Insomnia

[Faith No More]

I've suffered from regular bouts of this since I was fifteen so I would really welcome any advice I could get about how to deal with it.
The longest I've gone without sleep is seven days straight.
Its not that I don't feel tired, its just a powerful feeling of restlessness that won't let go. Eventually I get to the point where there is literally nothing left and pass-out.
Anyone got any experience in this?

Insomnia is an old nemesis of mine. I've struggled with it for about a decade. To compound the problem, I had been prescribed enough benzodiazepenes to kill an elephant since my late teens, and two years ago, when I finally quit taking them, my insomnia got really, really, bad. Consequently, I have been in a constant state of near exhaustion since, and I can't get more than a few hours sleep without taking an ambien.

One thing that helped me for a little while that you can get over the counter is melatonin. You will, however, build up a very quick tolerance to it, and it will quit being effective. Sometimes I try relaxation when I can't sleep, and I try to avoid things that get my mind racing in the hours before I'm about to go to bed. Unfortunately, that is the extent if my advice, because I still struggle with it too.