Insomnia

O

Ozzy

Peer Supporter
Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has some success stories with overcoming insomnia and/or obsessive thinking.

I am getting reduced sleep (worst week averages about 4 or 5 hours a night so I'm learning not to worry about it overall as it is possible to function albeit with a little difficulty after very short nights of 1 to 2 hours). I am learning to overcome the fear and sense of loneliness by taking control of my situation, meaning I don't despair or get enraged as much as I used to. My insomnia is in part related to obsessive thinking, usually about one other person with whom I am in some sort of unresolved conflict. At the moment is it about a girl who is actually quite horrible to me in a jokey friendly kind of way, who wants me, I want to rescue her because she is hurt by other men and I am confused as married.

I am trying to keep my mind focused by practicing meditation every day. I am journalling my feelings. I am trying to eliminate the fear. Overall, I am more at peace with a wakeful night than I have been for months. However the sleep is getting shorter and my obsessive thinking holding a bigger space in my mind as I discover that the worry created by short sleep and thinking about "her" a lot are just a distraction from unconscious feelings. Could this be a case of the TMS symptoms strengthening just after being found out in a last ditch attempt to be concentrated on?

Any help appreciated. I am sure some of you who sleep peacefully will have some advice/ideas.

Thanks in advance for keeping up this precious resource,

Conor
 
Hi Coner,
I know someone who has insomnia and notices often times she sleeps better after reading Sarno in the evening before bedtime (while connecting her insomnia symptoms with whatever symptoms she's reading about). She has remarkably deep sleep sometimes and feels this must be related to this "Sarno" practice before bedtime...
Andy B.
 
Hi, Ozszy. Not sure I understand... you are married but troubled by a girl who wants you? Be careful of that. Be helpful to her if you can, but don't jeopardize your marriage. Your wife deserves your full attention and affection. If you're not married, that girl is still a threat to your peace of mind.

This could keep anyone awake. Try not to take the relationship conflict to bed with you. Tell yourself you will think about it the next day.

For sleep, turn off the tv and computer at least an hour before bedtime. Drink a cup of hot milk. Practice deep breathing and watch relaxation videos on Youtube. One of my favorites relates to a busy mind at bedtime: "Guided Meditation for Detachment from Over-Thinking." Michael Sealey has a very soothing voice as he speaks in the video that emphasizes mindfulness of breathing in the present moment.

I also like the nature videos of Okanokumo on Youtube. My favorite is "Relaxing Nature Sounds," a video filmed along a mill stream in Japan.
 
Hi Conor,

I've been listening to Dr Emmet Millers - easing into sleep, I would thoroughly recommend it. I'm usually shattered at the end of the recording.

Best regards
 
Ozzy - Insomnia was one of the bigger contributing factors in my struggle to get past TMS. Not only was I dealing with leg pain that was purely TMS but once my mind has decided it was a serious issue...I couldn't sleep. Once I couldn't sleep, I started to worry about how I would function during the day, could I work....take care of my family. what if my Insomnia never went away, could I get fired one day? Would I possible die?

I got to where I was operating on very broken sleep....maybe 2-4 hours a night for a month or more. For me, the Insomnia went away when I was finally able to deal with the TMS that had caused the leg pain which led to my Insomia. Once I had less concern over my leg the Insomnia just naturally faded. My mind had no reason to stay up freaking out all night.

For me, TMS was all about living my life in the future. I was doing everything for the future so much so that I began to plan for the bad things in life to the max. I was worried about this and that in the future. So when I felt as though my leg condition was caused by some terminal condition like Multiple Sclerosis....I immediately went to the future and how terrible it would be for my family.

I had to convince my mind that no one had any proof my leg condition was anything more than stress related tension, nothing in my future was set in stone as terrible. Hell, I was the luckiest guy alive.....and it clicked after telling myself this. Of course, there was spell on this site a few years back when I had much help from the other members who gave me that initial boost that I wasn't losing my mind.

So back to Insomnia.....one thing I also learned by talking to people is that the majority of people do not sleep well due to a myriad of things. My in-laws wake up at 2am and have to watch tv for a few hours to go back to sleep. My dad sometimes will awake at 4am and sit in bed awake. My wife and most women I talked to have some sort of issue sleeping. My wife will worry about a dinner party thats 2 weeks away and she will lay in bed going over and over the plans all night.

So getting 4 hours a sleep won't kill you, in fact many people are getting just that. My glamorous sleeping thoughts of the 9 hours I used to get without any pee breaks was never going to happen again. So I told myself I wasn't anything special and if I wake up I don't care, I flip on the TV and watch the news and I go back to sleep at some point. The best news is....I actually now sleep back to my 9 hours again because my perspective on everything is so much better than it use to be.

My advice is, live in the present and value what you have. Get your mind out of the future because if what you yearn for or worry about happening is causing you pain....its hasn't happened yet and you can just fall back to existing as you are now where you are.
 
I would like to validate that insomnia is one of the most pernicious TMS sxs that I have seen in both clients and myself. The fear that it engenders seems well beyond what some people get with pain and other symptoms. Insomnia is also a great teacher in that it can challenge us to deal with it in new and less rigid ways. I knew my insomnia was TMS for sure as it would wane at times as I did the work but I was never sure when it would go away and was always in fear of not getting enough sleep in a night (which tended to heighten it!).

Finally, I ended up using a sleep aid (meds) to help establish a sleep pattern I could live with and then gently weened myself off of it while continuing the TMS work. Insomnia taught me that it's okay to put down the TMS fight at times to just do what you have to do to take care of yourself and then work to reduce symptoms at a longer, more gentle pace.
 
If I go to bed with any problem or the slightest indecision about something, I have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
If I do have that problem I find that reminding myself to live in the present moment and practice deep breathing puts me to sleep.
 
Hi Ozzy,

I used to lay awake worrying about things in the past and the future for hours. I felt like I couldn't stop thinking in circles no matter what. What helped me a lot was talking to myself in a positive way. I tell myself something like this: 'There's no need for me to worry about these things right now. I'm a good person and I deserve to sleep right now. I have every right to put these worries aside for now and rest. I've spend enough time today worrying and there will be plenty of time for it again tomorrow. Right now nothing or no-one in this world is important but me and my wellbeing.' Of course within a few minutes (or seconds, let's be honest) my mind would go back to worrying, but I keep leading it gently back to those thoughts untill I fall asleep.

I also like to lay still and focus on how my body feels. I slowly work my way up from my feet to my head and without judging feel how each part of me feels.

I hope some of this helps. I don't know if you've heard about the Presence Proces by Micheal Brown. Great book, you might wanna check it out.
 
I have insomnia, or actually, I have an obsession with that symptom. I was given a link to cbtforinsomnia.com and I ordered a program. You may find it helpful. It is inexpensive.

I use prescribed medications. This is one of the last holdouts in the war against TMS. So much of these months have been about absorbing the concept, which in itself is healing. I'm not in constant pain, and am working against depression. Once I realized that all of my nagging symptoms have been TMS/MBS, I knew deep down that ,
I use medications. This is one of the last holdouts in the war against TMS. I am not ready to give up my belief in the symptom or in medications.
 
This is useful advice!! - I am going to work at staying in the present moment!

I had to convince my mind that no one had any proof my leg condition was anything more than stress related tension, nothing in my future was set in stone as terrible. Hell, I was the luckiest guy alive.....and it clicked after telling myself this.

My advice is, live in the present and value what you have. Get your mind out of the future because if what you yearn for or worry about happening is causing you pain....its hasn't happened yet and you can just fall back to existing as you are now where you are.

 
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