[ababak01]

Hi,
I am a newbie and insomnia is ruining my life for the past 5 months..I have never had sleeping problems until recently and have been dx by a psychologist with sleep anxiety, and I have it BAD. I have found nothing that helps except Ativan and I have tried it all..I only take 1/2 Ativan if I have been up for several days as I am very cautious since its a benzo..I am a very holistic person so I have started CBT-I to try something natural and it hasn’t really helped yet and seems to almost “stress” me out..anyway, just looking for answers..

[Martin Reed]

Sorry to hear about the negative effect insomnia is having on your life. You are NOT alone, and you can get through this!

I am so encouraged that you have learned about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and are implementing CBT-I techniques.

These techniques do require commitment, consistency, and a lot of effort — so I would encourage you to keep going! Which techniques are you currently implementing? Is your psychologist helping you with this?

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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.

[Deb]

Chronic insomnia is a mental condition so prescriptions are not the permanent answer. What is needed is therapy to retrain the brain to stop associating going to bed with anxiety. The two therapies for this are CBT-I, which Martin teaches here and ACT. Martin has a lot of great resources here for CBT-I. The best resource for ACT is “The Sleep Book” by Dr. Guy Meadows, which is very readable and easy to understand. Its focus is on learning to give up the struggle to sleep (i.e., trying all different things like pills, natural remedies, soothing music, special curtains, etc.) and then learning to relax, so that sleep comes naturally. It teaches you how to do this and how to let go of the struggle. I’ve tried both therapies but prefer ACT, which is gentler and felt more intuitive to me. But it’s also trickier, because you have to learn how to change your thinking about insomnia and then quiet your mind.

[Author]

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