Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Are you still following a sleep window? If so, what time does it start and what time does it end? When you start to have anxiety about sleep, what is going through your mind? Have you considered leaving your phone in another room when you go to bed?
Have you sought advise from your primary care physician regarding your throat closing?
Scott J
—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.
DK,
I know it seems troubling and you’ve had some recent setbacks, but the speed of recovery is different from person to person and it’s based on a variety of factors including having patience and being committed to the techniques. Setbacks can be a major blow to your confidence. This is a turning point in someone’s healing because they usually get frustrated and stray from the techniques, or worse, quit all together. Don’t give up though, you’re so close to the finish line. Starting CBT-I is sorta like beginning an exercise program – at first, you may find it difficult to remain committed, you’re tired, body is sore, you’re not sure you’ll see any results/benefits and you may even experience short-term regression.
Most people who experience chronic insomnia have heightened arousal/anxiety about their sleep disruption. CBT-I techniques can be really helpful because they tackle the root cause of insomnia – your thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate sleep disruption.
How are you managing the chatter you have about insomnia? What is your relationship with those negative thoughts about sleep? Do you feel that’s an area you could explore closer to better your relationship with those thoughts? The turning point for me in my insomnia was how I dealt with my ruminations, especially as bedtime approached. At first, I tried everything to tune them out but quickly realized it wasn’t a good strategy. Instead, I embraced/welcomed those thoughts when they arrived by saying, “Oh, hello thought about insomnia, come on in” or “Hello friend, good to see you again”. I’d also respond by saying, “So what if I don’t sleep well tonight, I’ll still be able to function tomorrow” and so on. This embrace and response freed me from the anxiety loop that I used to experience. You may not have an immediate positive response but practicing this technique every time you begin to ruminate can prevent some of the struggles you may be experiencing with insomnia related anxiety.
Hope that helps,
Scott J—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.
Hi! Welcome to the forum!
Martin provides a wonderful explanation of what hypnic jerks are and what to do (or not do), here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlxiXbYQag
When we try new experiments to “fix” our sleep, it usually leads to heightened awareness and anxiety about it. Mindfulness meditation is a great relaxing tool but when you practice meditation specifically to achieve better sleep, it could be considered sleep effort.
Hope that helps,
Scott J—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.
Hey @johnrb1971,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting!
It’s not uncommon for our sleep to be disrupted when a stressful life event occurs but sleep typically returns to normal once the stressor goes away. When our thoughts and behaviors about our sleep change, it can perpetuate the issue and create a vicious anxiety loop during the night and day. Any effort we put into sleeping better highlights the sleep issue and creates more arousal at bedtime, making sleep even more difficult. When you start to worry about sleep, what is going through your mind?
Scott J
—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.
Hi! It’s encouraging to hear that you’re going to concentrate on CBT-I techniques as the long-term solution for your insomnia! As I mentioned in another post you commented on, anything we do (CBD, etc) to try to fix our insomnia puts a huge spotlight on the issue which can increase our arousal of the issue, especially when bedtime approaches. As you’re exploring CBT-I techniques and have questions, feel free to post so we can work through the challenges you may experience.
Scott J
—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!
Since one of the goals during the day is to build a strong sleep drive, it’s usually helpful to avoid daytime naps since they can significantly reduce sleep drive. What activities can you think of that you could engage in that would prevent you from thinking about a nap?
Scott J
—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.
Hey @daveka!
First and foremost, congratulations for exploring and making the effort to implement CBT-I techniques!
Having setbacks like that are certainly discouraging and stressful but continuing to have patience and commitment in the process is critical for your long term success.
If you’re having trouble staying awake until your sleep window begins, have you tried activities that are engaging but relaxing, such as coloring, crafting, standing while watching TV? When I experienced the same issue, I would stand while watching TV or pace the house during commercials until my window began. You can’t sleep standing up (at least, I can’t)! 😉 As innocent as those evening dozing’s are, they can significantly diminish your sleep drive and could cause you to have middle of the night awakenings.
Hope that helps,
Scott J—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.
Hey @emmam!
Welcome and thanks for posting about your quick success with the CBT-I techniques found on this site. Your improvements have been because of your determination and commitment to those techniques so – GREAT JOB!
Scott J
—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.
Hey @happysleep,
Welcome and thanks for posting! Typically, if you’re sleepy sitting on the couch and then wide awake when you get in bed, it’s can be conditioned arousal. If you have anxious thoughts about sleep, they tend to become worse as bedtime approaches. That fight or flight response from your arousal increases your cortisol level making it extremely hard to fall asleep. What are you currently doing to manage those anxious thoughts?
Scott J
—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 steps you’ve outlined above are excellent and can have real benefits if you remain consistent in your implementation of them. How long have you been using those techniques and how have the results been? Are you implementing CBT-I techniques through Martin’s free 14-day course?
Scott J
—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.
Hi @Boylston,
Thanks for sharing your success story! I think you sum up some of the core elements of being successful with CBT-I techniques in this sentence, “I can report that having patience is key as is relaxing and trying not to focus too much on sleep in day-to-day living.” Great job restoring your sleep and best wishes as you move foward!
Scott J
—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.
Hi @JackHart567,
Great conversational thread! You’ve provided a lot of information so I’ll expand on a few repetitive topics you’ve mentioned.
Alcohol is considered a sedative, making you feel relaxed, and probably why you’re able to fall asleep rather easily. As the liver processes the alcohol, it becomes a stimulant, which is why it’s not uncommon for people to wake a few hours after going to sleep. Can you relate to this scenario?
A theme you’ve repeated in your posts is having a monkey mind and anxious thoughts at bedtime and towards your sleep issue. Do you find yourself focused on the “what if’s” when an anxious thought starts? “What if I don’t get any sleep tonight?” “What if I’m too tired to function tomorrow?” – sound familiar? What do you think would happen if you changed your relationship with those types of thoughts to, “so what!”? “So what, I’ve only gotten 3 hours of sleep before and was able to function during the day!” “So what, if I don’t get any sleep tonight, I know tonight will be better!”. You can’t stop the initial “what if” thoughts but you can control your response to them. I’ll try to give you an analogy for simpler understanding – instead of standing in the ocean waiting on a wave to slam you down, go with the flow of the wave and when an anxious feeling arrives, welcome it instead of trying to stop it. Does that help?
Scott J
—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.
Hi @Skyee!
Welcome to the forum! Why do you think you feel anxious about sleep or your bedtime approaching? Worrying about sleep usually makes sleep more difficult and this can lead to even more worry! What steps have you taken or techniques you’ve experimented with to help your situation?
Scott J
—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.
Hi MaggieMac13!
Welcome and thanks for posting! Life changing events can certainly disrupt our sleep but our sleep usually returns to normal once that stressor has passed. When we change our thoughts and behaviors about our sleep, it usually perpetuates itself. Are your anxious thoughts primarily about your sleep issues? Have you considered writing down your concerns during the day to reduce the anxiety at night?
Scott J
—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.
Hi, welcome to the forum and congratulations on exploring CBT-I techniques as they tackle the root causes of insomnia – our thoughts and behaviors.
It’s not uncommon for a significant life event, such as having COVID, to temporarily disrupt sleep but it’s when we begin to change our thoughts and behaviors about our sleep that the issue perpetuates. Since you’re experimenting with CBT-I, are you having specific challenges or questions about any of the methods you’ve learned? There may be some parts of CBT-I that may seem counterintuitive, but having patience and consistently implementing the techniques is important in restoring your sleep. If you remain committed to the techniques, you’ll begin to see consistent results from them.
Scott J
—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.
