[eviancenita]

I have had a kind of chronic insomnia for the past four years. Early this year, I was able to improve my sleep, and currently, I rarely experience sleepless nights anymore. I am sleeping well in my own room and bed without worrying about sleep.

However, I’ll have a company event early next week that would require us to stay in a hotel for a night. I will be sharing a room with someone (we’re on a separate bed). I never experienced sharing a room with someone for a long time, and the last time I did, I had a sleepless night.

Right now, my anxiety is piling up as each day went by. I fear my insomnia could go back and experience a sleepless night on that specific night because I know I’ll be non-functional the next day, which is an important day (plus I would feel sick for sure). I can’t afford to experience it and have sleep traumas again.

Any advice from the community regarding my situation? How can I alleviate my anxiety right now and also prevent insomnia from coming back? 🙁

Are there any preventive measures I need to take on that specific night when I share the room with someone?

I’d greatly appreciate advice and responses from the community. Thank you.

Note: I forgot to mention that I never sleep in a pitch-black room as it kicks my anxiety really hard. I sleep with a lamp on in my own room every night. This also concerns me when I share a room with someone. I won’t be able to control the environment.

[Chee2308]

Hello!

Oh yes we’ve all been there, done that. So what I would like to say is the real recovery isn’t all about sleeping ‘perfectly’ every night. It is about accepting situations in life that compels you to explore outside of your ‘comfort zone’ and truly see what it’s all about.

It is also about completely giving up control. Truly recovered people hardly ever try to control their sleeping environment anymore, thereby accepting that some kind of sleep disruption is likely to happen and being okay with that. It is not running away from the problem anymore, but braving yourself to face your biggest fear then ultimately realizing that these events are completely neutral and have neither material nor long-lasting impact on your ability to sleep.

What I would like to encourage you to do is to openly see this as challenge and learning opportunity. Be completely honest and open-minded about it instead of doomsaying your situation. It may not turn out quite as you expected. You can always remind yourself that you could still go back to your ‘perfect sleeping environment’ once everything is over, so it’s not a big deal after all! Good luck!

[Martin Reed]

To expand on what Chee2308 shared, you might want to ask yourself what action would help you move toward the life you want to live and the person you want to be:

1. Have company and stay in a hotel (even though sleep might be disrupted).
2. Not have company and stay at home in an attempt to protect your sleep.

Anxiety is unpleasant so it makes sense that we would want to avoid it — but it’s just your mind looking out for you. You get to choose how to respond and your response will either move you toward the life you want to live or away from the life you want to live.

The key to a rich and meaningful life isn’t the absence of certain thoughts and feelings or the absence of nighttime wakefulness.

The key to a rich and meaningful life is doing rich and meaningful things!

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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 Mastery 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.

[SueE]

Hello there,

How do you know you’ll be ‘non functional’ the next day if you don’t sleep? Yes, you may feel tired and sick (I know I do) and it’s not ideal but you will still be able to function. Just accept it as not an ideal situation or a temporary blip, rather than pre-empting an outcome which may never happen (thus giving your insomnia power over you). Also, whilst it’s important that sleep hygiene doesn’t become a ritual for such times when you can’t put it all into practice, there’s no harm in asking you colleague if you can keep the lamp on during the night. GOOD LUCK!

[Author]

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