Help changing sleeping patterns

Hi, @emotionalPenny3496! That's a great and important question, because sleep disturbance is one of the most common symptoms of depression. Also the one which heavily impacts our day to day struggle. I'm not a professional, so my opinion is based only on my own experience with this disorder.

I believe that people having depression oversleep so much, because we are simply exhausted. Really, really exhausted. Our brain is constantly fighting to get us trough the feelings of hopelessness, lack of motivation, and so many of other obstacles, it drains all of the mental and physical energy. Our organism is out the balance - everything from the pattern of thoughts to neurotransmitters and hormones is off the mark. And it is completely understandable when we remember that depression is a disorder, thus we cannot expect regular productivity.

Oversleeping isn't malicious on the part of our body. It is a signal for us to notice there is something wrong. Just like the runny nose is a sing of the cold. And I don't know any other way to get back of the sleep track than to properly address the depression issues. There is a lot of treatment to choose from (not only the medications) and the best way to create an effective plan is to talk with a professional. I encourage you to talk with someone, so you can feel better as soon as it's possible.

What worked for me was taking an antidepressant in the evening - its side effect was to make me sleepy, so it made me go to bed at consistent hour. And after a few weeks of taking it, it helped a lot with regulating my brain, so I stopped to feel so exhausted, thus needing less and less sleep. In my case the meds made the biggest difference in restoring a healthy sleep pattern for me. However, I've also been taking a great care to learn how to de-stress, combat the negativity spiral of thoughts, drink water and eat properly and more, so I definitely don't cross out the possibility these actions' positive influences, too. Meds were just a part of the bigger recovery picture here.

You said you've been struggling with it for two years already, so I can imagine how tired you are about this situation. But let me assure you that it is not a default state. You have an illness, but it doesn't condemn you to bear its weight forever. You can absolutely get better and take a pleasure from the peaceful rest once again.

I don't know if I helped you at all ^^ Please, just know that you are not alone and that your experiences with depression are valid. You are not ina hopeless situation. Lots of hugs!

@emotionalPenny3496, I forgot to include resources for you, sorry about that ^^; There is a community guide on sleeping well - what I like about most about it is the section titled "Sleep Education & Hygiene". It includes a formula to determine how much sleep we need, which was completely new to me, and is pretty apt, in my opinion. The guide gives you an in-depth overview on sleeping patterns and I think educating yourself on the subject of struggle is always handy.

Spoiler: when you read the guide, you will be rewarded with a little badge ^^

im so tried havent slept in over 24 hours