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That sounds really difficult and I am sorry that you went through that experience and for what you are currently going through. I would suggest looking for a professional in your country that might be able to help you with this. You aren’t alone and you do not need to suffer alone. Please reach out to someone you trust. I wish you all the very best.
—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 yet to come across anyone who found that a weighted stuffed animal cured their insomnia — and that might be because a weighted stuffed animal is unlikely to address the thing that provides insomnia with the oxygen it needs to survive (the struggle that usually comes from all our efforts to make 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.
Was there anything useful in my earlier reply, NikC14?
That fear is natural and normal — it comes from your brain doing its job and looking out for you. You can’t control that fear (the more you try to control your thoughts and feelings the more difficult they can become) but you can always control how you respond.
How are you currently responding to that fear?
Fear and anxiety comes and goes for as long as we are living, breathing human beings. It tends to become more powerful and we are more likely to get trapped in a bit of a vicious cycle with it the more we try to fight, avoid, or otherwise control those normal thoughts and feelings.
If we are able to acknowledge these difficult thoughts and feelings and allow them to exist, they are less likely to get stuck. When we go to war with them they are more likely to consume our energy and attention and makes things more difficult.
PS: There is no evidence that chronic insomnia causes any health problem, increases mortality, or causes people to lose their minds. And, that’s probably because the human body will always generate, at the very least, the minimum amount of sleep it needs, as long as it is given the opportunity to generate sleep.
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.
Ongoing tossing and turning can sometimes be an indication that we are tangled up in a bit of a struggle, trying to make sleep happen. That, in turn, can make things more difficult — and make the nights less pleasant!
With that being said, I am not you — only you know your intent when you’re tossing and turning and only you know whether that tossing and turning is comfortable or not and whether it’s a “workable” behavior or not.
If you feel it’s a symptom of chasing after sleep, trying to make it happen, perhaps noticing the ongoing tossing and turning might be a good cue to respond to wakefulness in a different way? A way that might give you the opportunity to experience wakefulness with a bit less struggle? Do you think that might be useful? If so, how might that look?
—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 Brad! It’s totally natural that you feel concern about moving away from the medication — after all, you want to function the next day, right?
You might want to ask yourself where medication is getting you. Is it generating great sleep every night and leaving you feeling refreshed and energetic every day?
You might also want to ask yourself whether taking medication is aligned with your values and the kind of life you want to live.
If your answer to those questions is yes, why change anything?
If your answer to those questions is no, perhaps that’s why you feel a bit stuck? And, if you feel a bit stuck, perhaps coming up with a specific plan that might help you get unstuck might be useful?
PS: Have you ever experienced a night of no sleep (medication or not) and been completely unable to function? Completely unable to stand, walk, talk, eat, drink, or get through the day? If not, perhaps your mind might be saying one thing, while your experience is saying something else. In that case, who is the more reliable commentator?
—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 experience — some good stuff there!
It sounds as though you’ve been moving away from struggling with wakefulness and any difficult thoughts and feelings that your brain chooses to generate — and, as a result, things are feeling better and there’s less struggle.
And, when there’s less struggle, it becomes easier for sleep to happen and it becomes easier to live the kind of life you want to live 🙂
—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.
The human brain is a thought generating machine — so it’s totally natural and normal for you to find your brain thinking about sleep during the day! You might want to thank your brain for looking out for you when that happens, and then refocus your attention on where you are and what you are doing.
What was your mentality before you went to bed in the days before sleep was something you paid any attention to? Are there any insights there you might be able to share with us?
—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 concerns, Nik. If you give yourself the opportunity to sleep, your body will always generate — at the very least — the minimum amount of sleep you need.
As you know from experience, you cannot make sleep happen — but you can always control how you respond to nighttime wakefulness.
Ultimately, there are two ways to respond, right?
1. You can struggle with it (trying to fight or avoid it).
2. You can practice allowing it to exist (even if you don’t want it to!).Which option sounds most workable, do you think?
You mentioned that you practiced resting in bed — and difficult thoughts and feelings still showed up. That’s natural and normal. Your brain will always generate thoughts and feelings — that is its job. Some will feel good. Some won’t. Some will be helpful. Some won’t.
And, again, you get to choose how to respond to them — do you struggle with them by trying to fight or avoid then? Or, do you allow them to exist by acknowledging them and observing them? Which is the more workable option, according to your own experience?
Have you been able to get any practice in with the AWAKE exercise when you find yourself really struggling with nighttime wakefulness and all the thoughts, feelings, and stories that can come 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.
The thing about sleep is it always happens in the end. It’s impossible to remain awake indefinitely. When we’ve been awake for long enough, sleep will always happen. Always.
Nothing in this course can make sleep happen because sleep cannot be controlled. The only thing that leads to sleep is being awake for long enough.
What this course is intended to do is help move you away from struggling with sleep — from trying to make it happen, from trying to get rid of wakefulness, from trying to fight or avoid all the difficult thoughts and feelings that come with insomnia.
That’s because the struggle is what makes it all so much more difficult.
If, by practicing responding to all this difficult stuff with less struggle, you find that you are able to do just one thing that matters to you, would that reflect some kind of improvement over a scenario where there is nothing but endless struggle?
If you are practicing new skills that help you respond to wakefulness with less struggle, that help you refocus your attention during the day so you can better do things that matter, that help you move away from endlessly fighting with your thoughts and feelings, and if you are committing to actions each day that are aligned with your values and that keep you moving toward the kind of life you want to live, then you are making progress. You are changing direction and moving forward.
Please ensure you are being kind to yourself when things feel difficult, too. None of this is your fault and you are not the only person who finds this difficult. It feels difficult because it is difficult. It often takes time and ongoing practice to free ourselves from struggling with all this difficult stuff — and it can be 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.
Thanks for sharing these great insights! Wakefulness is more likely to become a problem when we perceive it as a problem and start trying to get rid of it — because then we get tangled up in a struggle that makes everything more difficult.
It sounds as though practicing allowing wakefulness to exist (in your case, in the presence of different sounds), acknowledging whatever you are thinking and feeling when awake, and allowing yourself to rest in bed rather than putting pressure on yourself to be asleep in bed are all things you’ve been finding helpful!
—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.
The course is entirely self-paced — no prizes for rushing through it! Feel free to take your time — you have six months of access to the course materials!
—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!
It sounds as though you’ve found it helpful to move away from chasing after sleep by going to bed later (when you’re sleepy) and by doing something more appealing whenever you find yourself struggling with nighttime wakefulness.
Great stuff!
—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.
There’s that brain looking out for you and generating some difficult thoughts and feelings (thanks, brain)! The good news is, you always get to choose how you respond to those thoughts and feelings. You can get distracted by trying to battle with them, or you can practice allowing them to come and go as they choose 🙂
—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 suspect that your open and curious mind will stand you in good stead as you continue to work through the course, Spindledog! Have you also asked yourself how you made sleep happen back in the days when sleep didn’t feel like a struggle? Perhaps that might uncover further insights!
—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 I control my sleep? If the answer is no, why am I following all these protocols and rituals that I have found on You Tube and heard about, such as all the sleep hygiene measures?
That’s a good question! Does your experience tell you that rules and rituals are creating great nights of sleep? Or does your experience tell you that they’re not really having any impact at all (and maybe they might even be making things more difficult by giving you a whole list of things you have to do each day and night)?
Back in the day when sleep didn’t feel like any struggle and didn’t consume any of your attention, what rules and rituals did you have in place? How did you make sleep happen back then? Perhaps it might be helpful to work on getting back to that?
I think your comparison between trying to make sleep happen and trying to urinate is very apt — the more we try, the more difficult it can become, right?
—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.
