[kylefleming21]

I developed insomnia 3 months ago worrying about my wife and son’s health issues. It has steam rolled to struggles with sleep every night. I have tried medicines and hate them. I know that I can overcome this with some help and changing in my mindset. Now, I generally fall asleep in my reading chair and then move to my bed or coach.

[Scott]

Hey @kylefleming21,

What you’re experiencing is understandable and considered normal when we have stressful life events as you describe. Our sleep really becomes a problem when our thoughts and behaviors toward our sleep begins to change. All your additional worry about sleep makes the sleep problem worse, fueling even more anxiety, creating a vicious loop throughout the day and into the night. How many hours, on average, of sleep are you achieving at night? Specifically, what you do you consider your most challenging sleep issue – falling asleep in bed, staying asleep, waking too early, anxious thoughts about sleep, etc?

Scott J

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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.

[kylefleming21]

My biggest struggles are anxiety in the evening about going to sleep and then falling asleep in my bed. I can fall asleep in my reading chair by literally reading until I just fall asleep. Once asleep, if I wake up, I can move to the couch or bed and sleep most of the night.

[Scott]

Most of our thoughts are unhelpful and only become harmful once we begin to believe in them.
Thoughts are just…thoughts! You can’t control them but you can change how you respond to them by saying, “Thanks, mind, for sharing that thought!” and continuing with the activity you were doing when it arrived. It doesn’t mean that’ll be the end of the visits of that thought, but if you respond to it the same way each time, you’re relationship with that thought will become less arousing.

If you’re able to fall asleep in the chair/couch but not in your bed, it’s usually considered conditioned arousal associated with your bed. We’ve have associated our bed with arousal and wakefulness. Are you currently implementing any CBT-I techniques? If not, I’d recommend you browse the resources on this site and Martin’s YouTube videos for additional details on these evidence-based methods.

Scott J

—

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.

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