Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I like to think that “Way Out” had genuine intentions and simply wanted to provide some optimism and hope. Reducing anxiety and worry is certainly helpful but it’s a bit easier said than done!
—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, Vickster. Pretty much everyone here is struggling with sleep in some capacity — so you definitely are not alone.
Can you tell us a bit more about your current sleep pattern? When do you normally go to bed, when do you get out of bed to start your day, and roughly how many hours of sleep 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 love the support and camaraderie in this discussion topic. Supportive discussions like this are the exact reason why I started this forum.
Christine: The fatigue is real! With that being said, it is often less noticeable to others than we think — so this could explain why you feel as though you’re faking it so nobody can notice whereas the reality might be that people aren’t noticing it because you are actually coping a bit better than you think.
There’s a phrase commonly associated with insomnia: wired but tired. This refers to the fact that although people with chronic insomnia are dealing with very high levels of fatigue, their body responds and compensates and somehow manages to get them through the day. In other words, we become wired enough to function and remain alert enough to survive and even remain relatively productive.
Fatigue is caused primarily by inactivity rather than a lack of sleep. For this reason, resting on the couch for the day actually makes fatigue worse rather than better. As mentioned by delv-x, the best strategy is usually to remain as active as possible. This helps reduce fatigue. Activity also helps build sleep drive and make sleep more likely.
—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.
Do you (or have you been told that you) snore during the night? Do you ever wake gasping for air or wake with a choking sensation? If so, you may want to ask your doctor about sleep apnea — this could explain why you still feel very sleepy even after eight hours of 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.
Thank you for sharing your story. We welcome venting here! This is a supportive community and we are all here to help one another. I am sorry to hear about your ongoing struggles with sleep.
Congratulations on doing away with the unhealthy addictions. This demonstrates that you have drive, fortitude, and huge resources of mental strength — so, I think this can be harnessed to get your sleep back on track.
In all your dealings with medical professionals, has CBT-I ever been mentioned? If not, you may want to ask your doctor whether they think you’d be a good candidate.
—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 definitely sounds as though there is some conditioned arousal here, sleepyjon. In addition, since you have recognized that if you don’t fall asleep within an hour it will be hard to sleep at all, you are likely self-monitoring when you get into bed to check whether you are awake or not — and this immediately makes sleep more difficult.
What kind of sleep schedule are you following at the moment? When do you go to bed at night and when do you get out of bed to start your day? On an average night, how many hours of sleep would you say you get?
—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 Emma and welcome to the forum. Your story is actually not all that unusual (as suggested by Steve). Sleep disruption is completely normal when we experience a life-changing event or trauma. What you experienced definitely qualifies as both!
Sleep usually recovers once we “get over” or “get used to” whatever the initial trigger was (some other examples might be moving house, changing job, getting married, losing a friend or family member, getting divorced, having a child, etc).
However, sometimes we become very concerned about this sleep disruption even though it’s completely normal because — after all — we rarely (if ever) struggled with sleep before.
When we worry about sleep, we make sleep more difficult. Then, when sleep becomes more difficult, we often implement behaviors to try to improve our sleep or compensate for lost sleep. This can include things like:
- Canceling plans with friends
- Calling in sick to work
- Trying to conserve energy
- Going to bed earlier
- Napping during the day
- Staying in bed later
- Developing sleep rituals
Unfortunately, all these behaviors make sleep worse — and, before we know it, we are perpetuating the sleep issue and this can trigger a vicious cycle of increasing worry and anxiety about sleep, more compensatory behaviors, and worse sleep.
The good news is, you have caught your insomnia relatively early — so it will be easier for you to tackle and get your sleep back on track if you take action sooner rather than later.
It sounds to me as though you would be a good candidate for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia — have you discussed this with your doctor by any chance?
—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 struggles with sleep, Jordan. Do you have any idea what causes these frequent nighttime awakenings? How do you feel during the day? Have you ever fallen asleep without warning or felt yourself drifting off to sleep when sedentary or inactive during the day?
—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 am sorry to hear about your lengthy struggles with insomnia, Kosh62 — but please know that you are still capable of sleep and that your natural ability to sleep has not gone away.
You mentioned that you have tried a number of different remedies and techniques. Have you tried cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (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.
Hello Atkinl and welcome to the forum. What sleeping pills were you taking and for how long? Can you tell us a bit more about your current sleep pattern? When do you go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start the day in the morning, and roughly how many hours of sleep do you think 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.
Hello warrior (what an apt choice of username!) and welcome to the forum. Thank you for sharing your story and I am sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep.
I see a lot in your post that is quite positive and this makes me feel confident that you will get your sleep back on track. It definitely seems to me as though you are making progress.
You have noticed that CBT is helping but you mentioned that sleep restriction wasn’t helpful — what kind of sleep window were you following when you experienced difficulty implementing that technique? Are you following any kind of sleep window now?
A broken ankle and the discomfort and the trauma associated with this is always going to disrupt sleep, regardless of your sleep history. So, it’s important to recognize sleep disruption that stemmed from this injury as being nothing out-of-the-ordinary.
You also mentioned that, even with the associated pain, you noticed a couple of nights where you got almost a full night of sleep. This is great news because it shows that you are still capable of getting that full night of sleep, it’s just a matter of making those full nights of sleep more common.
Are you currently using a CPAP machine for your sleep apnea?
It really sounds as though you are on the right track and that your sleep is going to improve as you continue implementing the CBT-I techniques you are learning.
—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 and I’m sorry to hear about your struggle with sleep. What do you think caused your muscle pain? Sleep deprivation doesn’t usually lead to muscle pain and soreness so this is probably being caused by something other than sleep (or lack of it). Have you sought medical advice for your sleep or your muscle pain?
—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 Lissy and welcome to the forum. Thank you for sharing your story. I am so sorry to hear about your ongoing struggle with sleep. Suicide is never the answer and I urge you to talk to someone if you ever have suicidal thoughts or feelings:
http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
You mentioned that you started CBT three weeks ago. This is great to hear. Is it CBT for insomnia or generalized CBT? When you wake during the night, what do you think is stopping you from falling 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.
Falling asleep in 30 to 45 minutes isn’t too bad at all — a healthy sleeper will typically take between 10-30 minutes to fall asleep, so you were not far away from that.
I can’t recall if you’ve mentioned this before, but have you been assessed for sleep apnea or been told that you snore loudly during the 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.
Have you asked your doctor whether they think CBT-I might be a good option for 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.
