Welcome to Day 6 of the DIY guide to chronic insomnia treatment, cognitive therapy program!
So how are you doing so far?
By now you can get an idea of which techniques for chronic insomnia treatment mentioned in all these Days of this Tutorial have been the most helpful to you.
Once you know what is helping, you can ramp up the time you spend on them. For example, if writing down your thoughts and replacing them with more helpful, rational thoughts in CBT style has helped, try spending more time on that. If relaxation or visualization methods have been helpful, try adding some new techniques or doing them for longer periods of time.
Here is a quick review of the specific techniques we have discussed so far if you’ve been following along from Day 1:
- Keeping a daily sleep diary
- Maintaining your established sleep schedule
- Keeping up your pre-sleep routine as best you can (trying to make bedtime more enjoyable)
- Making appointments to worry (or think about whatever is bothering you) and writing in your “worry journal” during these appointments.
- Learning how to apply CBT to your sleep anxiety and other unhelpful thoughts that you uncover in your sleep diary.
- Practicing at least one relaxation technique at least three times a week.
- Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon and evening.
- Avoiding heavy meals with lots of protein and fat in the evening.
- Keeping the environment in your bedroom sleep-friendly in terms of temperature, noise, light, and other comfort factors.
- Avoiding TV and computer use when you can’t sleep and doing boring small tasks as a replacement activity.
- Getting at least 15-30 minutes of brisk exercise a day (but not within 5 hours of bedtime).
And what if nothing has helped so far? This is quite possible, though I know it’s very frustrating to work so hard on your chronic insomnia treatment only to have no results, so let’s discuss it.
If you have done everything I’ve suggested, but are not getting better, there could be a number of reasons why this is happening. I’m going to take this Day 6 to go over them just in case you fall into this category.
If you are doing well, you can skip this Day and continue to Day 7. But I suggest you stay here for the moment because relapses are very common during chronic insomnia treatment, and it’s best to be prepared for anything.
Reason # 1: Rushing through the tutorial because you really, really, really need to get some sleep NOW.
This is also called the “desperation” reason.
Look, I know exactly how you feel. But it’s that sense of desperation that is keeping you awake and miserable all night long. It’s not helping, is it?
I don’t like being annoying (well, maybe I like it a tiny bit) but I have to repeat again, INSOMNIA IS A PARADOX and the more you tell yourself you NEED your sleep, the less likely you are to get it. Here are some suggestions to get your chronic insomnia treatment program back on track:
- Try the freewriting method. Write down all your desperate thoughts about sleep in a free-flowing manner to get them out of your system.
- Do a letting-go technique. Feel the desperation envelope your whole body and then center in your stomach-chest-neck area. Then open the door and let it pass through, like steam through a pipe.
- Now write some helpful thoughts down such as:
“Desperation is understandable, but it won’t help me sleep. I am better off just accepting my insomnia for the time being while I try some proven, helpful methods.”
NOTE: While it may sound that I don’t believe in taking sleeping medications for any reason, that is not true. I would be very hypocritical if that were the case, because I myself took sleeping pills on an “emergency” basis when my chronic insomnia got to a desperation point. They did nothing for my emotional state — but they did allow me to get some sleep during those desperate times.
With self-control and determination not to make it a habit, medication can take the edge off desperation. They are not a magic bullet and never will be, however, and no pill will ever offer long-term, permanent chronic insomnia treatment.
NOTE: If you are suffering from severe insomnia or sleep disorders in addition to insomnia, you might consider seeking chronic insomnia treatment from a qualified medical professional, which you can read more about here.
Reason # 2: Trying everything at once in a haphazard manner.
This is also called the “confused and overwhelmed” reason.
You may be feeling overwhelmed by all the suggestions and by your desire to do everything at once so you have maximum impact on your insomnia. You may also be experiencing information overload because you are trying to read all the articles on this site and other sites in one sitting.
The solution? Slow down. Go back to Day 1 and do the recommendations over a period of three days rather than one day.
For example, the first day you can start your sleep schedule. The next day you can create your pre sleep routine. Your DIY chronic insomnia treatment has no deadline, no time limits, no final exam (and no pressure).
Reason # 3: Focusing on some of your problems, feelings, emotions and life situations is making you more restless than ever.
This is also called the “facing reality and it sucks” reason.
If you have started the worry journal techniques, you may find yourself realizing the full extent of the problems and concerns that keep you awake. This may have a sort of rebound effect, as your insomnia seems to get worse as you start paying more attention to what’s really bothering you.
- The first solution is to lighten up a bit on the worry appointments, making them every other day, while you alternate with appointments to practice relaxation techniques.
- The second solution is to hang in there until you learn better problem-solving techniques that will make your concerns and worries much less overwhelming. Instead, you will be focusing on possible solutions and taking small but productive steps which will relieve some of the worry. This may kickstart your chronic insomnia treatment to new levels.
If you have begun practicing letting-go techniques, you might find that feelings are coming up that you weren’t aware of before. This can give the illusion of making you feel worse but it’s actually a good sign.
You might not agree, though, so the first solution is again, to lighten up on this technique and take it more slowly. For example, begin by letting go of less serious and more superficial emotions, like a momentary frustration or irritation.
Of course, you also have to realize that if you have uncapped a can of worms with any of these techniques for DIY chronic insomnia treatment, there is no reason to suffer by yourself. It might be a good idea to seek out a competent therapist or other practitioner who can offer help and guidance.
When I started doing letting-go techniques, I was doing great for a while, then had a relapse of anxiety and panic attacks, which I have had all my life. But I was used to this, as relapses are common for anyone with chronic anxiety.
I stopped the techniques temporarily and took the more rational, logical approach of CBT. Now I am better than ever, and have returned to all the techniques I’ve mentioned in this tutorial with all good effects. But you must listen to your own mind and body and heed the messages they’re trying to tell you.
Reason # 4: You’re so excited about these new methods and how helpful they are that you can’t sleep!
This is also called the “paradoxical insomnia cure” reason.
It’s true. Some people get a burst of energy and excitement by simply realizing how much they can do to help themselves. This is great! But since so many of us tend toward the hyperarousal state anyway, this energy can backfire.
I remember some time ago, when I had a chronic pain syndrome (but not insomnia), I discovered some exercises that really helped my pain almost immediately. I was so excited about it I couldn’t sleep most of the night.
If you have this tendency, it’s just a reality you have to face. Eventually the excitement goes away, and you can get back on track.
You can use the “worry appointments” for any kind of mental activity, even excitement. So try postponing your excitement as well as your worry.
Reason # 5: You’re trying so hard to do everything right that you’re causing more tension and stress in your life rather than less.
This is also called the “trying too hard” reason.
You know the answer to this. Slow down. Lighten the load. Allow at least 3 days to implement all the suggestions in each Day.
You have simply demonstrated to yourself how important it is to take the pressure off in any chronic insomnia treatment.
Reason # 6: You’re finding these suggestions difficult and/or unpleasant, or they take up too much of your time and you’re getting angry about it.
This is also called the “just give me a magic pill, I can’t stand all this mental-emotional-sleep-hygiene crap” reason.
I understand this perfectly, and while I can’t offer a direct solution — because the very nature of this Insomnia Self Help Tutorial is to take time and effort to customize your own chronic insomnia treatment — I can offer these ideas for you to chew on.
- Sleep is a natural process that happens by itself, effortlessly, when you take away all the obstacles. Look upon it as a destination.
- Insomnia is the RESULT of the sum total of all the obstacles standing in the way of effortless sleep.
Some of those obstacles are physical and environmental, and can be quickly fixed.
But many if not most of the obstacles are mental and emotional, and cannot be fixed with a magic bullet or getting a new mattress, new drapes or a light alarm clock.
They can only be fixed by a systematic effort to change whatever is causing those obstacles to appear in the first place.
It is no secret by now that the main focus of my website and this Tutorial is on the mental and emotional causes of insomnia.
The reason I have offered this tutorial is to present the techniques I used in my own successful chronic insomnia treatment.
That doesn’t mean they will work for everyone.
While I encourage you to give these methods a try, if they don’t work for you, then I encourage you just as strongly to try something else.
Sleep centers, sleep clinics, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, yoga, meditation… all these things have been shown to help chronic insomnia. So don’t despair, for there is help out there for you!
Never give up and most of all, patience and persistence are your keys to long lasting chronic insomnia treatment.
OK, enough of this review, now let’s move on to Day 7.
Return to the Self Help for Insomnia homepage.