Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
You finished working through the six weeks of the course and thanks to your ongoing commitment to practice, you have become better able to accept wakefulness (rather than battle with it). As a result, nights are calmer — not a bloody battleground!
As for what causes wakefulness — the answer is anything can cause it. The brain never shuts down during sleep. It’s still monitoring your surroundings for threats. Waking, therefore, is a completely normal part of sleep.
The more we resist those awakenings, the more noticeable and memorable they become (and the more of a struggle they can create) — as you know from experience!
You are able to acknowledge the thoughts your problem-solving brain is generating as it does its job of looking out for you — thoughts that usually lean toward “worst possible outcome” and all the other doom and gloom stuff (because good stuff isn’t a threat).
And you are responding in a workable way. Giving it space to exist. To come and go as it wishes. That doesn’t mean the vigilance ends (your brain still has a job to do) — it just means you aren’t engaged in an active and exhausting struggle through the night.
It sounds like you are heading in the direction you want to be heading. As the expert on yourself, what do you feel is the best way to continue moving forward?
—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 sharing!
You are continuing to work through the course materials and — most importantly — you are continuing to take action. You are continuing to practice and develop new skills. And you are continuing to learn from what you are doing.
Your actions are moving you closer to where you want to be. You are doing things (like taking a course) even though it means getting home later. You are better able to notice the good stuff around you — stuff that before, might have gone unnoticed.
You are getting better at refocusing your attention because of your commitment to ongoing practice of the AWAKE exercise. Your actions better reflect (and serve) your values.
You haven’t needed to get much practice in with the AWAKE exercise, but you know it’s a tool that’s available for you to use as needed.
Although you noticed a feeling of anxiety connected to moving away from medication, you took action anyway. And, you stayed committed even when that got hard.
You have noticed the change and growth that has happened since you got started working on all this. And, that change and growth is entirely to your credit — you did the work.
I wish you all the best as you continue to move forward 🙂
—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 experience doesn’t sound unusual. What feels like the best way to move forward, as you reflect on your experience?
—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 happy to chime in here to share my observations. I don’t see any “best” way of moving away from medication or supplements. A really slow taper, a really fast taper, going cold turkey, or anything in between.
What seems to matter most is having a plan that feels realistic, and then sticking to it — regardless of what each night might bring.
As the expert on yourself, what do you feel a plan might look like for you?
(I’ll also add as a PS that melatonin doesn’t generate sleep — so all the sleep you’ve been getting while taking it is sleep that your body has generated all by itself.)
—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 clearly have a growth mindset and you are a powerful problem solver!
It sounds like you enjoy lying with your daughter and reading until she falls sleep. When you notice difficult thoughts and feelings showing up, you practice the AWAKE exercise.
Having the intention to remain awake until 11:30 PM would be aligned with keeping a sleep window with an earliest possible “bedtime” (or “sleep opportunity time”). And it might be hard to stay awake until then in such a cozy, warm, and loving environment!
You are trying to maintain a consistent out of bed time in the morning to help anchor your body clock, ensure time for sleep drive to build during the day, and give you the opportunity to do things that matter and to live the kind of life you want to live.
What changes — if any — do you want to make, and why?
—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.
Definitely 👍
The intended outcome is similar (refocus over struggle) — the route there is just a little different. Which approach do you prefer?
—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 be going on here is that you made a change to your sleep window and then your brain was a bit more alert in response — it naturally wanted to monitor and evaluate the effect of that change.
That, in turn, can lead to a bit more alertness and some other thoughts and feelings. All natural and normal, and no barrier to sleep.
What matters now is how you respond when that happens. What have you been doing in response and what have you been 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.
It’s so easy to get pulled back into a struggle or to feel trapped in a struggle — so you aren’t alone.
Ongoing struggle often comes from doing something that our experience tells us doesn’t work, yet we do it over and over again — perhaps because it feels logical or safer or more familiar than any alternative.
Your sleep system is clearly working as it should. You are noticing sleepiness showing up at night. When you go to bed, anxiety shows up as your problem-solving brain does its job of looking out for you. It’s trying to protect you and prepare you for the battle it predicts is about to show up (based upon experience).
You shared that you are trying to move away from struggle and you are practicing the AWAKE exercise. As you pointed out, that’s hard to do (especially at first since it’s a new skill) — and is it any easier to battle and struggle instead?
What have you been learning from your practice with the AWAKE exercise, @Ryno84?
—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.
Good job sticking to your sleep window for most of Week 1!
It sounds like you felt bad for grabbing an extra gummy because you wanted to practice responding to wakefulness (and all the thoughts and feelings that showed up with it) in a different way.
In other words, that feeling revealed important information — and on opportunity to do something different (if you so choose) in the future!
—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.
Wonderful — you are consciously looking for the good stuff and that makes it easier to find and easier to notice in the future.
You are developing a skill that can help make difficult periods a little bit lighter — a skill that can help remind you that good stuff can be present even when things are hard and that you can influence what those “good things” might be, through your choice of actions!
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.
A dozing state of body sounds like a sleeping state of body — it’s just that sleep isn’t happening as you want it to. And so you then find yourself getting stressed and problem-solving and trying to figure out how to fix the problem (which is normal human behavior!).
You are waking during the night because waking is a normal part of sleep. And, what happens next is all down to the level of threat your brain associates with being awake (does it believe that it needs to fire up to protect you and prepare you for battle and struggle?) and how you respond when things aren’t happening as you might want them to (effort, problem-solving, etc).
Ultimately, sleep is a passive process. It requires “less” not “more”. The AWAKE exercise isn’t required just because you notice you’re awake. It can be a helpful tool to practice if you notice yourself struggling or responding to whatever is happening in a way that’s creating more struggle, though.
Is there anything 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.
You know that if you only give sleep the opportunity to show up in bed, that’s where it will show up — because you cannot remain awake forever!
It’s great that you’re viewing these types of actions as experiments — because that’s exactly what they are! There’s no such thing as failure, only learning opportunities!
You are learning, you are taking action, and you are noticing change 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.
That’s a great question — what have you tried up to now, and what have you learned from doing those things?
Dealing with distracting thoughts and feelings during the day in a workable way is explored in more detail as the course progresses.
In the meantime, have you tried playing around with the concept shared in Week 1 of simply thanking your brain in response to whatever it says or whatever feelings it chooses to generate?
That’s certainly a lot quicker (and more realistic) compared to trying to work through the AWAKE exercise when you’re in a meeting or engaged in some other daytime activity!
—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 for missing your post, Chloe. Having a two-year-old wake you up (and even waiting for that moment) can make things more difficult.
If and when he wake and cries for you is out of your control. What you can control are your actions. With that in mind — and as the expert on yourself — what do you feel is a workable way to respond when you notice that you’re putting pressure on yourself to sleep or notice that vigilance grow?
The AWAKE exercise could be an option if you find yourself getting drawn into a struggle at this point. Is that something you’ve played around with? If so, 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.
You are taking action, putting into practice what we’ve been covering at this early stage of the course.
You are implementing a sleep window to move away from chasing after sleep. You are maintaining a consistent out of bed time in the morning to anchor your body clock and ensure you have the opportunity to do things that matter (rather than spending even more time in bed). You are reading or watching TV when sleep doesn’t show up.
And, in the midst of the difficult situation you described, you are still flying from California to Japan. Living life and doing what matters, even though that’s hard to do.
As for suggestions on how to get sleepy — your experience seems to tell you that’s out of your control. The more you try, the less likely it seems to be to show up. So, as the expert on yourself, what’s do you feel is the most workable way to deal with 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.
