Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Great questions — and they’ll be explored in a lot more detail in Week 2 of the course!
In the meantime, I don’t think there’s any need to do anything if you wake during your sleep window.
If you find yourself getting caught up in a struggle and it starts to feel really uncomfortable, you might do something more appealing instead (in bed or out of bed, your choice).
If you feel as though good conditions for sleep return during your sleep window, you can stop the activity and give sleep the opportunity to happen, repeating the process of allowing wakefulness to exist for as long as you feel comfortable.
Does this help?
—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.
CBT-I has been proven effective for chronic insomnia characterized by difficulty falling asleep and/or difficulty staying asleep/falling back to sleep.
Ultimately, chronic insomnia is pretty much the same thing from person to person — it’s sleep disruption that’s kept alive by all our understandable attempts to get rid of it.
CBT-I can help us move away from behaviors that we might be implementing in an effort to improve sleep/get rid of wakefulness/compensate for difficult nights that can end up supplying insomnia with the oxygen it needs to survive.
It’s important to note that CBT-I isn’t the only available approach. A newer approach — acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) — can also help since it can move us away from chasing after sleep (something that often makes things more difficult) and toward living the kind of life we want to live, even in the presence of difficulty.
My online course uses a blend of evidence-based approaches, based on the experience I have gained over the past 13+ years.
I hope this helps!
—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.
It sounds like you’re making real progress and continuing to practice a new, more workable way of responding to all this stuff!
In what ways do you feel your mind is trying to sabotage you? What, specifically, do you notice it saying or doing? What kind of thoughts and feelings is it generating and how are you responding to them?
—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.
Do you think that acknowledging and observing all your thoughts and feelings rather than engaging in a struggle with them might be a helpful skill to develop, Grace? If so, perhaps practicing the AWAKE exercise might help with that?
Getting out of bed and staring into space doesn’t sound very pleasant — and it might be a form of avoidance which might not be helpful since even when we try really hard to fight or avoid difficult thoughts and feelings they always end up coming back anyway, right?
—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.
Alcohol can cause some sleep disruption (but one or two drinks are unlikely to influence things much).
With that said, there are probably as many triggers for sleep disruption as there are people in the world — it’s not really possible to eliminate them all!
What might be more important is doing things that are aligned with our values and that keep us moving toward the kind of life we want to live — even if that might involve some temporary sleep disruption.
After all, if we live our lives with the goal of protecting our sleep at all costs, we might end up not living much of a life at all, right?!
—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.
I’d suggest doing what feels right — your goal isn’t to get rid of wakefulness or change what you’re thinking or feeling (none of that is in your control, unfortunately!). The goal is to practice experiencing wakefulness with less struggle and that can be done in bed or out of bed 🙂
—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.
Why did you get out of bed rather than staying in bed, Grace? When you moved to the sofa, what did you do when you were on the sofa?
Can you share a bit more about what you mean by “make peace” with the thoughts your mind is generating as it does its job of looking out for you? Are you perhaps trying to fight or avoid them (something that can often create struggle)?
Thoughts are 100% real and sometimes they’re really difficult, too. And, as you know from experience you cannot permanently fight or avoid them. They always come back, just as you described, right?
So, perhaps trying to fight or avoid them (or otherwise control them) might not be a workable approach? Perhaps those attempts might be the true cause of the struggle you described?
If that’s the case, what might a more workable response be, do you think?
—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.
Welcome to the course! Have you picked up any insights that might prove to be helpful as you’ve been working through Week 1?
—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.
Thanks for sharing!
As suggested by Cornish maid, the struggle is often the real problem — all our (understandable) attempts to control what cannot be controlled!
The more you try to fight or avoid nighttime wakefulness, the more difficult it becomes (as I am guessing you might know from experience).
If the AWAKE exercise was doing the trick, what would be different?
I wonder if you might be under the mistaken impression that the AWAKE exercise is a technique that can make sleep happen, get rid of wakefulness, or do anything other than help you practice moving away from struggling with nighttime wakefulness?
Daytime fatigue is difficult — no doubt about it! And, when it shows up you have a choice, right? You can continue to do things that matter or you can get so distracted by trying to fight or avoid it that you end up moving away from the life you want to live and things can then get even more difficult.
Have you managed to get any practice in with the NOW exercise when fatigue (or any other difficult thoughts and feelings) appear or when your mind tries to pull you away from where you are and what you are doing in an unhelpful way?
—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.
The goal with the sleep window as described in this course isn’t to make sleep happen or to get rid of wakefulness. It’s to help us move away from chasing after sleep since the more we try to control sleep the more difficult it becomes.
What’s your goal here? Is it to make sleep happen / get rid of wakefulness — things that you know from experience cannot be controlled?
If, upon reflection, you feel that you might still be tangled up in a bit of a struggle, trying to control what cannot be controlled (such as the amount or type of sleep you get, when you wake, how much time you spend awake), what might be a more workable way of responding to those awakenings, do you think?
If you woke to the sound of your alarm in the morning, what would you be doing differently with your life? What would you be doing then that you are unable to do now?
I wonder if your mind might be pulling you back toward trying to control sleep, thoughts, and feelings rather than focusing on actions that keep you moving toward the kind of life you want to live (even in the presence of difficult stuff that’s out of your control)?
—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.
Hello Grace and thanks for sharing.
In terms of “stimulus control”, what were you doing, specifically? If it had “worked” what would have been different (are you trying to control something that cannot be controlled)?
Thanks for sharing that you were able to get some practice in with the AWAKE exercise! What was your goal when you practiced the AWAKE exercise? Did you try working the appearance of frustration into the exercise by acknowledging its presence, etc?
—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.
Thanks for letting me know you’re already getting something from the course, Frida! And, thank you for the great question, too!
As you implied, I think this comes down to intent. If your intent or goal is to make sleep happen or to get rid of wakefulness or any difficult thoughts or feelings that might be showing up, you might be setting yourself up for a bit of a struggle.
If you listen to an audio book because it’s something you enjoy, it’s something that’s aligned with your values and/or helps you live the kind of life you want to live, then it’s perfectly fine to continue with!
—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.
It sounds as though the NOW exercise might be useful to practice when your mind wanders or generates unhelpful/distracting thoughts and feelings as it does its job of looking out for you (thanks, brain!).
The more you can practice Noticing and acknowledging what your mind is doing, Opening up and moving away from trying to control, fight, or avoid what your mind is doing, coming back into your body and refocusing your attention on Where you are and what you are doing, the less your mind might influence your actions in ways that make it harder for you to live the kind of life you want to live.
Is this something you’ve been able to practice?
—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.
What you’re going through is difficult, Aly — no doubt about it! And it sounds as though you are responding in a more workable way by moving away from the struggle (something you know from experience only makes things even more difficult).
Please ensure you are also being kind to yourself when things are difficult — don’t forget the K in AWAKE!
You are not alone in this!
—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.
Welcome! It sounds as though you have a workable out of bed time there — a time that helps you live the kind of life you want to live.
I think that experimenting with an initial sleep window that begins at 10:30 PM might be a good starting point — it can be helpful to think of that start time as nothing more than an earliest possible bedtime and to only go to bed from that time onward if you feel sleepy enough for sleep.
Great job continuing with those workouts, independently of sleep 🙂
—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.
