[JK]

Hi there

I have suffered on & off with insomnia for 4 years currently having a bad time.( can’t get off to sleep can take hours ) . for me it’s the panick / hyper arousal , heart beating very very fast , I know it’s the fear of being awake lying there terrified with a beating heart. The fear of NOT sleeping. If only I could try and be – friend wakefulness by doing something nice to associate wakefulness as NOT a threat , does this make sense ? I have heard it’s meant to work ? This reverse way of looking at it ? As opposed to sleep hygiene which for me made me worse !! Any advice peeps please ? I do not have anxiety in any other areas of my life only when I am struggling to get off to sleep.

Thanks

J x

[sleep]

I fall asleep every night on the couch, this is probably not the best way to sleep but it works for me. My husband goes to bed early and I have always been a night owl. I really dont fear being awake any more. If I dont feel sleepy and I am in the bed I just lay there and relax and in some strange way enjoy this time be glad it is not time to get up and run around getting dressed and doing errands. It has been so cold here lately and feels good to snuggle under the covers with my electric blanket on low.

Like I said I fall asleep on the couch and in an hour or so I wake up and it is 12 oclock, and I head to bed and have been sleeping really good for almost a year now. I went 2 years with insomnia tossing and turning afraid I could not sleep but now I know different, I know I will sleep eventually. I went on doing things, enjoying life when the sleep was bad and my sleep drive builds up and I sleep. Listening to Martin Reed assure me that I would sleep made such a difference. Hard to believe my mindset could mess me up like that for 2 years but it has passed and my church delayed services tomorrow because of the weather and I told my husband Good, I can sleep late tomorrow. Wow I thought that would never happen but it does and I am able to sleep longer on the weekends also which is wonderful. Anyone who has insomnia knows how I feel.

[JK]

Hello and thanks for your response . These comments truly help. I eventually go downstairs and get cosy underneath my weighted blanket and finally fall asleep on the couch . Like yourself. However unlike yourself I have never been a night owl 🦉 and I think that’s where I am going wrong not welcoming welcoming wakefulness. Last night my heart was racing like the clappers and i was so overwhelmed with anxiety it made me want the loo ! I need to know I am safe. And just treat being awake as no big deal. It’s not a bully and I should not be scared of it. I feel like I need to hypnotise myself to thinking this ! Any tips always grateful thanks

J x

[Pastasauce]

I have found befriending wakefulness to be very helpful in my insomnia recovery journey. What I have started with is accepting that it is ok to be awake – like really truly ok. It’s not what I want, but it is ok. What has been helping with this is the knowledge that I can live my life the next day, even if I don’t sleep well. It is also helpful for me to remember that my body will always sleep at some point.

Then I have been working on responding to being awake. The idea I have been working with is “how can I respond to this moment with a little bit more ease?” I also ask myself – “is how I’m responding creating more struggle (or grounded in struggle)?”

For the hyperarousal or physical symptoms of anxiety, I have been working with the idea of acceptance as well. For example, if I feel my stomach clenching, I lean into it instead of trying to make it go away. I describe it to myself (“I’m feeling a tightening. It’s in the upper part of my stomach.”) And I remind myself that it is just an adrenaline response from my body. I don’t like it, but I am not in danger.

[Maxine]

Hi what I’ve found has helped me is to lay in bed with the tv on at a low volume level and just listen to it, so I’m kind of not thinking about going to sleep and it happens for me easier..I do only get an hour or 2 then wake up and sometimes lie awake for a few hours but I just lie there instead of getting up as I think getting up would make me worse because it’s not normal for me to be up during the night..I did try it once as I was advised by the psychologist in CBT treatment but it definetly made my anxiety worse and it just felt wrong for me personally..I hope you find something that works for you

[JK]

Hello there, thanks so much for this . Yes I get that . I have a tv on the wall in my bedroom and I think it could be an idea to do this . You’re very kind responding . X

[Maxine]

I really hope it helps you.ive had a rough night of not very much sleep and feeling very down this morning..i did fall asleep as usual with the tv on but not for very long so i hope it works for you..this insomnia is hell..you’re not alone in what you’re feeling and going through

[Author]

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