[Summer_breeze]

Hey. I would like to share with you my sleep story. I would be more that happy if anyone shares any advice. So everything started about 6 months ago. I moved and that was the first circumstance that influenced my sleep, plus work stress, plus living with a new partner. These all contributed to beginning insomnia, this means about 2 hours of sleep per night for a week or more. Other times even no sleep at all. When these job and house related things got settled, my insomnia prevailed. I tried to control sleep, i was DESPERATE to sleep, improved sleep hygene, obsessively thought about sleeping, literaly it took control of my life. Doctor gave me sleeping pills, but i dont want them, i need long term solution. I started going to therapist, a little by little things othe life aspects sorted out. But insomnia is still here. The nights when I dont think about it, i manage to sleep 8 hours or more. But then i get scared of not sleeping, of those looong nights freting about it, being nervous, movinng from one prat of the house to another. I started sleep restriction, I wake up the same time, every day of the week. I i tried to stay awake for a long time. I get sooo sleepy, i literally sleep behind my desk. Then i move to bed: and here we go: nervous, racing thoughts, stress, frustartion. And I get up. Sometimes i manage to sleep, but after two hours i am up again and anxiety kicks HARD. I can not be calm, no technique works for me. I sleep approx 3 hours every day, but everything is worsened by anxiety. Last night i got a minor panic attack while lying in bed and couldn’t sleep. I had to take sedative, otherwise i dont use it, Than I wake 1 hour before alarm clock, nervous and with very lively digestion. Even during the day i fell frustration because of it.
My biggest worry is that this situation will never get better and i am doomed for life. I am afraid that I would get sick, since my body cells are not rejuvinating appropriately. I am losing hope and sometimes i wish everything was just gone, including me.
i am aware that everything that is happenening to me is strictly psychological, since i dont have any other diseases.

[Scott]

Hi Summer_breeze,

Thanks for sharing your story and welcome to the forum. When we have stressful life events, it can trigger a short-term disruption in our sleep but our sleep usually returns to normal once that trigger passes. It’s when we begin to have unhelpful thoughts about our sleep that perpetuates the issue and makes sleep difficult to obtain. As you said, on the nights you don’t think about your sleep, you’re achieving 8+ hours of sleep so that should be proof to you that you can sleep. A common belief for those suffering from insomnia is that they won’t be able to function the next day following a poor night’s sleep. These thoughts can consume your day, are not beneficial to you and makes the issue even worse for you when it’s time to go to bed. Most people who experience insomnia begin to change their daily routines (lie in bed after waking, taking daytime naps, cancelling social events, etc) but I’d encourage you to continue your daily routine regardless of how you slept the previous night. You can’t control your sleep but you can control the environment and creating positive moments during your day which will lessen the pressure you put on yourself to sleep at night. When we try to fix our sleep, it makes sleep even harder to get!

A method for overriding our anxiety levels at night is creating a strong sleep drive throughout the day. This can be achieved by only going to bed when you’re sleepy, not taking daytime naps, getting out of bed as soon as you wake in the morning, etc. What time are you going to bed and getting out of bed to start your day in the morning?

When I had insomnia, I had the same thoughts as you, “Am I stuck with this type of sleep for the rest of my life?”. You can sleep and I once again go back to what you mentioned – that you’re able to sleep when you’re not thinking of sleep.

Hope that helps,
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.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum! First, let me reassure you that there is no evidence whatsoever that chronic insomnia causes any health problem. So, hopefully, this is one less thing for you to be worried about.

It sounds as though your sleep disruption might be driven primarily by sleep-related anxiety — by thoughts that lead you to think your situation will never get better. You might find it helpful to explore these thoughts since often they are not as accurate as they seem when we first think them. Recognizing this can help lower the amount of anxiety they generate.

Let’s say your insomnia does stick around. What is the catastrophic outcome that seems likely to happen? In other words, what is it about the idea of having insomnia that generates anxiety? How accurate or likely is that outcome — is there, perhaps, any possible alternative outcome — maybe one that is more likely or more realistic?

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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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