Have you ever tried homeopathic remedies? My fiance has this same problem and we got him pills for "insomnia due to restless and repetative thoughts" or something ridiculously specific like that. So far they really help him fall asleep, although they don't help him stay asleep (he wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes). Anyway, we got them at the Vitamin Shop (they have a surprising amount of natural remedies if you go to a big one) but I'm sure alot of health food stores or maybe Whole Foods would have them too.

I'll have to take a look. In the past, melatonin and products like that haven't helped me though I haven't tried them for several years. Usually, two nights of taking something like ambien does help-- just to get me back into the rhythm of sleep again. I guess it doesn't actually help the symptom of rushing thoughts...though I'm not sure if anything will.

Coffea cruda is the one he's using.

God. I so have the same problem for at least a month now. It's so horrible. Usually, continueous lack of sleep tends to make me jittery during the day, then at night I can't sleep and then I get anxious about not sleeping which makes it that much harder to sleep. However, this time around, I am able to remain calm at night and I think it helps me during the day but doesn't actually help me sleep. I'm just lying there calmly noticing that I'm not really sleeping. If you find something non-medicated that helps you--PLEASE share. I will check coffea cruda too.

This is a lovely photograph.

I am loathe to double-comment, but I just looked at the ones on yr flickr page you termed "bad processing"--and you couldn't be more wrong. They're quite lovely, complete with smears of color and speckles and so forth.

Using Polaroids (whether instant/land camera/&tc.) you have to defer constantly to the machine, light, the weather (cold is so damn hard on the instant Polaroid film--I've had just blocks and blocks of zeroed out images). You cannot always control the process. That's part of it, and it's hard to let go--especially on a day when you only have so much film and nothing's turning out "right"--but letting go is part of it. Get drunk and mash the button!

As a further aside--your exhaustion. Don't be so reluctant to seek help. If your leg hurt so bad you couldn't walk, you'd go to the doctor, or if you were cut, you'd put on a band-aid. That's what you're trying to do, and that's exactly what you should be doing.

thanks (on both comments). i just wish there was some way to conquer the overactive mind. i tried to force my brain to think about other things last night and, when i finally fell asleep, i had the weirdest dream ever. i guess that was better than not sleeping a wink!

as for the polaroids, i never knew that temperature had such an effect on them! i guess it does give you a lot of new ways to play and be surprised.

welcome to my overactive mind. it never stops, and gets worse when it has nothing to do other than try to sleep. worse, sleeping meds, like ambien, rev me up.

i know i've had insomnia since at least college, and it gets worse as i get older. working really, really hard, physically (and my work is very physical) can help the sleep problems, but it never shuts my brain from looping, just over-rides it i think.

I just found a polaroid colorpack II in the attic--very excited. My old polaroids collection is growing. It's two now! haha.

God, that is an amazing photograph.
I'm mesmerized.

Gorgeous shot, lucky to have that camera. Finding comfort in nostalgic photos like this and stories of Brooklyn and everyday life from way out here... yp