How my sleep improved during TSW #video

Watch the video version of this blog post!

When I was going through Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW), I noticed that I would always wake up with calmer skin. So I figured that so long as I can get myself to sleep, my skin is healing because I am not scratching.

Now the big question is: HOW DO I GET MYSELF TO SLEEP? 

During my TSW days, I would go to bed around 9pm, but the piercing intensity of the skin pain, itch and extreme discomfort of TSW symptoms, would keep me awake until about 4 in the morning. Eventually, I would fall into deep sleep around 5 am due to sheer exhaustion.

And that’s ok – because in that sleep, my skin gets a break from scratching, and it heals.

But I did not used to think this way  – In fact I would start to experience anxiety when I was unable to sleep past 1 in the morning.

Then it came to a point when I realized that I’ve to temporarily let go of the mindset that I have to sleep within what is considered “normal hours”.

When I catch myself about to spiral into sleep-related anxiety,  I would remind myself that the stress and worry of not being able to sleep does not help me sleep faster.  In fact, that added stress along with the tired mind, will amplify my worries and intensify the pain and itch – which prolongs my suffering. A vicious cycle.

SO MY RESPONSE TO “HOW DO I GET TO SLEEP DURING TSW IS”:

Shifting my focus to prioritizing and maximizing the amount of sleep whenever I can. 

I would still go to bed around 9pm with the intention to fall asleep.

I would make my bed with clean, fresh and comfortable, and wind down by relaxing my mind.

The TSW symptoms were definitely still there, but I try to ease into the pain by breathing deeply, letting the negative thoughts pass and distracting myself by watching videos or reading enjoyable content that is not TSW related. When my eyes get tired, I will close my eyes and listen to the content, sometimes soft music.

And then at some point I would naturally fall asleep. There were definitely days when I’d fall asleep when the sun rises. But I stopped keeping track. 

My goal was to maximize whatever sleep I can get and not focusing on what time I was sleeping.

Some days I’d sleep in. Other days, I’d take naps. It’s not perfect. My sleep pattern was completely messed up. And that is ok, because I know that I can fix my sleep cycle later when my skin improves.  

After my skin healed, I worked on my sleep cycle – And now, I sleep like a regular person – I sleep so well now – that the quality of my sleep is way better than what I had even before TSW happened.

If you haven’t watched the other parts of this “Recovered from TSW: 8 Effective Things I Did ” series, definitely check them out below!

Recovered from TSW: 8 Effective Things I Did Video Series:

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