Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
If you don’t want to be a weed smoker, it sounds like working toward that goal would involve committing to the action of reducing or eliminating your use of weed and the human body doesn’t need weed to generate 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.
I should have elaborated in my original response — my apologies!
Sleep studies are looking for physiological causes of sleep disruption such as sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome.
Chronic insomnia isn’t a physiological problem with sleep — it’s sustained by all our attempts to make a certain amount or type of sleep happen.
—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 aren’t alone, Chrissie. This is hard. It sounds as though you are still very focused on achieving a certain amount or type of sleep and that’s understandable!
If your experience tells you that you cannot control the amount or type of sleep you get, how is trying to make a certain amount or type of sleep happen helping you? Could trying to achieve that goal be what’s making things so much more difficult?
If the instructions you have been following had worked by now, 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.
It sounds as though you might be implementing a sleep window and stimulus control in an attempt to make a certain amount or type of sleep happen, @elvinalim. If that’s the case, it’s not too surprising that you might find yourself continuing to struggle since sleep cannot be controlled through effort.
A sleep window is nothing more than a tool that’s intended to help you move away from chasing after sleep. As your experience seems to be telling you, the more you try to make sleep happen, the more elusive it can become.
Stimulus control isn’t suggested in this course because — in my experience — I have found that it can create so much additional struggle. How are you implementing stimulus control and what are you trying to achieve with that practice?
Thanks for contributing with your experience, support, and suggestions, Amber — I suspect there might be some helpful ideas in there for you too, @Chrissie.
Waking after 2/3 hours is a normal part of sleep — trying to get back to sleep again might be something that makes it less likely to happen, consumes energy and attention, and makes the next day more difficult, too.
As your experience tells you, the more you try to make sleep happen, the more you are going to struggle.
You aren’t a failure, Chrissie. You are finding this hard because it is hard. You can only control your actions — and your actions determine whether you add more struggle and difficulty on top of all this difficult stuff, or whether you build skill in responding to it in a kinder and 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.
These posts of reflection can be a helpful way to reinforce what you are learning (and practicing) and they can be so enlightening and insightful to others who might read them, too. So, thank you for sharing!
As you mentioned, practicing the AWAKE exercise isn’t easy. It takes time and ongoing practice to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings (and wakefulness) with less resistance — and it sounds as though you are noticing some benefits as you continue to develop these new skills!
It’s good to hear you now look forward to the 3 Good Things exercise since it helps you expand the focus of your attention so you notice more of the good stuff that’s present (not just all the difficult stuff). Ongoing practice with that exercise can be so helpful, especially when it feels as though everything is going against us, when all we can think about (or notice) is all the difficult stuff, and when it seems as though there’s nothing present but struggle and difficulty.
You are taking action and you are getting the practice in. That’s what counts and that’s what gets results
—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.
Going to war isn’t usually something that helps make sleep happen
How did you practice accepting wakefulness? You might still experience worry when practicing acceptance (since worry is a natural and normal human feeling that shows up when it wants) — trying to “not worry” might set you 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.
You might want to try making the hour before your sleep window begins the last time you check the time and then allow yourself to go to bed whenever you feel sleepy enough for sleep — especially if the thought of going to bed is appealing rather than something that fills you with trepidation and fear!
This also creates the opportunity for more sleep to happen if conditions feel right for sleep to happen and if your body decides it wants to generate more 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.
Welcome aboard! You definitely aren’t alone — many people who struggled with CBT-I have found the approach shared in this course (which is more aligned with ACT) to be very helpful! I wish you all the best with 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.
Ideally, you want to complete all the lessons of Week 1 (that includes the quiz and survey) before starting your practice for a week and then moving on in the course. The final questions relate to the course content — not your ongoing 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.
This probably depends on your intent — are you reading in bed because you are ready for sleep to happen? If so, that’s the start of your sleep time. Are you reading in bed because you enjoy reading in bed and aren’t ready for sleep to happen? If so, that’s not the start of your sleep time
—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 might you be able to do to help make that wakefulness feel a little bit less miserable or a little bit more productive, @elvinalim?
—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 enjoy lying down for 20-30 minutes and that’s not an action that is making things more difficult or pulling you away from the life you want to live, I don’t see how it can be a problem!
It sounds as though you’ve gained a helpful insight thanks to your husband — since you are snoring at times when you think you are awake, you could very well be getting more sleep than 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.
Thanks for the opportunity to clarify — the suggestion is to go to bed when you feel sleepy at any point once your sleep window has begun
—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’re clearly moving away from the struggle, and it’s the struggle that gives insomnia the oxygen it needs to survive and it’s the struggle that makes insomnia even more difficult and gives it more power and influence over our lives.
Reading can be a great way to practice experiencing wakefulness with less struggle, if reading is something you enjoy. I would invite you to be mindful of your intent — reading cannot generate sleep; if we read in an attempt to make a certain amount or type of sleep happen we might risk setting ourselves up for a 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.
Perhaps your brain is firing up in preparation for the struggle it predicts might be about to happen, Chrissie? As a result, you can feel wired, energized, and ready for battle. Could that be a possible explanation, 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.
