Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Thanks for the great question! The W part is about noticing where any thoughts and feelings that might be present are showing up in your body.
Some people, for example, notice anxiety as a heavy weight in their stomach or as stiff shoulders (and you’ve noticed that sometimes it shows up as tension in the back of your neck — and not necessarily at night).
Not everyone notices something every time — or even ever. It’s more about opening up and giving yourself the opportunity to notice if and where those thoughts and feelings are showing up in your body.
You might not notice anything and that’s fine. And sometimes you might and that’s fine, too! You’ve still done the step and you can move onto the next A in AWAKE when you are ready 🙂
Does this answer your question?
—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 raise a great point here that is worth clarifying!
Thoughts are great distractors and every human being gets distracted by their thoughts from time to time.
So, it’s not about “not allowing” thoughts to distract you. It’s more about noticing when you are getting distracted and refocusing your attention so you can be present and do what matters even when they show up. And, the action of refocusing is often required over and over again as you learn that skill.
The NOW exercise is intended to help with this. If you’ve played around with that, what have you learned from that?
—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 might be getting stuck because everything you are doing is aimed and trying to make a certain amount or type of sleep happen — and your experience tells you that sleep is out of your direct control.
For as long as you are actively resisting wakefulness and trying to make sleep happen, you might not be able to truly surrender or experience all this stuff with less struggle.
Are you able to remember a time when sleep wasn’t an issue or a concern? What did you do back then to make sleep happen and what insights does that reveal?
—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.
Great questions!
Ultimately, there’s no perfect or “right” way to do this. The only requirements are to write down three good things that happened and why they happened.
The goal is to expand the focus of your attention so you are better able to notice the good stuff that is present, even when things feel really difficult.
Since the human brain is hard-wired for “doom and gloom” mode, it requires practice to notice and appreciate the positives that remain all around us.
The “why” part can also help us identify how our actions influence what we notice and appreciate, too.
So, with all that being said, here are what some examples might look like:
* I heard some birds singing because I stopped to observe nature
* I enjoyed a great dinner because I took the time to cook for myself
* I appreciated the warm water in the shower because I took a moment to be present
* I went for a walk because exercise is important to me
I hope this helps! If I can offer any more guidance on this, please let me know!
—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 Cata!
You are taking action to move away from sleep medication, even though it’s hard. What makes getting rid of the medication important to you?
Since your problem-solving brain’s main job is to look out for you, it’s naturally going to generate lots of difficult thoughts and feelings when you embark on a journey of change — because change is scary and new.
Problem-solving brains aren’t positive. They focus on the negative. The doom-and-gloom. The worst possible scenarios. Because that’s what keeps you alive. It would rather sound an alarm and get things wrong than not sound an alarm and get things wrong!
It feels unsafe to have those thoughts and feelings and when they show up you are safe.
What are you currently doing in response to those difficult thoughts and feelings when they show up and what are you learning from that?
—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 current sleep window is 8:00 PM to 3:00 AM, which is seven hours long. What’s behind your thought that you might be doing the sleep window incorrectly?
—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 have identified that putting pressure on yourself to make sleep happen only makes it more difficult. You also shared a powerful insight that when you aren’t trying to make sleep happen — and if you are genuinely trying to stay awake — sleep is more likely to come to you.
As the expert on yourself, what might be the most workable way to respond when you notice yourself putting pressure on yourself to perform sleep?
You have been falling asleep on the couch and you’ve been falling asleep in front of the TV — and those are actions that don’t move you closer to where you want to be. If your goals are to fall asleep in your own bed and to fall asleep without the TV on, what might a first step toward that goal look 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.
Going to bed later has given you the opportunity to rediscover that sense of true sleepiness (rather than just fatigue). It has also given you more time to do things like watch TV or potter around doing little jobs.
It’s more time for you, rather than more time for struggle.
Although you felt hesitant to reduce the amount of time you allot for sleep, you took action anyway and in a way that felt right for you. You are making change happen and you are learning from what you are doing.
I wish you all the best as you continue to work through the course, Wendy!
—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 can do whatever you want before bed and sleep wherever you want!
The question is this — where do you want to be falling asleep and where do you want to be sleeping? And in what ways does your choice of actions move you closer to those goals?
—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 by “work” you mean a certain amount or type of sleep will happen, the sleep window will never work — because a sleep window cannot make a certain amount or type of sleep happen.
The sleep window is a tool that is intended to help you move away from chasing after sleep. As your experience seems to suggest, the more you chase after sleep the more elusive it can become!
As for going to bed before your sleep window begins, you might want to reflect on your own experience as to how helpful that is or isn’t.
Going to bed 30-minutes to an hour before your sleep window begins probably doesn’t change a whole lot. Going to bed hours before it begins might start to mean you aren’t really implementing much of a sleep window at all!
—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.
Only you can decide if a sleep window is unreasonable or not!
I would typically suggest basing a sleep window on the amount of sleep you typically generate on an average night, taken over the past week or two. You can then add half-an-hour or so to ensure your window isn’t taking sleep away from you.
A sleep window of 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM is nine hours long. If you usually get a lot less than nine hours of sleep at night and spend a lot of time struggling with that wakefulness, there’s an opportunity to reduce the amount of time you allot for sleep, if that feels like an action worth experimenting with.
—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.
Ups and downs are a normal part of any journey, @Kmar42!
You know from experience that counting and tracking sleep isn’t a helpful behavior — so there’s an opportunity there.
What does a “bad” night mean to you and how do you choose to respond to them?
—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. Those symptoms, although not unique or even unusual, can still be really difficult to experience.
Your experience seems to tell you that the more pressure you put on yourself to make sleep happen (and perhaps the more you try to fight all the symptoms you just shared) the more difficult all those things become.
You shared that you’ve tried to befriend wakefulness — what does “befriend wakefulness” mean to you, and if it was easier 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.
Your concern is understandable — and you shouldn’t drive if you have fallen asleep at the wheel (or believe that might happen).
What I will say is that it would be unusual for someone with chronic insomnia to fall asleep at the wheel without warning because people with chronic insomnia tend to experience intense daytime fatigue rather than intense daytime sleepiness. They are often described as being “tired but wired”.
You are clearly a powerful problem-solver, recognizing that you can still get a lift to work and that will help restrict the power and influence sleep has over your life.
And, if you do stay at home, you could also engage in other activities that reflect your values rather than experiencing a day of complete withdrawal from the life you want to live.
I hope there’s something useful 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.
Hello @3perfectgirls and welcome to the forum.
You are waking during the night and finding that you aren’t falling back to sleep. As a result, your problem-solving brain has been firing up as it does its job of looking out for you. And, when it has important things to say, a feeling of anxiety often shows up, too.
As you’ve noticed the presence of anxiety, you have also been finding it hard to fall asleep at the start of the night.
There’s nothing unusual or unique in what you’ve shared. It sounds like your experience is telling you that the more you (understandably) try to make sleep happen and the more you try to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings, the more difficult all those things become.
As you and @Courtypox shared, it can be hard to live your normal life after nights of no sleep — and with the presence of other health issues that might not even be possible. If it’s not, perhaps there might still be one or two things that keep you moving closer to a normal life versus complete withdrawal.
How have things been going since you posted?
—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.
