[rosepetal]

Hello everyone,

I have the following problem: I usually sleep very well again after 6 years of sleep anxiety, but I still have one challenge ahead of me: the fear of the alarm clock.

I start a new job on Monday, where I have fixed working hours, different from before. The fear of the alarm clock scares me especially, because if it turns out to be a bad night, I won’t be able to sleep in, instead I’ll have to get up. I can practically feel the clock ticking in my head and feel the time going down. I torture myself with the thought of how much time I have left to sleep. I check if theres already light coming through behind my curtains and so on…

Basically, it’s anxiety that keeps me awake. I know that because I had about 3 months of good sleep! I know I can sleep fine whenever I don’t force myself and whenever there is no performance anxiety present. My catastrophic thoughts tell me that I won’t be able to sleep for days and ruin my career (I’m a teacher) and disappoint everyone around me. I will go crazy, pass out, hallucinate blabla… My head won’t stop babbling.

Does anybody has an idea on how to cope? Anything positive is appreciated.

Best Wishes,
Rose

[Martin Reed]

That sounds tough, Rose. It sounds as though you have one of those minds that takes its job of looking out for you very seriously. So, it is generating a lot of thoughts and feelings in an effort to remind you of what matters, to protect you, and to look out for you.

I wonder if your own experience might be a helpful guide on a workable way of responding to fear?

Can you think of other times when you’ve experienced fear? If so, what did you learn from those experiences? Was there important information contained within that fear? Were there times when that fear was really helpful? Were there times when it was less helpful? How did you respond to the appearance of fear?

In your experience, are you still able to act in ways that are important to you, even in the presence of fear? In your experience, is it possible to permanently fight or avoid fear?

—

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.

[Author]

Posts