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I recently went through Martin’s 14-day course, and even though I didn’t submit much homework, I was paying close attention to what he was saying. This combined with viewing his podcasts were invaluable to me. The most important thing I learned was the Three P model. It was such an amazing surprise to learn how consistent and predictable it is, and to hear from his patients how they navigated through it.

My story would be all too familiar, though the timelines might differ. I developed a severe sleep onset problem when I changed jobs back in 1998. I got through it with help from medicine (at various times a combination of sleeping pills. anti-anxiety pills, and finally an anti-depressant). After six months my insomnia ended as abruptly as it had begun when I took another job. This was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was it had ended, and the curse was I did not know what really caused it or what fixed it. For many years I thought it was caused by a chemical imbalance, and this left me prone to mini-relapses and a constant fear of it re-occurring. Any change to my routine was seen as a potential threat to my sleep. The fear manifested itself as psychological pain. About ten years after the original episode, I finally came to terms with the fact it was not a chemical imbalance, and instead was precipitated by the job change combined with some predisposing factors. Yet, these were secondary to the severe psychological pain combined with the perpetuating factors I experienced. A sidenote here, over the years I have used mindfulness and open attention to manage this pain. For the last 14 years I have rarely used any kind of medication to sleep, since I know it’s not helpful.

Fast forward to today, and I recently retired, and going through the process of mentally preparing for it and dreaming of what is next in my life stirred up these old memories and the pain associated with them. My sleep began to break down again. I found this website and immediately connected to the stories in the forum. As mentioned above, after learning about the Three P Model, and applying it to my experiences over time I was able to complete the insomnia puzzle in my mind. Here is what it looked like.
• I filled out the Three P model from my original experience, and this was a real light bulb moment. I have always been governed by reason, logic, and science; and this really resonated with me. Combined with the podcasts this cemented the psychological science in my mind. My experience was not a one-off, yet instead was predictable. I fell into the same pattern as so many others.
• Ever since the original episode, there were countless times I worried about sleep before a big event or trip, but almost always slept well. I now realize the reason I did was these were fun things in my life, not some big, unsettling life changing event.
• I now realize the original event was unique to my life, and those circumstances can never be re-played.
Going through this exercise has greatly improved my peace of mind and allowed me to look back with a greater level of acceptance and understanding. I feel like I can finally come to peaceful terms with my sleep.

[Martin Reed]

Thank you so much for sharing! When we strip the mystery away from sleep and insomnia, we can also strip the influence sleep and insomnia has over our lives!

For those unfamiliar with the 3P model of insomnia, it’s a model we use to explain the development of chronic insomnia.

The first P is predisposing factors — some of us might be more predisposed to sleep disruption, for a number of different reasons. This makes us more likely to experience some sleep disruption, or more susceptible to sleep disruption.

The second P is the precipitating factors — the initial trigger(s) for our sleep disruption. There are as many triggers for sleep disruption as there are people in the world. We can’t really get rid of these triggers and this is why everyone experiences sleep disruption at some point in their lives.

The third P is the perpetuating factors — the things that keep that sleep disruption alive. Often, these perpetuating factors include a change in our behaviors, a change in our sleep-related thinking, and a change in our relationship with our thoughts — and it’s when we tackle these perpetuating factors that we tend to see the most sustainable improvements in sleep.

Thanks again for sharing!

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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.

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