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Hi Manfred,
Just to echo what Martin said, I found acceptance really opened up a lot of doors for me. I stopped questioning my anxious thoughts and just accepted they were there. I don’t know what you like doing at night but I like to listen to music, so before hand I would analyse all of my thoughts before I’d allow myself to get on with my evening. This led to more anxiety when I thought I’ve just realised all my sleep related worries are irrational so why am I still anxious. That’s why I just accepted them, by admitting defeat. I stopped believing I could beat them or block them out, I learned to live with them. Yes I still go to bed with some anxiety. I happen to be a little anxious as I’m writing this, but that’s just life. You CAN still have a good nights sleep despite your anxiety.Hi Manfred,
I’ll try and get to the point straight away. In my case CBT-I was largely ineffective for me at first. It’s important to note that i was probably in a situation very similar to you, all I could think about was sleep, very anxious, intrusive thoughts at night whilst lying in bed etc. Inevitably this lead to a 3 day no sleep spell. After this I resorted to alcohol for sleep but i soon realised how damaging it was. This is when I started exploring the idea of CBT-I. I soon realised after being anxious all day no matter how much stimulus control, thought work, relaxation exercises and analysing my thoughts I would do at night, i wasn’t going to sleep because I was too hyperaroused. This wasn’t an ideal situation. Then I reached out to Daniel Erichsen (please I advise you to find his YouTube channel). I went on his website and told my whole story of insomnia and it wasn’t long before a YouTube video with my name in it popped up. He directed me to videos to watch and gave me some useful advice that ultimately helps me sleep soundly every night. Sleep comes when you stop trying to control it. I know it’s difficult but when you truly stop being anxious about being awake at night and actually accept I’m not going to sleep tonight, You will feel better. It is only natural to want to control sleep but by coming to the realisation that insomnia is only a manifestation of anxiety it is very helpful. One last thing, on Daniel erichsens YouTube channel, (the sleep coach school), sleep coach Micheal Schwartz made a video called ‘enjoy your night’. This has been very important for me getting restful sleep back. To sum it up he describes how important it is to find enjoyable activities to partake in at night such as watching a series on Netflix, gaming, listening to music. Don’t worry about blue light exposure. Go on your phone, laptop etc as ultimately it creates more anxiety not exposing yourself to blue light as it’s applying pressure. I hope you find this helpful and get to a place of peaceful sleep.Hi MelH89,
Glad to hear your doing well. Turns out despite all the panic and anxiety I experienced I managed a decent nights sleep. Rather than reach for sleeping pills on tough nights, I would drink lots of alcohol. Now I implement CBTI I realise how effective it is. Thanks for the kind words and glad to hear CBT is working for you, it’s the gold standard of treatment for insomnia.Hi chee2308
This is very true. It is certainly a useful thing to remind yourself of from time to time, one or two nights doesn’t make a huge difference, it’s all about the long term.Hi sleepworry, I think alcohol most likely does disturb your sleep and has unfortunately been something I’ve relied on to sleep in the past, although I obviously realise this is more harm than good. I think because I’ve finally recovered my sleep, a set back like that has really knocked my confidence. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Thank you this is very helpful Scott. I recently watched your video on the insomnia coach YouTube channel. Definitely helped in lowering my anxiety. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Yes I am struggling to find anything helpful. In my case I work myself up all day to the point I think i may enter a State of hyperarousal which prevents sleep. In truth i don’t know, this is all speculation but personally I’m looking for some hope and positivity about the situation I’m in.
