[Rubylight]

I’ve just completed the six weeks of the course and the difference between where I was when I started and now is SO encouraging. Yes, erratic sleep is an ongoing thing, I still have problems some nights, mostly waking around three and not being able to get back to sleep. But I don’t fret about it anymore. Accepting it has become so much easier. From the first week of the course, when Martin made it clear that sleep pressure would always win, I began to relax, to feel less out of control and helpless. From then on, it just got better and better…actual nights of six or seven hours sleep began to happen, sometimes for a whole week in a row. Unheard of for me! Even now when I have semi-bad nights, I don’t worry about the Monster coming back, and this has been life-changing. I really feel I’m only just beginning now, trying to keep practicing all the exercises, and learning and re-learning how useless and unhelpful struggle is, learning and re-learning how to ride the waves, accept whatever comes and keep right on going. It works, guys!! It works!

[Packer Fan]

Rubylight

Thank you for the encouraging note. I just completed week #1. I have to be honest, it has been brutal!! My sleep window is 11:00 pm till 6:00 am. I have strictly maintained the window hours, but otherwise I’ve been all over the board!! I go to bed extremely sleepy, but once I get in bed, I’m wide awake!! What I do is listen to a few Biography podcasts, fall asleep, but wake up right after their over. At this point I either get up or toss & turn. I’m averaging 2 hours of sleep a night.
Starting tonight I will be strictly adhering to the WAKE program. I am hoping and praying that at some point I will see improvement. Was this you after week #1?

Again thank you

[Rubylight]

Yes, Packer Fan, you sound exactly like me. Especially during my previous attempts at finding a “cure” before I finally decided to take this course. I tried to follow various books for months and months, and my experience was just like yours, especially the part about falling asleep before the window begins and then snapping wide awake as soon as it started, with immediate panic setting in. I understand that’s really common! I used to listen to podcasts too and fall asleep in the middle and then wake up at the end, still miserable. One and a half to two hours of sleep a night…a really great night was three hours! But it got better, it really did. It took time and lots of AWAKE practice and self-kindness and surrender to wakefulness. I thought I was incurable, a special disaster case, and in the beginning I saw no light at the end of the tunnel at all. But there is light, even if it’s faint at first. It will get brighter! I truly wish you every success in this very difficult (let’s not forget that) process!

[Packer Fan]

Thank you Rubylight,

Last night I changed my schedule. I waited till I couldn’t open my eyes!! Went in the bed, yes of course, “wide awake” I started to listen to Joyce Meyer (spiritual) it helped!! Another thing that helped is I turned the clock around so I couldn’t see it. That was something I had done in the past that I didn’t realizing, enriched the anxiety!! So, I had several AWKE times, listened to podcasts & fell back to sleep. My sleep is extremely light, better than no sleep!!
Thank you very much for the encouragement. One of the things I repeat during the AWAKE sessions is “I’m afraid I won’t get better.” Night 2 of week 2, stay tuned!!

[Rubylight]

I will! I also found that turning the clocks around helped me tremendously. It seems like such a little thing, but it really helps to lighten the anxiety load.

[Author]

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