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Kukaracha
Cat wannabe
Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1,682
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Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge!
#11169370 - 10/02/09 11:37 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hello everyone.
So, I have this friend who has some sorts of sleeping problems.
It all started when she was a little kid, she was very anxious (before having these problems) and had more and more trouble falling asleep. She would stare at the clock and panic, because she knew it was bad and that little kids weren't supposed to be awake at 2 in the morning. She grew... at some point of her life, when she was around 13, she started having anxiety/panic attacks, mutilating herself hysterically, then having a hot shower to numb the pain. Those went away when she entered high school, all of a sudden. They were kind of a ritual, and were an addiction at some point.
She's also quite an obsessional and paranoid person (for example, she has to turn the TV off in a special way otherwise she's frustrated, and she wouldn't let anyone alone in her room, and so on) in some aspects. You don't really pay attention to that at first, and learning all that was surprising, since at first she just looks like a random pretty girl (men really like her, she could be qualified as "very hot body with a doll face").
Interesting thing: she has a very bad memory (forgets things and people quickly) and very few and trivial memories of her childhood.
Her sleeping patterns are also quite special: now she sleeps about 3 hours a night maximum. When she's very tired, sometimes she pulls off 5 hours of sleep. I've witnessed this, as I often stay up late talking with her. Even when I leave at 5 a.m, she's still not sleeping. She dozed off when while we were talking, but that was all. She stays up most of the night reading, watching TV or a movie on the computer, until she falls asleep, and she wakes up pretty early.
She went to see a doctor already, but I find all this quite odd and interesting. Do you think that the lack of sleep has somehow affected her body, her brain and cognitive functions in particular? She's overall very fragile and a bit anemic. What do you think of this?
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Smitington
Unidentified Flying Object
Registered: 08/10/09
Posts: 1,408
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Kukaracha]
#11169415 - 10/02/09 11:47 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Kukaracha said: It all started when she was a little kid
ask what happened to her
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Kukaracha
Cat wannabe
Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1,682
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11169551 - 10/02/09 12:08 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I did, she says that she doesn't remember anything special. Her obsessions aren't related to a particular thing neither. I already wondered about a possible severe trauma/shocking event, but if there is one, she forgot everything about it.
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Smitington
Unidentified Flying Object
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Posts: 1,408
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Kukaracha]
#11169580 - 10/02/09 12:13 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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she didn't forget anything, she just build a berlin wall around it
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Smitington
Unidentified Flying Object
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11169594 - 10/02/09 12:15 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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If there truly isn't something there in her past, I can't understand it, how a soul could be so tormented for no good reason. Sometimes it's not one event, but several spanning a long time. Problems with her family at all?
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Kukaracha
Cat wannabe
Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1,682
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11170804 - 10/02/09 04:27 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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That's the thing: her life is as clean as a clinic, no major bumps, she's supposed to have had a wonderful childhod travelling here and there. Only thing is her parents splitting up, but she has no problem talking about that or anything. Good relations with her father and mother. A straight life of happiness, or at least that what's it looks like from the little she remebers and everything she's been told.
I might try MDMA with her, it could help, or at least get her into telling me everything she wants and everything she thinks about. But I really don't see what went wrong here.
But has anyone here had sleeping problems like that?
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Smitington
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Posts: 1,408
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Kukaracha]
#11170922 - 10/02/09 04:53 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I used to have that problem falling a sleep, I would lay in my bed for hours, thinking about stuff, I would call it anxiety. It was pretty bad sometimes I thought that I might have had insomnia. I think i was just a very stressed out person in those years, and alot of repressed issues that I probably still havent completely resolved. And it's funny, cus my parents are divorced too, and I have a great relationship with them and they are great people, but the divorce still did a number on me, I know it did. When you see your parents fighting alot it can be very hard, I feel like I some how supressed my feelings and I'm still struggling with not being very good at handling and understanding my feelings today. It's also crushing when your parents tell you they are splitting up, because you were so happy with the home you had before, with the family you had. It's tough man, and I'm sure your friend could be going through the same thing. I don't have any good answers for you right now cus like I said I know I am still working stuff out.
Drug therapy might be a good option, I didn't want to recommend it because I have no experience healing other people besides myself. I actually really like ayahuasca, I've been using it lately and it feels very healing.
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Kukaracha
Cat wannabe
Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1,682
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11173763 - 10/03/09 07:04 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Well I talked more with her, but the divorce probably isn't the biggest issue. Everything went fine, and her parents would rarely fight in front of her. Plus, maybe you got some issues after your parents split up, but were they that bad? Also, it seems that it all started after kindergarten, before her parents split up.
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Smitington
Unidentified Flying Object
Registered: 08/10/09
Posts: 1,408
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Kukaracha]
#11174169 - 10/03/09 10:17 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I'm sorry man this is kinda outside of my understanding of psycology. It seems like she had some kind of fear of punishment as you talked about her fear that she would get in trouble for being up late. I don't know any thing about panic attacks and the effects of very little sleep on a childs mind. She just needs a good trip is all I can say, remind her that life isn't really real, just what ever you make it, so I'm saying just try to get her to move on. That's the best I can do, maybe somebody else on here could help you.
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Edited by Smitington (10/03/09 12:41 PM)
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Kukaracha
Cat wannabe
Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1,682
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11179509 - 10/04/09 09:51 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Ah well, I hope I can at least get some info on the damage her sleeping habits could've caused...
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Smitington
Unidentified Flying Object
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Kukaracha]
#11179540 - 10/04/09 10:00 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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You seem to be looking for basic knowledge on what sleep deprivation can do to a child and teenager, so I suggest doing some research. Just google it man, I found this site that might help: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/sleep/a/06_pt_slp_dpvd.htm
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Kukaracha
Cat wannabe
Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1,682
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11193061 - 10/06/09 11:27 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Thanks! I searched but found nothing really helpful. Your link does confirm some fears I had. I guess she really should get back on track or she'll be finished soon.
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Smitington
Unidentified Flying Object
Registered: 08/10/09
Posts: 1,408
Loc: Mushroom Kingdom
Last seen: 10 years, 10 months
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Kukaracha]
#11193140 - 10/06/09 11:42 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Yea man, just be a good friend to her, that's what she needs the most. We can always get better, it just takes time, effort, and love. Best of luck to you.
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AmonSacha
Stranger
Registered: 09/09/09
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Re: Sleep deprivation, growth, consequences on the brain... share your knowledge! [Re: Smitington]
#11261940 - 10/16/09 06:44 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I had similar problems at a few points in my life. They call it a bunch of stuff but basically what it came down to for me was just regularly seeing a therapist. It is the cheapest and safest way to seek treatment for mental health issues. I've been up and down through the system and, at least for me, it is the only thing that helps.
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