Insomnia, sleep problems
I had a night with zero sleep then two more nights with little sleep.
And I watched some of Daniel Erichsen's insomnia recovery videos...
Then I had a good night:
- Wasn't that sleepy so I went to bed 1 hour after my bedtime.
- I laid down and closed my eyes some of the time as I listened to really soft music with sounds from nature for 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, then 1 hour three more times, and in each moment I became more comfortable, and felt peace of mind.
- I never got out of bed for the whole night it was quite pleasant.
- My intention was not to try to sleep but to enjoy resting.
- I did not look at the clock the whole time and the alarm went off, and I actually laid down [with no sound] and slept for 1 and 1/2 hours more.
- In total I think I slept for at least 8 hours.
- Earlier in the day I started to doubt what to do, I started to think what if I do it wrong, am I leaving something out, and was feeling uneasy, so I went over my notes and they said to ask myself: what is here right now?
And practice being with and allowing, whatever is here, practice dropping resistance to whatever is here right now practice allowing it to be a peaceful experience, moving through this and whenever you feel confused and you are not sure what you should be doing see if you can just ask yourself that question, and practice being with whatever is present for you.
I had it a year ago.. now its back
My insomnia is pretty strong, so these guidelines have been helping me, would you suggest anything else?The Reflex vs Truth: Recognizing that automatic thoughts and bodily sensations are just random, biological reflexes, not absolute truths or commands you need to follow.
- I feel whatever is present and allow it to be peaceful and enjoy the experience, thoughts are random automatic information, a reflex response is not a decided truth.
- I laid down in silence and closed my eyes, it was challenging, saying gently I have been doing this all my life.. and I went to sleep for an hour, knowing if I had listened to soft music for 1 hour it's the same process but without sound.
- reaction: I decide to make peace with thoughts and sensations and enjoy allowing them to do whatever they want to.
- reaction is important in speed bumps. - peaceful.
- thoughts with no intent before resting. [ is positive with no intent. ] without preference.
- I don't care anymore.
- I am fine no matter what happens.
- It is an up and down process.
- turn off the clock.
- you will eventually get sleepy - and maybe sleep a little then.
- calm, peaceful joy is my decision, thoughts and sensations are not, they are an automatic reflex.
- befriend any kind of wakefulness, gently say to yourself: I befriend everything.
- you may feel something, welcome the feeling and allow it to do what it wants to do.
- so out of the blue your mind gives you a question or makes a comment, befriend it.
Hi
. I'm glad Daniel Erichsen's method is so effective for you. It all makes so much sense. If you find yourself struggling or if this isn't working anymore, you might want to consider cognitive behavioral therapy - insomnia (CBT-I). It's similar to what you are doing, but much more personalized. With CBT-I, you work one-on-one with a therapist to change behaviors and thoughts that make it harder to sleep well. It has a very high success rate and it's often covered by insurance. Here is an article about it: https://insomnia.sleep-disorders.net/cbt. We're not medical experts, but it seems logical that, if you are responding well to Daniel Erichsen's method, you would respond well to CBT-I , too. It's always great to hear about people who are able to tackle insomnia without medication. - Lori (Team Member)
Hi
. Welcome to the community! Thanks for sharing what helps. Have you had insomnia for long? Best wishes. - Lori (Team Member)
