[Up all nite]

Hi. Last year just as Covid was launching itself into the world I experienced a traumatic emotional event in my life. In coping with the aftermath I had many sleepless nights due to anxiety and worry. Eventually the sleeplessness became a problem unto itself. As soon as I would get into bed, no matter how tired or sleepy I was my brain would engage and I’d be wide awake. This led a new set of worries and anxiety. You read about how bad not sleeping is for your health and that alone is enough to keep you up at night. Martin’s approach to rethinking that is interesting and totally makes sense. Now to put it into practice.

[hiker]

Hi, Up all Nite, I am encouraged by your last sentence. You have checked out Martin’s program and now realize it is about putting it into practice.

Talking about insomnia, reading about it, watching videos, checking the various posts on this site—all these can be helpful. But as you say, from there it comes down to practice. Setting aside some time to do it, even when you don’t feel like it.

Practicing the CBT techniques is good. But this doesn’t mean you practice sleep itself. No doubt you have discovered that trying to sleep doesn’t work. Martin touches on this point throughout his videos.

I think you make another good point about stressful events leading to insomnia, then as the event subsides, the insomnia has taken on a life of its own. Sleep anxiety. Fair to say that just about all of us on this site can relate to this. Easier said than done–believe me, I know—but to the extent that you can accept that you cannot sleep at this moment, it can become more tolerable. This does not mean you are resigning yourself to a lifetime of insomnia.

Take care.

[Up all nite]

Hey Hiker, thanks for the response. I have already tried CBTi but I find Martin’s advice to be outside the box if you will. Just the way he phrases things makes me feel like I’m learning something new everyday. My whole approach to insomnia is different due to this information and what I’ve read in this forum. There are some clubs you just don’t want to join but find you’ve “ been made a member” through no fault of your own. The insomnia club is one of them. As long as I’m in it I may as well learn what I can from others and go with the flow.

As per a post I read I am going to try to not dwell so much on the subject of insomnia and how much I do or don’t sleep on a day to day basis. Other than participating in this forum or reading Martin’s emails and his podcasts I’m going to refrain from talking about it or even thinking about it during the day. Try to lessen its importance in my life ( and in my head). See if it helps.

Be well

[Author]

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