that it makes it easy to daydream or fantasize about when it was good, and then those feelings to return to use are stronger because crystal meth has damaged certain centers in the brain. Using meth changes the way your brain works. Some of these changes will take weeks to months to years to heal. Educating yourself about addiction as a brain disease.

Will I Hear Voices and Hallucinate When I Quit Crystal Meth

Hallucinations and Voices after Quitting Crystal Meth

Many crystal meth users will continue to hear voices and have hallucinations long after they quit using. It is very common although rarely talked about.  In fact, many doctors dismiss the fact such hightened paranoia, voices, hallucinations, etc. continues after prolonged abstinence. They are slowly learning it is true. The medical literature is not up to date with current experiences of recent crystal meth users. Make sure to be assertive with the doctor when you go.

If you have stopped using crystal meth you may experience paranoia, high anxiety, depression, and sometimes a continuation of auditory and visual hallucinations. Go to the doctor if you are still having hallucinations. If you cannot do that then talk to someone about it because it feels pretty crazy.  Sometimes medication may be necessary to aid the person in quitting the voices.  Crystal meth use can lead to psychosis, a scary break with reality where the user does not realize that their world is made up in their head.  Once a person experiences a psychotic break it is much more likely that it will happen again.  These people are at a higher risk to hear voices, experience visual hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations especially around white noise like bathroom fans, noise fans, etc.  Background noise can also be a problem.

Don't be afraid to talk about this experience if you have it.  Over time it becomes manageable.