[NHarris]

Hi,

I’ve just started CBTi – 2 weeks in and I’m freaking out. I think I was expecting to feel/see progress quicker than I am. In some instances I’m even worse than I was before.

My biggest worry is that I can’t control my thoughts and as a result, I don’t believe my wakes will ever get better…

Please could someone tell me that the behaviour change actually works on your thoughts

Thank you!

[Martin Reed]

It’s not uncommon for sleep to temporarily get worse when you begin implementing CBT-I techniques — and that’s largely down to the new routines and ways of thinking that are involved. If you stay consistent though, things usually improve!

Although worry about not being able to control your thoughts is understandable, I think it’s helpful to recognize that controlling thoughts is very difficult (perhaps even impossible) so trying to do this is rarely helpful! Trying to control thoughts is a bit like trying to control the movement of clouds in the sky or trying to stop the flow of a river with your bare hands!

Instead, it can be more helpful to recognize thoughts for what they are — thoughts. Thoughts are just thoughts. Strings of words. They can be true. They can be false. They certainly aren’t facts!

When we become worried about the idea of having thoughts, this can generate anxiety rather than the actual content of the thoughts. For this reason, sometimes it can be helpful to take time during the day to welcome all these thoughts into your mind. Give yourself 15 minutes of time during the day to worry all you want! The more often you do this, the less inclined you might be to worry about these thoughts at night.

It can also be helpful to evaluate the accuracy of the thoughts that tend to create worry and anxiety. If you do this, you might see that the thoughts themselves aren’t even particularly accurate.

I hope this helps.

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