Insomnia Strategy

Just saw this article in the Guardian and thought I'd share it. I'm always looking for new insomnia strategies to try when needed. This one sounds good. I just downloaded the app for $2.99 but haven't tried it yet.


https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/15/shuffle-thoughts-sleep-oliver-burkeman?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail (Shuffle your thoughts and sleep | Oliver Burkeman)

 

Thanks Ellen, I'll add it to my tools.

 

I tried this app last night when rumination was keeping me from falling asleep, and it works! I fell asleep before the 20 min app was done.

 

I had really bad insomnia when I was 22 and I eventually was able to sleep normal after two years of antidepressants. Nevertheless, it didn't solve the root cause. By 35, I was back in the same loop. And one day, after months of sleeping about 2 hours per night, sth happened. I was in bed, and I had this thought in my mind: "I doesn't matter if I never sleep again. I will be a zombie, I will feel really shitty at work, but I don't care if I never sleep again". After that, I fell asleep in a minute. Since that happened, I never had trouble sleeping again. And If I have sth in my head and feel like i wont be able to sleep, I just think it is ok to be feeling horrible tomorrow. I don't care if dont sleep. So the fear does not feed my insomnia and I fall asleep. I wish I could do the same with my other symptoms. But I hope my experience with insomnia can help someone else.

 

I second this approach.

My way of clearing a 30+ year long severe insomnia was not that straightforward. I used to wake up between 1 am and 3 am like clockwork and not be able to go back to sleep. Even when I slept, my sleep was shallow and more tiring than refreshing. Anti-anxiety medication helped, for few years, then stopped. I became a zombie, dreading 10 pm when I would go to bed. Once I started Sarno's approach, I applied it to my nightly anxiety attacks. It worked! As I woke up, I turned to what I call "a Sarno thought", thinking about the emotions behind my anxiety, trying to unwind it to the causes and triggers. Over time, I added guided meditations for anxiety and re-connection with inner child - those seemed to put me back to sleep after 30 minutes.

Slowly, I noticed that my dread and fear of insomnia started calming down. The less I feared insomnia, the easier it became to cope with waking up and to go back to sleep. My anxiety does not rise anymore as I lie awake at 3 am, because I am confident that sooner or later I will fall asleep. I do have bad nights occasionally - last one was bad. But I went back to sleep without xanax and I woke up about 90% myself - which is a lot.

Conquering insomnia was an unexpected side benefit of the Dr. Sarno's knowledge "penicillin", but certainly one of the most welcomed. I still have a long way to go before I can claim success with my symptoms. But I am becoming more and more confident that my insomnia can be tamed and that it is up to me to make it happen.

 

Here's some more info on sleep:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783 (The myth of the eight-hour sleep - BBC News)