[Cookiwyo]

Hello
My name is Cookie(legal name Rosemarie). I have been dealing with sleep issues for eight years, insomnia for the last 3 years. It started with my divorce and taking sleeping meds that worked up until the 3 years ago. The COVID life has most definitely added anxiety and a GI issue. I practice good sleep hygiene, exercise eat well am not on any med’s. I do take supplements. Sleep issue rooted from emotional drama. I feel that the last 4 months things have really gotten worse. I sleep maybe 3 hours a night. Five hours is tops. Please help. Motivated to work at this.

[hiker]

Hi Cookie/Rosemarie, sorry to hear about all the stress going on.

Not that any source of stress has to be “legitimate,” but divorce and Covid and GI issues are certainly understandable reasons for not sleeping. And once insomnia moves in, it can make itself at home regardless of external stresses. Sleep anxiety is a bear.

And as you have discovered, sleep meds are not a permanent solution. If they were, people would be lined up for miles at the pharmacy. And sleep hygiene, while a good thing, is not enough for those of us with big time, chronic insomnia.

So what is? With your motivation, maybe Martin’s course is the way for you.

Maybe another, or in addition to, is to think of other things in life where trying harder does not work. If you are a baseball fan, you know that skilled batters can go into a slump. They know they can hit, done it for years, now all of a sudden they can’t. And the more they ruminate about it, the worse it gets: omg, I have got to get a hit, this can’t go on, what if I get cut from the team, what am I going to do, etc. etc.?

Of course the key is to relax, but easier said than done, right?

Despite the overhype, trendy stuff you hear, mindfulness has helped me. And when I find that I am on another run of bad sleep–and worrying about it and of course continuing to sleep poorly—I eventually realize that I have gotten away from it. A couple of free sites: mindfulnessnorthwest.com and palousemindfulness.com You will have to scroll through and see which sections work for you.

You are not alone.

[Author]

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