This has been the best episode for me, thank you Kristen! I wish I can personally talk to her cuz our situation are similar. Hopefully my little ones don’t notice any difference 🥺
@@KristenNicole222 thank you Kristen! I’ve been struggling for a long time, had 0 sleep for 7 nights, but with reading Danieles books and learning from the program, I’m slowly getting better. However, even after a few good nights, I still can’t stop thinking about it here and there, and the thought of those bad nights coming back again really makes me worried..how do you cope with this kind of irrational thoughts?
@Dreamsaftertomorrow building confidence within myself by experiencing the sleepless nights over and over again. Understanding how the survival brain works. I felt that way also. I worried the same. Was it going to come back like my worst time? Was I going to be able to do or handle life? That also fades with time and experience. Now I don't mind if I have some sleepless nights. I know if I just let it be. Enjoy my days. Just relax in bed if I'm awake or hyperaroused. Sleep will come. Our subconscious still wants to give you scared feelings and thoughts, so it gets you to stand guard again. It thinks if you're standing guard, then you have some kind of control over the threat. Not true! We don't have control. Subcontious is looking for your direction by your actions (showing it theres no threat. The truth is if we have an episode, we will handle it. We always have. Every time is an opportunity to prove more and more that there's no threat being awake or not sleeping. Your subconscious will start to lose interest and give you less scared feelings and thoughts. You will gain confidence in yourself and start not caring if those nights show up.
@@KristenNicole222 I don’t know what to say other than thank you thank you and thank you…I could feel myself getting calmer and calmer as I was reading your message. everything you said makes 100% sense, I need to keep reading it every time I lose confidence. Thank you again for taking the time to reply to me, I appreciate it so much! Can’t wait for the day to pay it forward like you ❤️
I've come back to this several times. This is my absolute favorite journey story, not to say they aren't all wonderful, because they are. But your story and thoughts resonate with me so deeply. I appreciate you so much Kristen
Definitely relatable! Worrying like this will drive you insane. I remember when my insomnia had just started. I faced heart palpitations and it scared really badly and it feels super vulnerable and increasingly hopeless. Even more when your loved ones can't actually relate to you. 100% on the repeated experiences. You have to go through it again and again. Even when you feel like "you are out of it" to get the confidence. I remember clearly even after going through all the classes in bedtime, it took me at the very least year to go in and out and to finally get that confidence! Thank you Kristen for sharing this and Daniel for sharing this with us. We are all still learning!
@conniekauffman4538 When I was actually ready to practice the teachings again, this past time. Some improvements here and there in a 1¹/² - 2 months. I'm 8 months doing well most nights. Here there I'll have a sleepless night. It doesn't bother me anymore.
@shreyas1995 Thank you. Also, thank you for sharing some of your experiences. I felt the same in the beginning. Yes, the only way is through experience. It's a convincing game with your subconscious mind. When you just let it be, as uncomfortable as it can feel. It slowly loses interest. Hyperarousal starts to come down. When Hyperarousal comes back, it's asking if this is still a threat? By you not caring, it proves there is no threat. ♡
Your story resignates with me so much! Thanks for sharing this. My journey isn’t over yet, and I can definitely relate to the ups and downs of insomnia. You feel like you may be getting past it, then you start to get the speed bumps. I think the biggest thing is to not hyper fixate on it and if you have these ups and downs it means you are improving. I’m still working through this, but this story was really helpful!
@jdynasty7167 I'm so glad this was helpful. The worry will fade by experiencing the speed bumps over and over again. Now I don't get all nervous like a use, too. I sleep pretty well most nights. I will get a night here and there. Im ok with that. You are getting there too.
I can’t begin to tell you how much this kind of podcast is crucial for the people in recovery of insomnia, it needs to be reminded again and again until this message becomes a subconscious awareness. I saved lots of Daniel’s interview podcast and listen to it whenever I needed to be reminded otherwise it’s easy to fall back into old habits of fear of not sleep ! Thank you 🙏 Daniel and the guest for sharing the insights !
@michellechang2538 I can so relate. I had to re-read Daniels book over again (set it and forget it). There was a time I'd watch videos all day. I had to dial it back a bit after a while. I realized that for me, binge watching videos for comfort/reassurance that much was just telling my survival brain there's something to worry about.The subconscious is watching for how we react to what it perceives as a threat.
@@KristenNicole222Thank you Christen for your reply, I truly appreciate you sharing your insomnia story, this kind of struggle is only insomnia community can understand. Let’s continue to learn and improve our fears of not being awake also remember we are not alone in dealing with this struggle, thank you 🙏 again, love ❤️ and hugs !
Still suffering from insomnia , for almost 5 years. 😢 I doubt that I will be my old self, ever again. Since june my insomnia has worsened so much. It takes me hours to fall asleep and then I sleep for maybe 1-3 hours.
You absolutely can get better, no matter how long you've struggled. Have you started to apply any of the teachings? When I'd get nothing or sometimes, I had little glimpses of sleep. I would give thanks for the rest in bed or the little glimpse of sleep. I had to not focus on the no sleep or how little I was getting. It would create pressure and hyperarousal because I'm showing there's a problem. When I accept things more sleep came in time because hyperarousal was slowly going down.
24:23 Thank you Kristen for sharing your story. What i really like about your story is that despite clear improvements/progress, you still experience nights of difficulty, which i feel is such an important message. I sometimes feel there is this idea that recovery means leaving choppy/sleepless nights (in some cases it can and does), however it provides people with an anchor in terms of their own progress, in that we can sometimes believe speedbumps mean we are not there, or worse still, doubt we are approaching things incorrectly. I can acknowledge my own preferences that i would rather be at a point where i no longer experience choppy nights / all nighters, but have been able to see this is not something i can control. I was at the point of emailing Daniel to say that i would like to share my journey, however convinced myself that i wasnt at 'the point of recovery' for it be a recovery story. However, recovery is way more than months of 'normal sleep', without speedbumps. Its about important insights/aha moments, living the experience regardless of what your sleep has been like.
One thing Kristen said is very important, doing meditation is great as long as you’re not trying to get something out of it. Meditation is so beneficial for us, with time, it can reset your neurons, it can rewire how you think. But doing it purely to get some sleep is just gonna end up becoming sleep effort which is not helpful. So meditate not for the sake of getting sleep, do it during the day so it won’t be like a sleep effort. Eat healthy food and exercise regularly, these are all so helpful. We have to really live our lives in order to really sleep.
Im really stuck in this journey. I dont know whether imm towards the right path its just gets better some days then again go back to what it was before yesterday i had an anxiety attack all of a sudden because im exhausted, i m so confused .. my sleeping time even when it gets better i cannot sleep more than 6-7 hours but still thats a joy for me to sleep in a continuous manner .. plus i think I suffer more days rather than enjoying the uninterrupted sleep days.. what should i do i couldnt stayed calm yesterday because my neck was stiff and was continuesly painful i got dizzy and heavy head over my shoulder … still sleeping whole night of choppy sleep
You are on the right path. It's totally normal to go back and forth. Your subconscious mind is starting to believe there's no real threat. Your good windows will eventually become longer and longer. I had to get to a place where I didn't care if sleepless nights came or not.
Great interview, Daniel and Kristen! So I have a question to Kristen I would like to ask. Is there anyway I could get into contact with her?:-) Again thanks a lot for these interviews!
Nooo, don’t think that way!!! I just found out from my mom that the last time I had my insomnia I didn’t sleep for 24 days, that’s 2017. I got insomnia again, this time I got 0 sleep for 7 days, but remember, even if you feel like your insomnia is beyond repair, that’s your exhausted brain telling you lies. Remember the last part of what Kristen said, don’t trust what your brain is telling you, you can’t control your brain but you can control your mind. Did you read Danielle’s two books? Also are you enrolled in the program? I personally prefer the sleep coach school program, it’s $225 or something a month, you can read Danielle’s first two books in the first module. I tried the app too, and my coach was amazingggg, but I ended up not extending the app after one week, because I personally think although the coach was promptly answering my desperate questions but I feel like I was dumping so much to the coach and it wasn’t good for me or the coach, so I decided to get educated as much as possible on this topic, and even thought it still takes me hours to fall sleep like last night it felt like I fell asleep maybe around 3-4, and I got up at 7, I feel great, and I feel happy. We’re on this journey together, let’s lift each other up. If you don’t want to pay for the program buy Danielle’s book on Amazon, and start timeless sleep window. It’s a good start. Stop the negative thoughts as much as possible!! We are our biggest advocates, even at the darkest times. I’m praying for you, and every one of us to one day become a success story like this one. ❤❤❤❤
I resonate sooooo much with this video! I on medication 4 months post baby and a year later my doctor stopped me cold turkey off the medication which sent my nervous system into overdrive and then I went on sleeping tablets for ages, finally got myself into a good place and was medication free and was doing mostly great. Recently I just had a triggering incident happen at home which bought on the insomnia again 😢 my doctor tried me on a new medication which was way too overacting for my sensitive nervous system, didn’t sleep much for the past 2 months. I’m back taking sleeping tablets, they seem to work every second night but the sleep is still not great. I was wondering if CBTi program would be a good fit for me? I’m struggling to manage life and 2 kids. Thank you ❤
Hello, my name is brandon and i am 14. Im scared i have sfi (sporadic fatal insomnia. Ive seen your videos on it and got less scared, but keeps coming back. Up until two weeks ago on wensaday my eyes didn't feel tired. It took quite a bit to fall asleep and i got mote symptoms over time. My anxiety got bad, i got restless leg (better now), and my breathing felt weird and my chest felt weird. Now since a couple days ago I'm sleeping fine just takes a bit longer but i do not feel restored when i wake up. Its like i cant reach a deep sleep. My eyes don't feel tired but my body is so exhausted. Please help and reassure me. My body has also started to twitch and im having a little bit of attention problems. It also feels as now i cant reach a deep sleep and not a restorative sleep. Im wondering if this is causing the twitching.
Anxiety experts say that we we should experience anxiety, so if we wake up on palpitation , is not focusing on it = avoiding it? Should we feel it or ignore it?
Hi, It's not that we 'should' feel anxiety, it's more that it's not helpful to forcibly ignore it or try to force it to stop. If we notice it, that's fine, and it's also fine to be doing or thinking about something else and, as a result, not notice it. I like to think of anxiety as our system's "ready for (protective) action" state. If we repeatedly tell it "when I wake, that's bad, I might have palpitations, I need to do something to prevent/stop that", our system goes "I get it. Waking equals 'need to take action.' Next time you wake, I'll be sure to get you anxious so you're ready for action." Be aware how counterintuitive this can be. For example, if you look for a calming breathing technique to have ready for when you're particularly anxious, that is a protective action (both the technique and the search for it) and your system will be on the look out for times when you might need it so it can get you ready to do it. That's the irony: your brain is getting you anxious so you're ready to use your calming technique. I hope that's helpful
Is there any positive talk about medication on this channel? I’m wondering if having some could be a tool to take some of the pressure off so I can hopefully sleep naturally.
Hi! Coach Aly just recorded an episode that was super nice imho, it’s on Beth Kendall’s podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mind-body-sleep/id1701167643?i=1000663304530 Hope you’ll find it helpful, there will be a similar one here next week!
I haven't experienced hyperarousal for the past three months after educating myself about it. However, I now believe I have a circadian rhythm problem. Previously, I was sleeping during the day, but after shifting my sleep to nighttime, I now go without sleep for 2-3 days. I do feel my strongest sleep drive around 7 or 8 PM, but I force myself to stay awake until 10 PM, and when I do, my sleep drive vanishes and doesn’t return. Any advice? Anyone? Please?
@Sashaspings22 Yes, this happened to me. I'd be tired all day, and when I hit the bed, I couldn't sleep, I'd be awake. Look up Houdini effect on the channel. It's hyper arousal even though it may not feel like it. Towards the end I wasn't getting all the syptoms at night but still hyperarousal. Then I would get hyper sleep(moments of sleep but couldn't tell if I slept or not) because hyper arousal is going down but still there. Then sleep would come more and more.
I think this typical insomnia , this What I had , I would be sleepy all the day and the moment before going to bed, I would feel awake. And The solution is experience wakefulness
