For the past few months I haven’t been sleeping properly. It has taken over all aspects of my life. Most notably, here on my blog. I haven’t blogged for months, because I simply haven’t had the concentration span to finish a post.

I’ve been irritable and moody. My short temper is now just a very blunt fuse. Every little annoyance is blown way out of proportion. I’m exhausted all the time. I walk around in a haze not really able to focus.

I have tried everything I can think of to try and sleep. I’ve listened to everyone’s opinions and well meaning advice. I’ve stopped drinking. Cut down on caffeine. I’m exercising more. I’ve even tried meditating, which for me is unheard of. Nothing has worked.

You’re probably thinking,

“Just go to the doctor already!”

You see, I’ve been putting it off. I knew if I went I’d have to talk about the main cause of why I can’t sleep. Everyday for months, I’ve felt like something is crawling over my skin. Mostly I can ignore it during the day, I’m moving around, busy with work, or socialising. At night though the feeling is hellish. Laying in the dark everything feels more intense, more real. There’s a crawling, ticklish feeling over a toe. I slap it with the palm of my hand. A few seconds later I feel something on my leg, my arm, even my face and neck. It goes on and on for hours.

I’ve found with much of the psychotic symptoms I’ve displayed, like hearing voices, my first reaction is to deny, deny, deny. I think, there must be a mosquito in my room. Countless times I’ve got out of bed, turned the light on and scanned the room for the little bugger. I never find it. There isn’t anything to find. This week I’ve managed to face it head on and go and see my GP. I wasn’t going to mention it but the doctor very astutely recognised I was holding back the real reason I was having so much trouble sleeping. Please can we have more doctors like her, who are attentive, empathetic and make time for their patients! I need to go back and sort out a referral to see a psychiatrist, because at the moment I don’t have one. This was after I was discharged in the same appointment where I admitted having suicidal thoughts only hours earlier.

As I’m writing this I can feel a crawling sensation on my thigh. I’m wearing shorts so I can see the skin where there feels like there should be a bug. I’m looking at it and still the sensation lingers on. It’s freaky as fuck. I’m desperately wishing for it to stop now.

I worry intensely about going to bed, because I know I’ll be kept awake by these phantom insects. Every night I think to myself,

“This is the night where it stops. This is the night where I can finally sleep.”

But every night it’s the same old frustrating routine.

This is very new to me, and I’m still coming to terms with it. Even though I’ve experienced psychosis before, and I’m open about my experiences, I’ve still found myself nervously talking to my partner and family about this new symptom. I still worry how people will look at me when I explain the experience. I want to know more people that have tactile hallucinations, have discussions and learn from one another, so get in touch in the comments or message me!