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Hi everyone
I just wanted to give you some positive feedback from an 8 week course I did with Martin last summer. My insomnia had got so bad I was having a couple of hours sleep per night and still keeping a full time job!! I was extremely depressed and anxious and I didn’t know the answer. So I thought I will invest in trying a CBT course for insomnia online with Martin. I planned it for my 8 week vacation as I’m a teacher and knew I could put everything into following the course if I wasn’t in work. I enrolled and the feeling of support I got was amazing. I no longer felt alone and Martin always answered queries or concerns very quickly and in lots of detail. I pretty much did all of the techniques that was required and slowly as the weeks progressed I was becoming less fearful of sleep. The best thing I found was that you had a strict sleep window of how long you were to be in bed as this stopped anxiety of staying in bed anxious and awake. The half hour half hour rule I found the most challenging as I kept telling myself that this would make me stay awake all night as I would be in and out of bed!! However, it does work and is needed to reset the way you think about sleep. I am now 6 months post course and I’ve had a few episodes of stress such as school inspection which effected my sleep for a couple of weeks, but I knew that this was stress of inspection and not stress to do with sleep. The most important thing is to try not to become stressed when you wake. I still tell myself it doesn’t matter if I don’t fall back to sleep and most of the time I quickly go back into the dream I woke from. Don’t put so much emphasis on sleeping. Gradually you accept that if you really don’t care too much either way then you don’t get stressed. I know that everybody wakes out of sleep cycles every night and that you can go back to sleep if relaxed. I was really, really in a very despaired state at the beginning of the course and now do not have a sleep issue at all. Martin is absolutely amazing ? he is so knowledgable and I am eternally grateful to him for all the support and techniques he helped me to implement. I know I couldn’t have done it without him. All I can say is if you want to get better and feel you can’t do it alone you really will benefit from doing the course. It is worth every penny and is an investment for life!!! Everyone gets periods of times when they have sleep issues and need to know strategies so that the problem does not become an insomnia issue. Also it is not easy to put these strategies and new thought patterns into place, but it is so much easier to do it when you have a perfect coach helping you every step of the way. You can do it!! I did ??
Good luck everyone x
Thank you for the update! It’s one thing me always telling others about how effective CBT-I is over the long-term but it’s quite another when someone posts an update and reports that they’re still sleeping well six months after finishing a course of CBT-I!
How long had you struggled with insomnia for, before you enrolled in my coaching course?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Clarity program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
How were the first week or two for you? Were you really able to get up every half hour? How many times average would you get up each night? When did things start to get better?
Hi Martin and Deb
I had insomnia really badly for just over a year before starting the course ?
initially Deb you have your sleep diary you do for Martin analysed so that he can develop a personalised plan for you. Your sleep window will be calculated. That means the allocated time you can be in bed to sleep. Mine was 5.5 hours. This was a relief to me as I knew that it would reduce the time I would be stressed lying awake. You estimate about a half hour of awake time and get up and do something relaxing for half hour before going back to bed. I used to have a cd with a sleep relaxation program that was half an hour long from Amazon. You repeat this until you sleep. I used to hear it sometimes 3 times which meant 3 times repeating the half hour rule. You have to keep doing it almost like training a baby to sleep. The following night you are really tired in the evening/ but you have to make sure you stick to the same time to start your sleep window . I chose my 5.5 hour window from 12 midnight to 5,30 in the morning. Then I would get up and go for a little run- fresh air helps you relax. It was really hard but you have to do it to start changing your mindset and gain some control back. Towards 3/4 way through the course I could see I was getting so much better. I do have some nights if I’m stressed about different things when I wake and sometimes it takes a little reminding of techniques and self talk that it’s not really a big problem. The techniques you learn on the course you won’t forget because they get firmly embedded through practice during the course.
If you’re really stressed and struggling do the course as you really will benefit from the advice and support. I’m so glad I did .
All the very best ??
I was also interested in knowing how long it took to see some progress. I’m in week 2 but feel like the restriction is making me a bit anxious since I have less time in bed.
The restriction is very difficult when you first start, I can attest to that. I am a beginner to insomnia, only about over a month now. But it feels like an eternity. Depression is setting in. I have heard it can take weeks, but everyone is different I guess.
You’ve got this, Sleepless in SSB! We’ve all got your back.
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Clarity program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
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