This is crazy but I believe you! Sometimes I’ll lay in bed and simply “pretend” I took a strong sleeping pill like a benzo. I’ll imagine what it feels and tastes like. Then boom 5 minutes later I’m out like a rock. It’s all MENTAL.
Hi Daniel. I watch this video when I wanted to come off my sleeping medication, and I had absolutely no issue coming off my sleeping medication because of your videos. Now I’m deciding to come off my antidepressant, the pill which “induces sleep” and I’m watching this video again. My baby is turning one and I’m excited to go on this journey again. Your work is so meaningful and appreciated. Thank you so much.
Kayla! Thanks so much for being in touch. And, I’m always so glad when someone sees that what I teach here - it can apply to many situations and circumstances 🙂
Dan im seriously psychologically dependant on my meds. How to get off of it psychologically? Also about stopping the medication directly i dont think its a good idea if the medication is strong like z drug or benzo i have read a lot of withdrawal people experience from it and i have tried . Sleep deprivation is tired fatigue etc etc. but benzo withdrawal is different totally different monster. It cause you to be extremely dizzy like puking which is definitely not sleep deprivation and stomach problem . Extreme headache and extreme anxiety and depression. I have talked to some people about this and when they cold turkey they got many bad bad bad withdrawal. But when they taper for a year they dont experience the withdrawal. I have a friend as living testimony he stop by taper for 1 year. Now he done CBTi and he follow your advice now and he sleep everyday for 6 hours without medication what a miracle but he said never cold turkey strong drug it not only dealt psychologically but the nerve system in the brain.
Hi Chen! I'm super happy for your friend, that's fantastic to hear! And you know, everyone's path is different. When I do these videos I just share what I think is best for most people, but again - the path is different for everyone. I do have lots of clients who have some really significant insomnia after coming off benzos and Z drugs. And particularly when they "tried" coming off, as I talk about in the video, whenever someone tries coming off, when it's not a decision, that tends to really make insomnia very active! I think the first step to not be psychologicallly dependent is just understanding sleep physiology. When you know that medications can't make you sleep, then you see how no matter what medication you took - it was your body itself that made you sleep!
I agree, I have been on zopiclone fo 20 years, prescribed by my doctor with never one word of caution. Now all of a sudden I am told that I have to taper off in the next couple months, wtf. And with no assistance other than tapering and advice that I should go on an antidepressant that will make me sleep but because it is not a z drug it is considered ok.
I agree. I have been on a z drug for 20 years, prescribed by my physician. Never told that I should not take these long term and just kept prescribing. Now all of a sudden I am told that I have to stop taking these within the next couple months, wtf. No help or assistance, just taper off. Easier said than done, thank god I found this channel.
Mmm, this is a tough spot... that’s a long long time.. I’m glad you found the channel, hang in there and hope you’ll find the education and community here that you need!!
Hello, interesting video I think it is also important to know what type of medication, I imagine that in the case of clonazepam is a little more problematic because it could cause tolerance and dependence very quickly also affects the architecture of sleep, I think benzodiazepines are more complicated.
Hi RVA, You know I’m sure you’re absolutely right, medications are all different. But the way I think about it is that our thoughts around the medications are having much more impact on the actual chemicals inside. But yes just my thoughts!
Great episode!one of the best!!! I always thought medications increased the neurotransmitter Gabba in your brain and that was why they made you sleep🥺Because of the lack of Gabba you produced sleeplessness. Of course I learned along time ago from educating myself from your channel that they don’t it’s your own body that produces sleep. So I binned all my sleep meds and sleep supplements so that I could not be tempted to take any if I thought I wasn’t going to sleep,as I didn’t want to be on them long term.think I made the right decision!!😁
Thanks Don! I felt like "This is going to be a really good episode" and then I messed up with the questions/answers :P!! With small kids etc and having good flow until that point, I decided not to do it over. Anyways, the key key key here, which made me super excited about this commend is the word "DECISION"! You made a decision to throw everything out, you did't embark on a trial. And you know, you were probably in a place where you had the confidence to make that decision. I'm not saying here that everyone should do what you did, but I do want to truly emphasize that not taking supplements or medications has to be a decision, if it is a trial then it always "fails". Well done Don, it must have taken lots of courage.
The Sleep Coach School yes it took lots of courage but what really helped me build up the courage to ditch my supplements and meds was listening to your episodes and also your App Bedtyme.👍
That was really helpful. Gives me something to ponder. I’m using a medication because I’ve found insomnia really tough again after having a couple good nights in June. Thank you Daniel
On the tail end of a long, miserable insomnia medication withdrawal nightmare. Really struggling with the last few mg of decreases. Hoping there is some light at the end of the tunnel if I keep following your advice and can conquer my fear (really a full on "phobia") of wakefullness.
Thanks for your comment!! Just a quick heads-up: we're hosting live Q&A sessions most weeks and we'd love for you to join us! It's a great chance to ask questions, share insights, and connect with others in the community.
Could sleeping tablets be hindering my recovery . I keep taking them but often I don’t sleep . However I get a nervous about stopping them just in case they are helping a bit . But I worry they are just eating away more at my confidence
Hi Angela, Thanks for asking this important question and I’m glad to read that you’re already seen things quite clearly. I would say that it is true that taking medication or doing anything to produce sleep can lead to erosion of confidence. We can start thinking that there’s something wrong with us, especially if sleep happens easier when we do something like take a medication. What can really help is understanding how sleep medication works and also that it is the conflict that really is what creates some struggle. Medications really work by delegation. The fundamental truth with sleep is that the more we try the less we sleep. When we take a sleeping pill and think “good, I don’t have to do anything about my sleep, it’s taken care of” then we are no longer trying to sleep. We delegated the task! It’s true that they are sedating, but sedation alone doesn’t make you sleep. Sometimes people take a bunch of sleep meds in desperation and sleep no more. Because if we still try to sleep, it doesn’t happen. It sounds as if you have already experienced how even if we take a medication but we’re still trying to sleep, we don’t sleep any easier. So should we just stop taking medication? Of course nothing here is medical advice so I want to say always talk to your doctor! This said it can really help to learn a little bit about conflict. The problem with medications happens when there is a conflict. If someone takes medication and has no problem with that whatsoever, they are ok with taking it until further notice, great! 0 conflict. If someone isn’t taking medication, also great! 0 conflict. When someone is taking medication but rather wouldn’t, that’s where we have conflict. We have two conflicting interests of sleeping well and not taking medication. And this is where things get tricky. Because the tension and preoccupation that comes from the conflict makes it harder to sleep well and see that you can sleep and not be bothered by jerks without them. So what to do? When you have this conflict there are two good options. You can change how you think about taking a medication. When you’re ok with it, there’s no conflict! You can stop taking it, then there’s also no conflict! Off note, education works great either way. The one thing to add though is that it works great if there’s no conflict + medications are not used conditionally. If someone takes medication every night at the same time and same dose - no problem! Because it will be a non factor. If someone takes no medication, also no problem. When someone on the other hand takes medications here and there, different ones, different dosage, waits to “see if they can sleep” before taking them, then there’s lots of confusion which makes things harder. A helpful step is often what I call to vitaminize medication. Meaning to remove judgement and self-criticism. Think about how people approach their nightly vitamins. Are they convinced they are essential for well being… probably not. Do they think they are very potent and it’s a must not to skip at any point… not really. Now more importantly, does anyone feel guilty for taking some vitamins because they want to be well and healthy? Absolutely not! Does anyone criticize themselves for not being able to live well without taking vitamins? Not at all! So can one think the same about sleeping pills? I believe it may not be super easy, but really there’s nothing that makes it impossible. We can look at taking sleeping pills just as a means of taking care of ourselves, knowing that they can’t make you sleep or do anything very significant, and without judgement or criticism. Just like vitamins.
Hi Coach! Thank you for the video! What if I cognitively believe that the sleeping meds are not making me sleep but it gives me comfort each night when I take it? I don’t get worked up even if I have a bad night when taking it, but I still find comfort in taking them. I don’t have conflict of interest and I really don’t care whether I take it for the rest of my life but I’m stumbling on question number 1.
Hi! I think often in this scenario, it’s great to vitaminize, to approach the sleeping pills like we do vitamins. We take them regularly without thinking they necessary do that much, and we think of taking them as self care, a nice little thing we do for ourselves 😊
Hi Daniel, Thank you very much for the video response! So I'm guessing in order to feel more confident without meds and to reduce hyperarousal it's best to come off them and just continue working on educating myself on sleep as well as underlying mental health issues including anxiety/over thinking and stress. It feels like a major set back if I don't sleep at all but trying my best to relax throughout the day. Again, many thanks for your help Daniel. Kind regards, Matt
Anytime! And I want to add something that I think you will find helpful as well. One of the most important insights I’ve had lately is what I call win-lose thinking. I noticed how sometimes members of the community here celebrate sleeping well as a win. Like a victory. This is of course completely understandable!! But there’s a problem with it. With insomnia, that ancient part that is there for safety reasons has identified wakefulness at night a threat. And it wants you to fight it. This fight is the reason we have insomnia. The insight here is this - when you think of a good night sleep as a wind and the short night as a loss you reinforce that there is a fight that you can win. You keep the battle going. But the only think that emerges stronger is the sense of threat. So hard as it is, it’s really good to try not thinking in win-lose terms. When you sleep better, be happy but not victorious. When you have a night of little sleep, acknowledge that you slept little without thinking of it as a loss. When you see that there is not threat, enemy, or battle - sleep comes your way!
I haven't been able to sleep since a child and I just found your channel during a 3 day nightmare marathon without sleep and have been finding it very helpful! I've been diagnosed with IBS and my stomach aches keep me awake. Have you ever heard of a situation like that, and what might help them?
Hi there and welcome to the channel! I am very glad that you found it helpful. I don’t think we’ve talked specifically about IBS on the channel before but here are my thoughts. What I talk mostly about here on the channel or how our thoughts are what truly matters when it comes to sleep. I talk a lot about how it’s not a broken sleep switch in your brain or a neurotransmitter imbalance or a hormonal problem but the way you think about sleep that is the real reason you’re not sleeping well. They said, there are things other than thoughts that impact our sleep! I call these things circumstances. This is for example if somebody has arthritis and has a lot of pain at night. Or somebody has a bed partner that snores a lot.Those are things that disturb sleep that we can’t really do much about. We can optimize them but we may not be able to make them non-factor. But what happens is that when we start thinking of them as circumstances. Things we can’t really do anything about. Then we start thinking less about them. We accept that for example IBS will disrupt sleep - and then we don’t think as much about it which actually helps. It is like the two arrows in Buddhist philosophy. There are the things that happened to us that we don’t have any control over. Then we have the reaction to the things we don’t have any control over. It is often the latter that actually causes more problems than the former. Hope this makes sense and again welcome to the channel!
I have this question, ihope you'll answer this as soon as you read this. Thank you inadvance. On the recent vid that i watched from you. You discuss several points such as letting go of every worries and fear of "losing sleep" and try to make the brain more confident of its own natural ability to sleep etc. Heres the questiom, if thats the case would it be contradicting if you'll have to stick to stimulus control and sleep restriction while on the other hand letting go of everything that makes you anxious of having difficulty of falling asleep. Somehow, sticking to this routine would remind you or even make you more anxious of your condition.
Hi Irmina, and welcome to the channel! This is a super important and insightful question. I’ll answer at length wirh coach Michael later today because this needs a full answer and I want as many as possible to benefit from your question. At the core of this question is controllability. My teaching as all about understanding and education, because when you understand sleep and insomnia you can let go of every worry and fear of losing sleep and build sleep confidence. It’s about understanding that the more you try to control sleep or force sleep - the less you sleep. And this is where there’s a problem with traditional CBTi in my opinion. When you do stimulus control and sleep restriction with the intent of trying to control sleep - it creates more pressure to sleep and you have more trouble sleeping. And exactly like you say, they can become reminders of your troubles sleeping which then makes it harder to let go. This is why I have shifted my teaching towards a much more gentle and flexible approach. For some people strict rules in the beginning can work, for many they backfire. But generally speaking - I think it’s good to give yourself a bit less opportunity to sleep as A WAY OF LETTING GO, not as a way of forcing sleep. I also thing it’s really good to befriend wakefulness as a way of letting go, but that traditional stimulus control does the opposite. Hope this gives you some value right now, much more in Open class #1 - an episode I will record live today with coach Michael 2 pm pacific time!
Hi Abid! You know this is a question of “can I take a pill and if I sleep still know that the pill had nothing to do with it?”. Because it’s the idea that something made you sleep that can create some problems! The chemicals themselves are imho not a problem at all, it’s the ideas that can come from taking something that can cause some trouble…
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 the doctor here gave me stilox n after using for 2months I HV become more angry suicidal n hv alot headache but after the few hrs sleep I feel stronger n can spend the day working
Glad you’re feeling better! Often it’s actually when we no longer try to sleep, and no longer believe we “failed” that we feel lighter, stronger and brighter. This is helpful to see because when we think it’s how many hours we sleep rather than how we treat ourselves that makes a difference, there can be some struggle…
This is crazy but I believe you! Sometimes I’ll lay in bed and simply “pretend” I took a strong sleeping pill like a benzo. I’ll imagine what it feels and tastes like. Then boom 5 minutes later I’m out like a rock. It’s all MENTAL.
Isn’t it remarkable how strong the mind is! So glad it made sense 😊!
Hi Daniel. I watch this video when I wanted to come off my sleeping medication, and I had absolutely no issue coming off my sleeping medication because of your videos. Now I’m deciding to come off my antidepressant, the pill which “induces sleep” and I’m watching this video again. My baby is turning one and I’m excited to go on this journey again. Your work is so meaningful and appreciated. Thank you so much.
Kayla! Thanks so much for being in touch. And, I’m always so glad when someone sees that what I teach here - it can apply to many situations and circumstances 🙂
Dan im seriously psychologically dependant on my meds. How to get off of it psychologically? Also about stopping the medication directly i dont think its a good idea if the medication is strong like z drug or benzo i have read a lot of withdrawal people experience from it and i have tried . Sleep deprivation is tired fatigue etc etc. but benzo withdrawal is different totally different monster. It cause you to be extremely dizzy like puking which is definitely not sleep deprivation and stomach problem . Extreme headache and extreme anxiety and depression. I have talked to some people about this and when they cold turkey they got many bad bad bad withdrawal. But when they taper for a year they dont experience the withdrawal. I have a friend as living testimony he stop by taper for 1 year. Now he done CBTi and he follow your advice now and he sleep everyday for 6 hours without medication what a miracle but he said never cold turkey strong drug it not only dealt psychologically but the nerve system in the brain.
Hi Chen! I'm super happy for your friend, that's fantastic to hear! And you know, everyone's path is different. When I do these videos I just share what I think is best for most people, but again - the path is different for everyone. I do have lots of clients who have some really significant insomnia after coming off benzos and Z drugs. And particularly when they "tried" coming off, as I talk about in the video, whenever someone tries coming off, when it's not a decision, that tends to really make insomnia very active!
I think the first step to not be psychologicallly dependent is just understanding sleep physiology. When you know that medications can't make you sleep, then you see how no matter what medication you took - it was your body itself that made you sleep!
I agree, I have been on zopiclone fo 20 years, prescribed by my doctor with never one word of caution. Now all of a sudden I am told that I have to taper off in the next couple months, wtf. And with no assistance other than tapering and advice that I should go on an antidepressant that will make me sleep but because it is not a z drug it is considered ok.
I agree. I have been on a z drug for 20 years, prescribed by my physician. Never told that I should not take these long term and just kept prescribing. Now all of a sudden I am told that I have to stop taking these within the next couple months, wtf. No help or assistance, just taper off. Easier said than done, thank god I found this channel.
Mmm, this is a tough spot... that’s a long long time.. I’m glad you found the channel, hang in there and hope you’ll find the education and community here that you need!!
@@karendelbuono6985 damn 7 years imovane/zopiklon every night for me but this is poison i hope we can get off it and fall asleep more naturally
Hello, interesting video I think it is also important to know what type of medication, I imagine that in the case of clonazepam is a little more problematic because it could cause tolerance and dependence very quickly also affects the architecture of sleep, I think benzodiazepines are more complicated.
Hi RVA,
You know I’m sure you’re absolutely right, medications are all different. But the way I think about it is that our thoughts around the medications are having much more impact on the actual chemicals inside. But yes just my thoughts!
Great episode!one of the best!!!
I always thought medications increased the neurotransmitter Gabba in your brain and that was why they made you sleep🥺Because of the lack of Gabba you produced sleeplessness. Of course I learned along time ago from educating myself from your channel that they don’t it’s your own body that produces sleep. So I binned all my sleep meds and sleep supplements so that I could not be tempted to take any if I thought I wasn’t going to sleep,as I didn’t want to be on them long term.think I made the right decision!!😁
Thanks Don!
I felt like "This is going to be a really good episode" and then I messed up with the questions/answers :P!! With small kids etc and having good flow until that point, I decided not to do it over.
Anyways, the key key key here, which made me super excited about this commend is the word "DECISION"!
You made a decision to throw everything out, you did't embark on a trial. And you know, you were probably in a place where you had the confidence to make that decision. I'm not saying here that everyone should do what you did, but I do want to truly emphasize that not taking supplements or medications has to be a decision, if it is a trial then it always "fails".
Well done Don, it must have taken lots of courage.
The Sleep Coach School yes it took lots of courage but what really helped me build up the courage to ditch my supplements and meds was listening to your episodes and also your App Bedtyme.👍
Hearing this - that’s the sweet reward for a sleep coach 😊
Hey!
How are you doing now?
Are you taking them now?
@@poojachhatwani no don’t take anything and sleep well all down to Daniels help👍
That was really helpful. Gives me something to ponder. I’m using a medication because I’ve found insomnia really tough again after having a couple good nights in June. Thank you Daniel
Anytime!!
On the tail end of a long, miserable insomnia medication withdrawal nightmare. Really struggling with the last few mg of decreases. Hoping there is some light at the end of the tunnel if I keep following your advice and can conquer my fear (really a full on "phobia") of wakefullness.
Hang in there! There’s an interview with Nick that can help
Does anyone know about the pineal gland ,mine is calcified shut this gland produces melitonin.can this cause insomnia
Thanks for your comment!! Just a quick heads-up: we're hosting live Q&A sessions most weeks and we'd love for you to join us! It's a great chance to ask questions, share insights, and connect with others in the community.
most melatonin is produced in the gut
Could sleeping tablets be hindering my recovery . I keep taking them but often I don’t sleep . However I get a nervous about stopping them just in case they are helping a bit . But I worry they are just eating away more at my confidence
Hi Angela,
Thanks for asking this important question and I’m glad to read that you’re already seen things quite clearly.
I would say that it is true that taking medication or doing anything to produce sleep can lead to erosion of confidence. We can start thinking that there’s something wrong with us, especially if sleep happens easier when we do something like take a medication.
What can really help is understanding how sleep medication works and also that it is the conflict that really is what creates some struggle.
Medications really work by delegation.
The fundamental truth with sleep is that the more we try the less we sleep. When we take a sleeping pill and think “good, I don’t have to do anything about my sleep, it’s taken care of” then we are no longer trying to sleep. We delegated the task!
It’s true that they are sedating, but sedation alone doesn’t make you sleep. Sometimes people take a bunch of sleep meds in desperation and sleep no more. Because if we still try to sleep, it doesn’t happen.
It sounds as if you have already experienced how even if we take a medication but we’re still trying to sleep, we don’t sleep any easier.
So should we just stop taking medication? Of course nothing here is medical advice so I want to say always talk to your doctor! This said it can really help to learn a little bit about conflict.
The problem with medications happens when there is a conflict.
If someone takes medication and has no problem with that whatsoever, they are ok with taking it until further notice, great! 0 conflict.
If someone isn’t taking medication, also great! 0 conflict.
When someone is taking medication but rather wouldn’t, that’s where we have conflict.
We have two conflicting interests of sleeping well and not taking medication. And this is where things get tricky. Because the tension and preoccupation that comes from the conflict makes it harder to sleep well and see that you can sleep and not be bothered by jerks without them.
So what to do?
When you have this conflict there are two good options.
You can change how you think about taking a medication. When you’re ok with it, there’s no conflict!
You can stop taking it, then there’s also no conflict!
Off note, education works great either way.
The one thing to add though is that it works great if there’s no conflict + medications are not used conditionally.
If someone takes medication every night at the same time and same dose - no problem! Because it will be a non factor.
If someone takes no medication, also no problem.
When someone on the other hand takes medications here and there, different ones, different dosage, waits to “see if they can sleep” before taking them, then there’s lots of confusion which makes things harder.
A helpful step is often what I call to vitaminize medication. Meaning to remove judgement and self-criticism.
Think about how people approach their nightly vitamins. Are they convinced they are essential for well being… probably not. Do they think they are very potent and it’s a must not to skip at any point… not really.
Now more importantly, does anyone feel guilty for taking some vitamins because they want to be well and healthy? Absolutely not! Does anyone criticize themselves for not being able to live well without taking vitamins? Not at all!
So can one think the same about sleeping pills? I believe it may not be super easy, but really there’s nothing that makes it impossible.
We can look at taking sleeping pills just as a means of taking care of ourselves, knowing that they can’t make you sleep or do anything very significant, and without judgement or criticism. Just like vitamins.
Brilliant answer!
Thanks Laura!!
Hi Coach! Thank you for the video! What if I cognitively believe that the sleeping meds are not making me sleep but it gives me comfort each night when I take it? I don’t get worked up even if I have a bad night when taking it, but I still find comfort in taking them. I don’t have conflict of interest and I really don’t care whether I take it for the rest of my life but I’m stumbling on question number 1.
Hi! I think often in this scenario, it’s great to vitaminize, to approach the sleeping pills like we do vitamins. We take them regularly without thinking they necessary do that much, and we think of taking them as self care, a nice little thing we do for ourselves 😊
Hi Daniel,
Thank you very much for the video response! So I'm guessing in order to feel more confident without meds and to reduce hyperarousal it's best to come off them and just continue working on educating myself on sleep as well as underlying mental health issues including anxiety/over thinking and stress. It feels like a major set back if I don't sleep at all but trying my best to relax throughout the day.
Again, many thanks for your help Daniel.
Kind regards,
Matt
Anytime! And I want to add something that I think you will find helpful as well.
One of the most important insights I’ve had lately is what I call win-lose thinking.
I noticed how sometimes members of the community here celebrate sleeping well as a win. Like a victory. This is of course completely understandable!! But there’s a problem with it.
With insomnia, that ancient part that is there for safety reasons has identified wakefulness at night a threat. And it wants you to fight it. This fight is the reason we have insomnia.
The insight here is this - when you think of a good night sleep as a wind and the short night as a loss you reinforce that there is a fight that you can win. You keep the battle going. But the only think that emerges stronger is the sense of threat.
So hard as it is, it’s really good to try not thinking in win-lose terms. When you sleep better, be happy but not victorious. When you have a night of little sleep, acknowledge that you slept little without thinking of it as a loss.
When you see that there is not threat, enemy, or battle - sleep comes your way!
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 That makes sense, thank you Daniel! :)
Anytime!! Hope you have a good Thursday Matt
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 You too Daniel :)
Alcohol completely wakes me up and I can’t sleep if I ever drink even on low sleep for two days I was hyped by alcohol.
This shows how something sedating can lead to us being hyper, illustrating that it’s not at all as simple as sedation = relaxation
I haven't been able to sleep since a child and I just found your channel during a 3 day nightmare marathon without sleep and have been finding it very helpful! I've been diagnosed with IBS and my stomach aches keep me awake. Have you ever heard of a situation like that, and what might help them?
Hi there and welcome to the channel! I am very glad that you found it helpful. I don’t think we’ve talked specifically about IBS on the channel before but here are my thoughts.
What I talk mostly about here on the channel or how our thoughts are what truly matters when it comes to sleep. I talk a lot about how it’s not a broken sleep switch in your brain or a neurotransmitter imbalance or a hormonal problem but the way you think about sleep that is the real reason you’re not sleeping well.
They said, there are things other than thoughts that impact our sleep!
I call these things circumstances. This is for example if somebody has arthritis and has a lot of pain at night. Or somebody has a bed partner that snores a lot.Those are things that disturb sleep that we can’t really do much about. We can optimize them but we may not be able to make them non-factor.
But what happens is that when we start thinking of them as circumstances. Things we can’t really do anything about. Then we start thinking less about them. We accept that for example IBS will disrupt sleep - and then we don’t think as much about it which actually helps.
It is like the two arrows in Buddhist philosophy. There are the things that happened to us that we don’t have any control over. Then we have the reaction to the things we don’t have any control over. It is often the latter that actually causes more problems than the former.
Hope this makes sense and again welcome to the channel!
00 p I9
I got IBS and lithium really helped with the stress response. my stool is normal now and I can eat foods that I want to eat.
I have this question, ihope you'll answer this as soon as you read this. Thank you inadvance. On the recent vid that i watched from you. You discuss several points such as letting go of every worries and fear of "losing sleep" and try to make the brain more confident of its own natural ability to sleep etc.
Heres the questiom, if thats the case would it be contradicting if you'll have to stick to stimulus control and sleep restriction while on the other hand letting go of everything that makes you anxious of having difficulty of falling asleep.
Somehow, sticking to this routine would remind you or even make you more anxious of your condition.
Hi Irmina, and welcome to the channel! This is a super important and insightful question.
I’ll answer at length wirh coach Michael later today because this needs a full answer and I want as many as possible to benefit from your question.
At the core of this question is controllability. My teaching as all about understanding and education, because when you understand sleep and insomnia you can let go of every worry and fear of losing sleep and build sleep confidence.
It’s about understanding that the more you try to control sleep or force sleep - the less you sleep.
And this is where there’s a problem with traditional CBTi in my opinion. When you do stimulus control and sleep restriction with the intent of trying to control sleep - it creates more pressure to sleep and you have more trouble sleeping. And exactly like you say, they can become reminders of your troubles sleeping which then makes it harder to let go.
This is why I have shifted my teaching towards a much more gentle and flexible approach. For some people strict rules in the beginning can work, for many they backfire. But generally speaking - I think it’s good to give yourself a bit less opportunity to sleep as A WAY OF LETTING GO, not as a way of forcing sleep.
I also thing it’s really good to befriend wakefulness as a way of letting go, but that traditional stimulus control does the opposite.
Hope this gives you some value right now, much more in Open class #1 - an episode I will record live today with coach Michael 2 pm pacific time!
Irmina, just realized I didn't answer this Friday! Will do today in Open class #2! Sorry for the delay
The Sleep Coach School .
I do get sleep but it's very early in the morning n with alot problem can I take a pill but not depending on them
Hi Abid!
You know this is a question of “can I take a pill and if I sleep still know that the pill had nothing to do with it?”. Because it’s the idea that something made you sleep that can create some problems! The chemicals themselves are imho not a problem at all, it’s the ideas that can come from taking something that can cause some trouble…
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 the doctor here gave me stilox n after using for 2months I HV become more angry suicidal n hv alot headache but after the few hrs sleep I feel stronger n can spend the day working
Glad you’re feeling better! Often it’s actually when we no longer try to sleep, and no longer believe we “failed” that we feel lighter, stronger and brighter. This is helpful to see because when we think it’s how many hours we sleep rather than how we treat ourselves that makes a difference, there can be some struggle…