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If it occasionally works, I wonder whether it works at all? After all, a broken clock still occasionally works (twice a day), right?
Your fears and worries are completely valid, understandable, and normal. What I can tell you is that there’s no evidence chronic insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever. What I can also tell you is that anxiety doesn’t stop sleep from happening — but struggling with it, trying to fight or avoid it, sure can make things a lot more difficult (it sounds as though you’ve learned that from experience).
—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 makes sense that your mind will think about all these things since they are important to you, right? Many of us probably wouldn’t want a mind that didn’t work hard to look out for us and remind us of what matters!
I wonder whether there’s a possibility that the difficulty here might not be caused solely from a worrying mind — perhaps the source of your struggle might come from trying to control your mind. Trying to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings.
That requires a lot of effort, energy, and attention (which makes sleep more difficult) and yet the thoughts and feelings continue, regardless.
So, perhaps a more workable approach might involve moving away from trying to control your mind. Perhaps you might experiment with acknowledging what your mind is saying, perhaps even thanking it for reminding you what’s important, to be kind to yourself in return, and to allow all those thoughts to come and go as they please?
—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 struggle is real — your situation is difficult but not unique or unusual. You are not broken, it just sounds as though you might be a bit stuck!
It sounds as though you have learned from experience that trying to control sleep, trying to make sleep happen, trying to get rid of wakefulness, and trying to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings hasn’t led to a permanent improvement.
I wonder if this suggests that all of this stuff is out of your control and so all your attempts to control what cannot be controlled might be the source of a lot of struggle?
—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.
You definitely aren’t alone, Fletch! Have you tried implementing anything that is discussed on this site or in my free sleep training course?
—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 forum! What have you done in response up to this point, Aarti?
—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 feel as though any part of your struggle might stem from all your understandable attempts to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings, Bryce?
—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 feel as though my podcast discussion with Sally might have been tailor-made for you!
How Sally improved her sleep after 60 years of insomnia and 10 years of sleeping pills (#19)
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.
Hello KimK and welcome to the forum. Have you discussed your withdrawal with your doctor? Some people find it helpful to have a set tapering-off plan to follow, and to stick to it no matter what. You are the expert on you, though!
You mentioned that you want to learn how to get control of your anxiety — why is that? If none of us experienced anxiety, we’d all be dead! Perhaps the source of your struggle might be related to struggling with anxiety, trying to fight or avoid it?
—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 Thesso and welcome to the forum! If your actions were working what would be different?
—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.
How do you currently respond to the appearance of worry, Robyn? Is the source of your worry related to something that’s within 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.
Thank you for sharing!
This is all very difficult — no doubt about it. And so we face a choice when difficult stuff we cannot control shows up — give up, withdraw, and move away from the life we want to live; or acknowledge all the difficulties we face, be kind to ourselves in return, and do things (no matter how small) that are aligned with our values and that keep us moving toward the kind of life we want to live.
I really feel as though they are the only two choices we have when difficulties that are out of our control arise. If anyone has others, please feel free to share!
—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 azeke and congratulations on the little one!
You might find Cindy’s story helpful:
Cindy’s Forum Post: 100% cured from postpartum insomnia 🙂
Cindy’s Podcast Episode: How Cindy tackled the insomnia that appeared after her baby was born by accepting nighttime wakefulness and eliminating safety behaviors (#31)
I hope there’s something useful here!
—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 would suggest moving away from tracking sleep if it’s causing you any concern whatsoever — after all, people who don’t have any issues or concerns with sleep don’t track their sleep, right?
When you wake during the night (which is a normal part of sleep) what do you do next? Why does it feel so important to fall back to sleep when you wake? What are those awakenings stopping you from doing each day?
—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 you have a very protective mind there — lucky you! It’s working hard, looking for any potential threats and generating all kinds of thoughts and feelings in an effort to protect you and remind you of what’s important to you.
Of course, many of the thoughts and feelings (and this includes sensations such as hypnic jerks) are unpleasant and uncomfortable — so our default response is likely to be to try to fight or avoid them. And yet, since we can’t control what happens inside us, this can get us tangled up in a struggle that can make things even more difficult.
If you have any health concerns whatsoever, I would suggest talking to your doctor. If they find you to be perfectly healthy then it’s quite likely all the difficult things you described in your post are becoming more difficult the more you try to fight or avoid them.
So, perhaps an approach that involves acknowledging them and being kind to yourself might be a helpful first step toward moving away from the struggle?
—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 know we have communicated via email @terryclem, but for the benefit of others who might read this and be in a similar situation, CBT-I techniques aren’t intended to help with awakenings caused by nocturia. CBT-I also cannot make you fall back to sleep when you wake at night because sleep cannot be controlled in that way.
CBT-I aims to identify and tackle any behaviors and thought processes that might be perpetuating sleep disruption. These are typically behaviors such as allotting too much time for sleep, going to bed before sleepy, staying in bed later or getting out of bed at inconsistent times, tossing and turning all night trying to make sleep happen.
I don’t consider my work to be CBT-I — it definitely draws from some CBT-I techniques but in the years I have been coaching adults with insomnia I have found that CBT-I can trip a lot of people up as it can easily become a whole new list of rules and rituals that are implemented in an effort to make sleep happen, to avoid wakefulness, and to get rid of difficult thoughts and feelings.
With all this stuff, the more we try to control it, the more we tend to struggle with it.
So, when I work with clients, the goal is to move away from trying to make sleep happen and trying to control our thoughts and feelings (since none of that is within our control anyway). The goal is to act in a workable way — a way that moves you away from struggle and toward actions that help you live the kind of life you want to live, independently of sleep and even in the presence of difficult thoughts and feelings.
I hope there’s something useful here 🙂
—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.
