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Welcome! How are you getting on since you posted? Have you made any changes?
—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 does your mind tell you that you need to remain asleep for 7-8 hours, 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.
By “work”, what do you mean by that? If your goal is to control things that can’t be controlled (sleep itself, what you think, the feelings your mind generates) then you might be engaged in an ongoing struggle without end. If I tried everything I could to turn the moon into cheese, when could I expect my efforts to work? 🙂
Instead, I might ask myself why I want to turn the moon into cheese. If I successfully turned the moon into cheese, what could I then do that I am unable to do now? Can I start moving towards those things right now, even if only in a small way, before the moon becomes a circle of cheese? Perhaps, with repeated practice I might start to move toward the person I want to be and the life I want to live even if the moon isn’t transformed into cheese?
—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 things are difficult for you, El Toro — and, quite understandably, you’ve been putting a lot of effort into trying to make sleep happen.
I wonder if turning the TV off for an hour before bed, listening to a podcast while drinking a camomile and valerian root tea, and trying not to stress about sleep might actually be making things more difficult?
That all sounds like quite a lot of work — I wonder if you might be putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make sleep happen and, since sleep (and what goes on in your mind) can’t be controlled, perhaps you might be setting yourself up for some 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.
That nervousness is your brain doing its job and looking out for you. As you mentioned, nervousness can feel unpleasant and is can be distracting and make it harder to do things that matter. What can make it even more unpleasant and distracting is engaging in a battle with it — trying to fight or avoid it.
If you’re still finding this difficult, you might want to try a new approach where you acknowledge the nervousness, perhaps even thank your brain for looking out for you(!), and then refocus your attention on where you are, what you are doing, and what you could be doing that helps you continue to be the person you want to be and live the life you want to live.
The goal isn’t to get rid of it (there’s no delete button for the brain) but to reduce the influence it might have over you. To practice responding to this natural feeling in a more workable 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.
Hello Amy! What time do you usually go to bed at night? When you wake between 3:30 AM and 4:00 AM, why do you think it’s hard to fall back to sleep?
If you were able to fall back to sleep, what would you be doing differently with your life?
—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.
Have you tried any of the suggestions shared on this website, Irvine? If you were getting the amount and type of sleep you wanted to get, never felt worry, felt confident about your sleep, and trusted that you could sleep on your own, what would you be doing with your life that you are unable to do now?
—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 are you doing since you posted? Were you able to sleep again? The mind often comes up with scary stories and thoughts as it does its job of looking out for us — and yet, even if your mind thinks you’ll never sleep again, sleep always happens in the end!
—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’ve worked with many clients who were pregnant — how have you been getting on since you posted, Jenna?
—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 Judi. Things sound really difficult — how have you been getting on since you posted?
It sure sounds as though you’ve done a lot to try to make sleep happen and to fight or avoid the difficult thoughts and feelings that often come with insomnia. If you’re still struggling, I wonder if all the effort might be contributing to the struggle?
Have you asked others how they make sleep happen? What does the best sleeper you know do to make sleep happen? I wonder if there might be an insight there?
—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.
Yes, it is difficult! Learning new skills is rarely easy 🙂
The AWAKE exercise is intended to help you experience wakefulness in a more workable way.
As a bonus, it might help create better conditions for sleep since sleep is probably more likely to happen when we aren’t on that war horse and suited up in armor, ready to battle wakefulness and whatever is going on in our minds, 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.
You can breathe however you like when practicing the AWAKE exercise! If your goal with your breathing is to “feel better”, you might be setting yourself up for a bit of a struggle (since we can’t really control how we feel) — so I’d suggest simply breathing in a way that you are comfortable with.
In terms of how to let the mind be, I think this is part of the process of working through either the NOW or the AWAKE exercises. It starts with acknowledgement, then involves opening up and allowing your thoughts and feelings to exist (even if you wish they didn’t exist, there they are).
If you are experiencing a lot of thoughts all at once, you might start with the most prominent or difficult ones first. You don’t need to try doing them all at once and it’s OK for other thoughts and feelings to show up after you’ve already acknowledged others.
In terms of trying to calm yourself when anxiety arrives, that might be something that switches the struggle switch on — because you’re trying to fight or avoid feeling a certain way.
Your goal isn’t to change what you’re thinking or feeling — it’s to practice responding to all this difficult stuff in a more workable way. A way that helps you practice moving away from struggling and doing things that matter to you, even when difficult thoughts and feelings show up.
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.
Why are you trying to change your thoughts? Has that proven effective in the past? Even if you are able to temporarily distract yourself or push certain thoughts and feelings away, they always come back don’t they? So, why engage in all that effort and struggle?
I wonder whether engaging in actions that help you live the kind of life you want to live (such as spending time with family in Germany) might contribute more to a rich and meaningful life compared to whatever thoughts and feelings your mind might generate as it does its job of looking out for you?
Perhaps practicing the NOW exercise when your mind tries to pull you away from where you are and when it tries to pull you away from doing things that matter might be useful? Not as a way to control your mind, but as a way to practice refocusing on where you are and what you are doing — engaging in actions that will keep you moving toward the life you want to live, even when difficult thoughts and feelings show up.
Accepting that you won’t always feel relaxed might be a helpful way of moving you away from struggle! Is it even possible to live a rich and meaningful life without difficult thoughts and feelings showing up?
—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.
If you’re using any of what you’re learning in this course in an attempt to shrug off unease or change any of the thoughts or feelings you experience as a human being, you’re going to be setting yourself up for an ongoing struggle — since that’s all out of your control!
It’s great that you are able to identify your thoughts and feelings (and the stories your problem solving mind comes up with as it does its job of looking out for you) with such clarity! That will likely help when it comes to ongoing practice of the AWAKE and NOW exercises.
Remember your goal with the AWAKE exercise isn’t to make you calm and relaxed — for as long as that’s your goal, you’re going to struggle. The goal with the AWAKE exercise is to help you practice moving away from struggle. To help you practice experiencing wakefulness (and all the thoughts and feelings that might come with it) in a more workable way.
Of course your mind will have visions of the next day and come up with all different stories. That’s its job! You can either engage in a struggle and engage in a battle with your mind, or you can remove yourself from the struggle and allow your mind to do what it’s going to do anyway!
As you suggested, you’re learning new skills here — and new skills require ongoing practice, 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.
It sounds as though you have an understandable concern there — and yet, I wonder whether talking to others about insomnia might serve as a way of empowering yourself? Perhaps it might be a way to free yourself from the fear of insomnia, to use your experience and knowledge in a positive way, to perhaps turn the tables on insomnia completely?
The only way you can end up “identifying” again with insomnia is if you allow insomnia to control your actions and determine how you live your life!
—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.
