A little victory!

[cat_ncsu✘ Not a client]

In the spirit of celebrating wins, I want to share a little story. I’ve been struggling with an acute insomnia episode for about 3.5 months, and started CBT-i about 5 weeks ago, with roller coaster results!

I know my anxiety is key, and I’ve been trying to “thank” it for keeping me safe. The night before last was one of my worst, and I felt pretty cruddy yesterday. But, as Martin and others suggest, I lived my life and ended up having a decent day in spite of the brain fog and fatigue.
Then, over dinner, the anxiety returned. But I really befriended it. I said “hi there, thanks for visiting,” and proceeded to have a conversation with it as it sat on the couch next to me. I told it, “did you notice how well we did today?” And positive things like that. I didn’t ask it to leave. But eventually, after flitting back in and out for the next couple hours, it finally left. And I slept fantastic! One of my best nights over the past 4 months.

Here’s to persistence, to acceptance, and to mutual support.

[Martin Reed★ Admin]

Wonderful — thanks for sharing!

Just as you shared, when we don’t battle with our thoughts and feelings, we tend to become more skilled at noticing them coming and going and they often start to have far less of an influence over us.

Remember that our goal with accepting (and even welcoming!) our thoughts and feelings isn’t to get rid of them (or to make sleep happen!) but sometimes that can happen. When it does, enjoy it as a bonus!

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.

If you would like to say thank you by making a financial donation to Insomnia Coach, here’s the tip jar!

[smueller1117✓ Client]

Thanks for posting this! I’m working on the same thing and it seems to be helping.

[dbaldino✘ Not a client]

Ditto. Thank you for posting this. It inspired me. I have found that acceptance works for both anxiety and insomnia. You have validated that this is true.

[Author]

Posts