[goose]

Hi, I was on here last Fall as I went through CBTI for insomnia with a sleep specialist near my house.  I was very stressed about sleeping and was taking Ambien, but CBTI helped me get to the point that I was able to ween off Ambien and for the last six weeks I’ve been sleeping very well on my own.   In the last days, though, I’ve had some minor sleep anxiety come back at bedtime.  I still fell asleep OK until last night, when I had a HORRIBLE night.  I’m worried about my insomnia coming back and having that out of control feeling again.  Any advice on how to handle this?

[Deb]

Hi Goose, glad the CBT-I worked well for you. I’m surprised your therapist didn’t give you any advice about relapses. I’m just finishing up the course with Martin this week and this weekend will learn about dealing with relapses. Will share with you what I learn.

[Martin Reed]

Hello again, Goose. Good to see you, although I wish this was under better circumstances! Any idea what triggered the return of your sleep anxiety? Did something happen recently to disrupt your sleep or did this come entirely out of the blue?

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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 Clarity 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.

[goose]

Hi Martin.  Well, yes there’s been some stresses.  I have a stay at home mom for a few years and my youngest is starting kindergarten this Fall.  We talked about me going back to work at that time, and I’ve been both excited and nervous about this life change.  Its also made me quite sentimental about my kids growing up.  It seems that my anxiety got worse after a former boss contacted me about going to lunch sometime soon.  Its a good sign for my career but makes me nervous.  I admit I don’t deal with change well and frankly I’ve been mad at myself for handling this so poorly.

[Deb]

Handling Relapses:

• Accept that sleep disturbances will still occur
• See your relapses as due to identifiable causes such as stress and not as evidence of the return of insomnia
• Follow the strategies that were helpful to you before
• Don’t compensate for lost sleep – such as taking naps or going to bed earlier
• Sleep conditioning – get out of bed when you can’t sleep
• Follow a regular sleep window

[Martin Reed]

Thanks for your response, Goose. At times like this, it’s important to identify (and tackle, if possible) the cause of your sleep issues rather than becoming worried or concerned that your insomnia has returned.

It’s completely normal for sleep to be disrupted by stress — so starting to think about returning to work is likely to be the cause of your current sleep issues. As long as you don’t go back to compensatory behaviors such as spending too much time in bed, your sleep should recover naturally. I suspect that you will notice your stress will naturally fall after you take that lunch with a former boss.

Think of times you’ve worried about something in the past but after the event took place, it wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be. Use this as a reminder that our worries aren’t always a reflection of reality — and that our thoughts aren’t always accurate.

—

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 Clarity 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.

[Author]

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