[Missteri]

I’m looking for relief from a recent inability to go to sleep at all. I hope there are answers here.

[Scott]

Can you describe what your sleep is like on an average night? What do you think is causing your inability to sleep?

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.

[Missteri]

As of last week I went to sleep at eleven and slept for about 5-6 hours, with occasional sleepless nights sprinkled in. I always had slight anxiety about possibly not sleeping because whenever I would have a sleepless night, it threw me for a loop, meaning, I was very disturbed about it until I would have a good night. So I’ve always lived with sleep anxiety but not til this week am I not able to recover. This week, I’ve had 3 sleepless nights, and the reason they were not completely sleepless was because I resorted to medication.

What’s causing my anxiety? Fear of not sleeping. And knowing I cant control it as I do with diet, exercise, and many other things in my life.

[Scott]

You’re absolutely right – you can’t control sleep because sleep is one of those rare events that doesn’t reward hard work and effort! The more you try to sleep, the more elusive sleep becomes. Have you considered changing your relationship with your thoughts about your sleep issue? Instead of trying to control your sleep and the unhelpful thoughts related to it, what if you took a different approach? For example, just tell your mind, “Thanks for sharing!” and return to doing the activity you were engaged in when the negative thought arrived. Since we’re not able to control our thoughts, you’ll probably have more benefit from changing your relationship with them instead.

Hope that helps,
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.

[Missteri]

Hey Scott,
Really appreciate your input and support.

Yes, I’m very familiar with making friends with my thoughts, which are illusions anyway.
A problem I have is that in the middle of the night when I purposely choose to not engage with these thoughts (I say to them “you’re not serving me this moment”), where am I turning back to? Laying in the dark attempting to sleep?
In the daytime, there are numerous real activities to turn back towards. Those thoughts are so much more easily dismissible.

I agree with you, but would love to hear what would make it easier.

Thanks again.

[Scott]

Lying in bed does make it more challenging to engage in another activity after you’ve acknowledged the thought. If you have a specific repetitive negative thought, give it a name. For example, “Oh, here comes that ‘I won’t sleep tonight’” thought again. Once you’ve acknowledged the thought with that reaction, let it be. It will probably return, but treat it the same every time – welcome it, let it pass and move on to the next thought that arrives. Even though I’ve not had insomnia for years, I still practice visualization while lying in bed as I find it helps with my monkey mind from work. I usually use the same image/scene – sitting on the beach, listening to the ocean waves, sipping on my fave drink and people watching. It won’t eliminate any unhelpful thoughts – that’s not the purpose of it – but it does relax me from a stressful day.

Hope that helps,
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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