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Welcome to the forum. Many people can trace the start of their insomnia back to pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood — and this isn’t particularly surprising when you think of the huge changes that take place in our lives (and to our bodies). Unfortunately, it sounds as though your issues are further compounded by the postpartum anxiety.
I’m glad to hear you are going through a course of CBT-I. I am sure you will find it helpful. When did you start with CBT-I and what techniques are you currently implementing?
—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 Paul and thank you for joining the forum. Unsurprisingly, chronic pain can have a very real impact on sleep. Usually, chronic pain makes it difficult to fall asleep. When we wake during the night (which is quite normal) we once again recognize the pain and this can make it hard to fall back to sleep.
The good news is, there is no evidence that insomnia causes any health problem, damages the brain, or worsens dementia.
Can you clarify what your current sleep pattern is? Are you saying that, for the past two months, you experience one night of three-and-a-half hours of sleep followed by a night of no sleep, then you repeat this process, over and over?
—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.
Ultimately it comes down to personal preference and since it doesn’t have much effect on the outcome of CBT-I, I don’t think there’s any need to quit before starting CBT-I.
—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.
On nights when you have taken a pill after a few hours of sleep, were you planning to take a pill?
In other words, did you go to bed with the intention of taking a pill after a few hours of sleep?
If not, then it sounds as though you may have sometimes taken them contingently.
This can sometimes be a problem because you might attribute any sleep you get after taking the pill with the pill rather than your own ability to sleep – and this can erode sleep confidence.
Does this make things any clearer?
You do not need to taper-off or quit sleeping pills before starting CBT-I. Many clients I work with who are taking sleeping pills when they enroll start to taper (or even quit completely) as they progress through the course and regain confidence in their ability to sleep.
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.
Since you mentioned that you have epilepsy, it’s important to know that CBT-I might not be an appropriate solution for you (particularly stimulus control techniques). So, if you decide to try CBT-I, please talk to your doctor first.
—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’m not a doctor but I wonder if this could be a symptom of restless legs syndrome (RLS). Although symptoms of RLS typically occur in the legs (hence the name), they can occur in other parts of the body. You may want to discuss this 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.
Often, the key to getting over these setbacks is not to worry about a few bad nights — this is, of course, easier said than done! However, if you put deliberate effort into focusing your attention on all the good nights, the bad nights will have less importance and you will spend less time thinking about them. This will often make it easier for sleep to recover because you are no longer spending a lot of time trying to problem-solve something (a bad night of sleep) that happens to everyone at some point.
You might find these videos helpful:
Avoid dwelling on the bad nights and try to focus on the good nights when you have chronic insomnia
A positive attitude can change the way you think about insomnia and improve your 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.
Can you tell us a bit more about your current sleep pattern, @Seriouslysleepy?
When do you go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day, and how many hours of sleep do you get on a typical 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.
I’m sorry to hear about your struggle with sleep.
Typically, people with chronic insomnia struggle to fall asleep at the start of the night if they aren’t sufficiently sleepy for sleep (it’s so easy to mistake fatigue for sleepiness and go to bed before you are ready for sleep) or if they are too alert or anxious for sleep.
What do you think is stopping you from falling asleep when you go to bed?
—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 heard it said before that there are as many initial triggers for sleep issues as there are people in the world, so it’s impossible to know for sure what triggered your sleep problems.
The good news is that the initial trigger is often less important than we think — how we respond to the sleep disruption tends to determine how long it takes for our sleep to get back on track.
When we start to worry about sleep, we are more likely to implement compensatory behaviors such as spending too much time in bed or trying to conserve energy during the day, and we are more likely to spend more time thinking about sleep and developing inappropriate or unhelpful sleep-related beliefs.
If you are able to get back to your old sleep pattern and avoid trying to compensate for a bad night of sleep, it’s likely that your sleep will get back on track by itself. If it doesn’t I would suggest looking into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques.
Good luck!
—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. I’m glad to hear that study results show your oral appliance is effectively treating your sleep apnea.
When you wake during the night, why do you think you find it hard to fall back to 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 think you’ll find CBT helpful, Syndic — are you doing CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) specifically? Please keep us updated!
—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. It’s usually a good idea to taper off the medication slowly and on a planned schedule rather than going cold turkey.
Typically you’d reduce your dose on one or two nights of the week until you feel ready to continue. Then, you’d reduce on more nights of the week until you are on a reduced dose every night. You then repeat the process, by either reducing the dose further or eliminating the pills in a gradual fashion.
Have you discussed a tapering-off plan with your doctor? That is likely going to be the best course of action.
Remember that sleeping pills don’t generate sleep. They can certainly help you feel relaxed — and this can make it easier to fall asleep, but you are still the one generating sleep. Unfortunately, if you take a sleeping pill contingently, it might be harder for you to get your sleep back on track without them.
You might find this short video helpful: Does cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) work if you are taking sleeping pills?
—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.
Some people are more predisposed to sleep disruption due to factors such as higher levels of anxiety or stress. When sleep becomes disrupted, our thoughts and behaviors can perpetuate the problem and lead to sleep issues sticking around long after the initial cause or trigger is no longer an issue.
Telling yourself a story is a great way to distract the mind from thoughts of worry and anxiety and can be a good relaxation technique. Thanks for sharing!
—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, Blossom. I think many people will identify with the frustration of being told to just close your eyes and go to sleep! If only it were that simple!!
Congratulations on getting off the sleeping pills. When you wake during the night with a high level of anxiety, what is causing that anxiety? Have you tried getting out of bed until you feel calm and relaxed enough to give sleep another try?
—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.
