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Originally Posted by EonZ
but I wouldn't call that insomnia, and if they do exist, should they be considered mentally unstable?
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I am bipolar. Sometimes, insomnia can be credited to bipolar disorder. Technically, yes, one could consider me to be mentally unstable.
...but I don't think everyone who's an insomniac automatically has a mental disorder, either.
In any case, I can use myself as an example for this one. Let's say I'm exhausted, come home at midnight, and go straight to bed. I will lay there, staring at the ceiling for AT LEAST three hours in an attempt to sleep. I cannot for the life of me seem to fall asleep. Many times, I cannot sleep before three in the morning, regardless of whether I'm tired or not.
I'd be willing to say that true insomnia is, in fact, a disorder -- or at least a symptom of some other mental disorder.
On the contrary, when someone has periodical "bouts of insomnia," I wouldn't call that true insomnia. Sure, their bodies may be portraying signs of insomnia, but they likely cannot sleep because they are stressed about something, or distracted, or something of the sort. If it's not a permanent thing, then it's not a disorder at all.
For at least the fifteen years that I can remember, I have not been able to willingly fall asleep before midnight. The older I get, the less I sleep. I made it through four years of highschool by falling asleep every single night between one and three, and still waking up at 5:15 every morning, regardless of what time I eventually fell asleep.
Sure, there are rare cases once every month or two when I can crash and burn hard, and sleep for ten or twelve hours, but that's usually the extent of it.