[Jeffrey Jeffrey]

Hi,

I would like to share how insomnia is once again causing me some trouble.

I started developing sleep-related worries in December 2020, which quickly became the source of a 1 year-long period of chronic insomnia that ended (from memory) in January 2021.

Until now, I had completely managed to control my worries by writing them before going to bed when they became relentless, avoiding any sleep efforts, practicing breathing exercises when needed (I almost became an expert at this!), and most importantly an overall acceptance of my insomniac condition.

Before implementing this I had documented myself so much about insomnia to the point where I knew almost every solution provided on Google. Unfortunately, none of them could help me, and discovering Martin’s Youtube Channel was a RELIEF.

Each of the solutions I enlisted before was discovered on his Channel, and I was amazed at their efficiency with tackling chronic insomnia.

Thus, I spent 6 amazing months (from January to June) during which insomnia became a ghost of the past. I was able to sleep properly almost every night and I finally felt like I had got full control (and comprehension) over my insomnia. I started liking to go to bed again and I completely forgot the anxiety that this idea made emerge in the past. After 1 long year of battling my insomnia, it was completely gone.

Yet, it has been a month since June since sleep has become difficult again. The idea of struggling to sleep re-emerge as if by magic and even though I had been able to clear it off in the past, I wasn’t able to do it and it remained firmly. It caused me several nights of bad sleep in a week. Hopefully, my 6 months of good sleep had thought me that worrying and overreacting to uncontrollable thoughts were the worst to do. So I let go of my worries to let my body kill them off naturally but it was not enough.

Today marks approximately 1 month and a half where I can’t properly find what solution to implement to erase insomnia as I did before. Before this relapse, I thought that if I ever had insomnia again I would be able to kill it off effortlessly because of my experience with it but the situation is not going as expected. Even the breathing exercises that were my best technique don’t seem to work anymore. Sleep has become so natural over time that I don’t know what to do when it does not happen.

I often feel a bit frustrated and lost because I can’t find what is really preventing me from sleeping – or causing me to sleep around 3 or 4 am – so I choose to do nothing about it but I don’t see many benefits.

Thus I thought that perhaps someone with the same experience as me reassure me advises me since I fear that the situation would lead to more undesirable consequences if it is not sorted out.

Hoping you do well!

[Chee2308]

Greetings!
Nobody is immune from having bad nights, however you can be immune from the struggle with sleeplessness by adapting your response and mindset. It’s often your response to bad nights that becomes the problem! When you start seeing having bad nights as a huge problem, which needs to be solved and quashed no matter what, that’s when you run into bigger problems! The key to freedom is no longer getting stuck in the struggle by endlessly engaging in battles with yourself but more towards embracing it, doing absolutely nothing to fix it and continuing to enjoy your life as usual. When it comes to sleep, the key is always do nothing, modify nothing. Good luck and best wishes.

[Martin Reed]

First up, you might find my video on insomnia relapses helpful.

Next, I think it’s worth emphasizing that just as you experienced good sleep before, you can experience good sleep again!

Reading your posts, it sounds as though you might be putting a lot of time and effort into sleep — and that could be a reason why sleep seems to be so elusive at the current time!

Breathing exercises can help promote relaxation, but they can’t generate sleep. In addition, just as sleep cannot be controlled and doesn’t respond well to effort, our thoughts and emotions cannot be controlled (at least not for the long term!) and don’t respond well to effort to fight or suppress them.

Sometimes it can be helpful to simply ensure we are creating good conditions for sleep (for example, going to bed only when sleepy, getting out of bed around the same time each morning) and then focussing all effort and attention on living the kind of life we want to live when awake, during the day.

That is something we have full control over and doing things that help us live a rich and meaningful life usually has more of an influence on our quality of life than sleep.

I hope this helps!

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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.

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