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Those nights of no sleep are very difficult to deal with — it’s great to hear that you decided to go out for breakfast, take an afternoon walk, and have company over the following night because it sounds as though you are practicing some self-compassion AND taking actions that help you move toward the kind of life you want to live, independently of sleep and even in the presence of challenging thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
—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 your goal is to sleep at night, it can be helpful to avoid daytime naps (unless needed for safety) in order to “bank” that sleep drive for the nighttime hours.
Have you tried implementing any techniques such as sleep restriction to help create better conditions for 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.
Sorry to hear about the issues you described, Maria. They can definitely create difficult thoughts, feelings, and emotions and it can be particularly challenging when the things that create these difficult thoughts, feelings, and emotions might be outside of your control.
If the cause of our sleep issues is within our control (for example, we might be shift workers) then we might be able to make a change (for example, take a different job). Sometimes, though, the cause of our current sleep issues (for example, a health issue or time of acute stress) might not be within our control.
The good news, though, is that there are always things we can do that help create better conditions for sleep — and we can always take some actions (no matter how small) that help us move toward the kind of life we want to live.
So, in conclusion, I think it can be really helpful if we make it our aim to change what can be changed, accept what cannot be changed, and live by our values — regardless of how we sleep and regardless of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that might be running through our minds.
—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.
As you have experienced for yourself, medications can come with a number of side-effects — both when we are taking them, and when we try to stop taking them. It sounds as though you are working with your doctor to help reduce the side effects you’ve described, and that’s good to hear!
—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.
Our attempts to reduce arousal can often be the biggest source of arousal! So, instead of trying to reduce or get rid of arousal, sometimes it can be helpful to live our lives and focus attention on what we can control — because we just cannot control our thoughts, feelings, and emotions; at least, not for the long term.
—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 challenge is real! Often the real struggle occurs when we try to fight or avoid certain thoughts, feelings, and emotions. These are things we cannot control, so when we take this route, we usually lose and don’t make things any better!
A more helpful strategy might be acknowledging and accepting our thoughts and emotions, then refocussing attention on the present moment and things we can control.
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.
All dreams mean is that we are sleeping — I don’t think we can draw any other meanings from them. Your dreams might be waking you up, especially if they are really intense. However, what may be more likely is that you are naturally waking during the night (which is a normal part of sleep) and associating the waking with the dreams you are having.
Having a consistent and appropriate sleep schedule can sometimes be helpful since this can help with sleep architecture — inconsistent sleep can lead to “REM rebound” and more memorable/frequent dreams.
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 is my understanding that marijuana can affect our sleep in a similar way to alcohol — both drugs can help us fall asleep more quickly, but they can reduce overall sleep quality and lead to lighter and more fragmented sleep.
If you are looking for a longer-term solution to chronic insomnia, you might want to look into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques.
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.
These ups and downs are normal and are a symptom of being a human being! Just telling ourselves our thoughts are just thoughts can be difficult — but fortunately, there are many different techniques we can try to help us “defuse” from our thoughts in a practical way (a Google search for “cognitive defusion” might help).
You might also find my video on insomnia relapses helpful.
—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.
Sorry to hear about your sleep difficulties. Have you tried implementing any cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques to help create better conditions for 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.
Chronic insomnia can definitely feel very lonely — but, as you have seen from the forum, you are not alone!
Can you tell us a bit more about your sleep at the current time? What’s a typical night like?
—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.
Anxiety can definitely make it more difficult to be active during the day — however, we can still take actions, no matter how small, that help move us toward the kind of life we want to live. The alternative is to give up, do nothing, and no longer live life according to our values — and that probably is not going to be helpful over the long term!
Very few of us feel refreshed when we first wake in the morning, thanks to sleep inertia. However, we do tend to feel a bit better once our day has got started and we are doing things that help us live the kind of life we want to live.
The nighttime anxiety can be difficult, too — and much of the struggle with this can be down to our natural desire to fight or avoid it. If we can get to a place where we might be able to let anxiety come and go as it pleases, we might be less likely to get caught up in 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.
It can be challenging to come off any medication, and this should only be done under the supervision of your doctor. You might want to ask about a tapering-off plan rather than going “cold turkey” — if you gradually taper-off while implementing techniques that create better conditions for sleep, the process might be a bit less challenging.
—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.
Your description of your experience with insomnia — particularly the ongoing detective work — is not unusual at all, and I am sure you will relate to many of the guests on the Insomnia Coach podcast.
If we can get to a place where we are able to replace the ongoing detective work with actions that help us live by our values and move us toward the kind of life we want to live, and where we are able to drop the often irresistible urge to control sleep or put effort into sleep, we can start to change our relationship with sleep and this, in turn, usually creates better conditions for 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.
CBT-I techniques, such as sleep restriction, can be helpful even in the presence of anxiety for two reasons:
1. Anxiety doesn’t prevent sleep (but our attempts to fight or avoid anxiety can make sleep more difficult)
2. Sleep restriction helps build sleep drive, and sleep drive will always overpower anxiety in the endI 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.
