Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
How do you normally respond to those anxious feelings?
—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 excellent progress! When you wake after about 5.5-6 hours of sleep, why do you think you find it hard to fall back to sleep? A crack of light doesn’t prevent sleep — but it might encourage us to put pressure on ourselves to fall back to sleep or to put effort into sleep (something that makes sleep really difficult)!
If you were able to sleep right through until 7:00 AM each and every day, what would you be doing differently in 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.
Unfortunately sleep paralysis is outside my area of expertise, so I can’t offer any suggestions here. Sorry I can’t be of any more 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.
I think that when anxiety and insomnia become problematic it’s for similar reasons — perhaps most commonly, we get tangled up in all the difficult thoughts and feelings because we try to fight or avoid them (since they don’t feel good).
Ultimately, I think we put anxiety (and insomnia!) behind us when we are less affected by the appearance of anxiety (and wakefulness!). For as long as we’re human, anxiety is going to turn up — so it can sometimes be helpful to practice making space for it to exist rather than engaging in an endless battle with it.
I hope there’s something helpful 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.
Thanks for the update, Chris!
It’s not unusual to experience some ups and downs — just as each day is a bit different to the last day, it’s normal for each night to be a bit different to the last night, too!
To answer your questions:
1) Now that I’m halfway to the eight-week mark, what should my expectations be? In other words – is this inconsistency normal and if it doesn’t resolve itself after eight weeks, should I extend CBTi and make any changes?
The best expectations to have are ones that are actionable and that you have control over. In other words, if you have any expectations about how you will sleep (or how you will think or feel) you might continue to get tangled up in a struggle.
If your expectation is that you will continue to implement behaviors that create/maintain good conditions for sleep and help keep you moving toward the kind of life you want to live, then you are setting yourself up for a positive transformation!
2) The one aspect of CBTI that’s been most challenging is SC. Basically when I wake up in this half-awake state but it’s taking a long time to go to sleep. I sort of waffle on whether to try to stay in bed and hope to fall back asleep or just get up (which sounds dreadful in those moments, especially considering I’m aware that my short sleep window is disappearing.) Any advice on how to deal with this indecision?
I typically suggest allowing yourself to remain awake in bed for as long as you feel comfortable. If wakefulness feels really unpleasant, then you have the opportunity to do something that will make that wakefulness more pleasant instead.
If you have an activity in mind (for example, let’s say watching TV or reading) you might ask yourself which option feels more appealing at the current time — not doing anything, or watching TV instead.
Another option would be to put a limit on the questioning — I had a client who told herself that if she repeatedly questions whether or not to get out of bed, by the time that question comes around for a third time she does something else!
Thanks in advance for your advice. If Martin reads this: I can’t thank you enough for all of the great resources you’ve provided. It’s been the one thing that’s helped so far. I provided a tip for your time (which I encourage everyone to do if you haven’t purchased his course) and will do so again soon.
I appreciate your kind words, and the tip! Thank you!
—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.
Since this is related to medication, that would be a conversation to have with your doctor.
—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 fears and worries are normal (they’re a symptom of your brain looking out for you!) and yet they can only have a negative affect on your life if you allow them to control your actions. If you can continue to engage in activities that are aligned with your values and help you be the person you want to be (even in the presence of difficult thoughts and feelings) then those fears and worries will have far less of an influence in 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.
It can be hard to control how we feel — since, over the long term, we cannot control how we feel just as we cannot control what we think (or how we sleep).
Often, for as long as our focus is on things we can’t control, we can remain tangled up in an endless and exhausting struggle.
When people read your gravestone 100 years from now, what would you like to see written on it? Things like, “She managed to feel well”, “She didn’t spend much time awake at night”, “She got 7-8 hours of sleep” — or would you prefer to see it mention all the important things you stood for and pursued in your life?
If it’s the latter, I wonder whether that’s more important to focus attention on — especially since all that stuff is in your control?
Shifting focus might also create the bonus effect of better sleep since you will no longer be trying to control something that can’t be controlled — your attention will be focussed on what’s in your control and what might truly determine whether you live the kind of life you want to live.
I hope there’s something helpful 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.
If you slept without medication for seven to eight hours every single night, what would you be doing differently with your life compared to if you averaged four hours of sleep without medication?
—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 would be a discussion to have with your doctor, Jacob!
—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! The secret when it comes to struggle is it’s a choice we make. We choose to struggle when we try to control things we can’t control (like sleep, our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions).
Observing the sleep process doesn’t stop sleep happening — but trying to stop that observing might! A racing mind doesn’t stop sleep happening — but trying to stop your mind racing might!
So, feel free to observe as much as you like! Watch the sleep process. Watch your thoughts come and go. Don’t engage in a struggle — see if you can act like a neutral observer and see what effect that might have on your nights!
—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.
Well, we know for a fact that you can sleep and that your sleep drive system is working perfectly — once you’ve been awake for long enough, sleep is happening (no matter how worried, scared, or anxious you might feel).
If we can remove ourselves from the process of sleep — if we can abandon all effort to sleep, stop trying to make sleep happen, move away from trying to avoid nighttime wakefulness, and withdraw from the battle we might engage in to fight/avoid all the difficult thoughts that like to come along for the ride, we might need to spend less time awake before sleep happens (as it always does)!
—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 think it can be helpful to simply recognize that travel can be disruptive to sleep — however, what’s truly most important and will have more of an effect on your life is probably the experience of being in Europe!
In 100 years, you’ll be remembering the experience of travel and all the things you did in Europe — I challenge you to look me up in 100 years and tell me that I was wrong and that all you remember from that trip is how you slept 😉
—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.
In 100 years from today, will you be looking back on all the great nights of sleep you had or do you think you’ll more likely be looking back on all the important things you did (such as sharing a bed with someone you love) even if those things happened during/after a difficult night?
—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.
Sure is — if you find it enjoyable!
—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.
