I have been watching these videos for weeks, but now it was an “ah-ha” moment for me when she said sometimes you’re sick and feel bad, or you stub your toe and it hurts. A night of poor sleep feels bad, but that’s all it is - one night of sleep and you feel a bit crap the next day. Many other things in life make you feel crap too and it’s not the end of the world. I am DONE with catastrophizing. Thank you Sasha and Daniel!!!❤❤❤
Wow. The insight at 36:00 is so deep. "Everything we call mental health comes from that same place of escaping that which you don't want to experience." Basically, our resistance to what is, is the source of all suffering, whether insomnia, or other.
This is the best, most deepest , insightful talk over insomnia and anxiety that i’ve ever heard. People who suffer from insomnia can take advantage of their state to learn so much about thoughts processing, what causes anxiety generally , quality of thoughts and how they create emotions. Shakespeare ones said :”nothing is either bad or good , but thinking makes it so”. Amazing episode. Thank you so much Daniel ans sasha! ❤️❤️❤️
This is what happened with me last week. Usually I hit the bed betweenn 11Am-12PM aiming to sleep and having sleep in my mind. I struggle to go to sleep even after 1-2 hours have passed by. Yesterday , I was working until 3AM I guess , because I had an online presentation in the morning and had to finish stuff fast. All I had in mind is about that presentation , I had no time to think about sleep at all. I slept as soon as hit the bed that night and slept for good 6 hours. This evens makes me more sure that we are the ones responsible for making things worse. As Sasha said , its nothing, it's all in our mind. We make it a monster. Also huge thanks to Daniel and Sasha for this session !
Listening to this again tonight after a couple of speed bumps of anxiety and depression these last few days. The reality is, I know TOO MUCH to go back down the rabbit hole and am incredibly encouraged by that! Now that I've re-watched this, I'm headed off to enjoy the rest of my night, knowing that nothing I do this evening will significantly alter my sleep. So grateful for this resource!
Riley, so so glad read how tubing in to this episode reaffirmed all you already know. We are so fortunate to have these insights from on the channel. Hope you have a nice evening and that you’re on the other side of the speed bump soon. And as always - thanks for all the support 😊
What a powerful video. I have battled with insomnia since my early 40’s. I am 50 now. It led me to counseling, codependency recovery, healing from complex PTSD, narcissistic abuse. I did all the inner work I could possibly do and I still struggled with insomnia, even experiencing two hallucinations after several nights no sleep. I became suicidal from insomnia, not the other stuff. But God used the insomnia to bring healing to the broken places of my life. So much inner work. I am now working with Martin Reed and having breakthrough and hope. Thanks for what y’all do. This info needs to get out there. Too many people are misdiagnosed with mental health disorders when we can be healed with CBT-I.❤️
Monica! Thanks for sharing and for all the encouragement. I believe everything you say here about how we need to get a different way of looking at things out there... one day at a time, we will get there! Happy you're working with Martin, he's great!!
Hi Monica, I also thought I went crazy because of insomnia ... I ended up suffering from depression and panic attacks and I also used an antidepressant, until I discovered CBTI. I finished the 8 sessions 3 months ago and I am much better. Good luck!
@@june8898 It was hard enough to wake up at the same time every morning at first because I was getting little sleep during the sleep restriction. Towards the third or fourth week of CBT-I I had the first improvements and then once finished I learned the concepts of ACT and Mindfulness to manage anxious thoughts.
I found this channel a few days ago and have only watched a handful of episodes but am feeling hope for the first time after suffering from insomnia for 21 years now. This interview was incredible. 🙏
Sarah, I'm so glad to read these lines, truly. After a long time, it may be a bumpy transition, but I'm sure you will get to a place where you no longer struggle. Thank you for the encouragement and let us know how things go!
I can't thank you enough for this. This interview led me to read Sasha's book, and basically cured me within a week after 15 years of struggle. I still have the occasional bad night, but it's more likely just a half night's sleep rather than days on end of frustration. Thank you!
Incredibly nice to read these lines Rodney 🤗! And you know, when we aren’t reacting, the yes it becomes just like that, the occasional off night we all have. If you in the future ever want to be a guest, let me know. But whatever happens, so glad again and thanks for letting us know 😊!
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Thanks! I shall think about that. I do have a lot to say about this topic, but at the same time, my story is so similar to many of the others you've explored.
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 I continue, four months later, to have great success with this. I am experimenting at trying your Natto approach to dealing with the mild-moderate tinnitus I've had a long time. I was wondering if you have any videos addressing this? The neuro-physiological model of tinnitus seems to overlap with your approach (Jastreboff, 2006: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16514259/).
This video is everything!! I can’t believe the solution is so simple, but feels so intangible. I am going to be sharing this with anyone/everyone who has issues with insomnia, or anxiety in general!! God bless you for sharing this content and helping people like me!
Wow what an episode! What more is there really to say? 😊🎉🌷👌 Indeed Sacha is so powerful the way she expresses the insomnia-trap and all other 'mind-traps'. Also I keep being impressed Daniel by your humility and willingness to learn while you already are such an embodiment of wisdom yourself!
Daniel - I am crying. I don’t know what to say. Am I having an ah ha moment? I think so. I just learned about this community yesterday, have been doing CBTi for 6 weeks-doing nothing but making insomnia worse-and now this! What a blessing. We’ll see. Befriending wakefulness-It makes sense. Thanks to your interview with Kristen and here with Sasha.❤️
So so glad you found your way here Jim, truly. And you know, I think when we cry, something is released… I have no doubt you’re seeing the truth and the way the struggle ends. Thanks much for sharing and for the support 🙏 Be in touch now and let us know how things go
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Hi Daniel, I wish I had known about the sleep school coach school and your way of understanding before getting the Stellar sleep app, and now the Sleepreset app, but guess it is for a reason. At least I am learning some about sleep. Right now I am in the throws of full blown insomnia, getting about 2 hrs of sleep/night which has been going on now for about 2 months; however, I’ve been dealing with sleep issues my whole life-from as far back as I can remember. I will be 80 yrs old in 3 months and am very healthy! So much I could say, and now after finding the Sleep Coach School, well, it’s probably just a matter of time before I pack my bags and come on over to your way of understanding! Thanks for being who, and where you are!
This was the only lady that was able to help me see things as they were... and every now and then when I have those stupid thoughts I keep trying to find her... she still helps me see things as they are... so... thank you Shasha.😊
Sasha's book was recommended by a friend. I have suffered for over 30 years. When I read the first page I knew I had found something special. "I understand", "I know"... I felt so relieved that I had tears in my eyes. I've reread the book three times and am practicing the method. This interview was perfect timing, filling in a few gaps and going into more depth. Thanks Daniel for doing this interview, and thanks to Sasha. Sasha, you are really helping people and are a true gift.
Hi Jack! You know, I had the exact same feeling, immediately seeing that this was a special book.. and that relief when you see you’re not alone…and that there’s a way out of the loop…It’s powerful. I felt this interview showed how her teaching has developed. I hope she brings all her insight back to the sleep world one day and writes another book. Anyways thanks so much for taking the time to comment Jack, it means the world 🙏!
Wow! Wow! Wow! I’m so happy for you Daniel you have worked so hard and I know how much this meant for you! Watching your channel grow and seeing the people you have reached has been a pleasure to watch! Keep shining and changing lives like you did mine! Thanks so much Sasha for your time! Two greats! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Wow, this went deep! Sasha has insight that spans way beyond insomnia. Truth, light, mental health, she touches an amazing array of areas, and describes fascinating interconnections. My sleep coaching will take a new path for the better after watching this interview. Thank you Sasha and Daniel!
It did! And you know, its funny but I felt after this talk that there was something right in front of my that I hadn't seen - the journey from struggling to letting go, it is a spiritual journey. Spiritual in the sense that it is a journey of looking inside and understanding yourself. And I also realized that this, becoming a sleep coach, is in many ways also a spiritual journey
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 It is a spiritual journey. It has always baffled me how the same paradox that applies to meditation, doing something to reach a state of 'non-doing' (or in Daniels words: use effort to reach a state of non-effort), applies also to overcoming insomnia. We are all natural sleepers, in the same way that in our natural state we are spacious and peaceful, in both cases we just have to come to the place of recognizing that. It is not an accomplishment to have a still mind, that turns out to be our natural state, in the same way that sleeping is not an accomplishment, we just start to see at some point we are natural sleepers. However, depending upon the amount of confusion on either topic, a smaller or larger amount of effort is needed to come to this recognition.
I read her 1st book and just started her book about a week and half ago and have slept like a log ever since :) read her book it will cure you completely.
Loved this one. And I am so gratefull i found Your channel, Daniel. I have insomnia for almost a year now, and i have been in that palace, where I am so close to give it up, but then i did not know that this is the answer - giving insomnia up, stop sthinking about it, just stop fighting. But still, i was close, but not enough. Now i finnaly understand, that it is not a problem. I just have made it one. I am still strugling with my sleep, but now i know - i am not alone in this and i am not gone die because of it. It is just my thougts, that made insomnia a monster. I can even enjoy my days now, after bad nights. Your chanell made me realise that there is light in the end of the tunnel.
Wow what an amazing episode Daniel🤩It was fantastic to hear Sasha talk so passionately about not just insomnia but anxiety and depression and her 15 year struggle with insomnia. Your channel has grown so much in even in the last few months,you should rename it a life coach channel,😀😀you should be proud of all your hard work!well done!! 👍
Donald! You know, its funny how you never know where a path will lead you.. but yes, this is becoming more of a wider teaching as we go along! And, I'm so grateful that you're with us on this journey :)
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Daniel you know even now I’m sleeping better I still make sure I watch all your episodes,I just love your teaching!! So I’ll be on your journey for a long time to come👌
This was a breath of fresh air! Thank you Daniel for inviting Sasha and I thank Sasha for sharing her amazing thoughts! This is the exact thing I've been kind of looking forward to when reading her book and this interview filled the blanks in the understanding of the topic. I wish the video was even longer, haha:)) It's great to listen to both of you! Daniel you are doing fantastic work, thank you!
I suffer from insomnia for ten years. I have read Sasha 's book and the promises she talks about do give you light. But I feel I am stuck there. I just wish I could somehow achieve this state where is no longer an issue. Is no longer a thing. I want it so much and maybe that is why I am not getting it. idk.. Has been quite a ride. Thank you Daniel
Ricardo, I think this is a huge insight. “I want it so much and maybe that is why I’m not getting it” - that imho is it. Its just like dating, when you want that other person so much, it doesn’t happen... you kinda have to play hard to get, or rather actually be hard to get... Here, take a look at these playlists, I think it could help you get unstuck! This is natto - the perfect place to start learning! ru-vid.com/group/PL6RQ1GS7B1cik8Xr8iVdxmKB9FYieevYj Success stories - if you need hope and inspiration, this is for you. ru-vid.com/group/PL6RQ1GS7B1cj68v9hdoXYv_fpOR65oI3U
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 yes! I remember those times i had to play her audios over and over and over just to calm my anxious thoughts.. So when i saw this video.. I felt so excited to see her!
This may sound a bit melodramatic but Sasha is the greatest philosopher of our age. And hardly anyone knows about her. Funny, I was just wondering about whether the methods could be applied to anxiety, which is why I decided to listen to this. I do feel like if I sit with the feelings they’ll stay forever but hopefully I’m wrong.
Yes!!! Thank you guys for coming together for this! Your advice and books have been such a great source of inspiration and have helped me tremendously!
I count myself as one of the lucky ones who have been helped by Sasha and Daniel's work. Finding this RU-vid channel and reading Sasha's book gave me hope that things could get better. Truly inspiring to hear her story in her own words. Thanks to you both for helping so many people around the world.
I wish this interview was more directed and structured. It was difficult to follow Sasha’s talking points often. Was hoping for more and new insights after years of writing her book. I have her book and it didn’t help me way back when my own sleep problems started. I’m glad others found her story and book helpful though.
Hi! I just wanted to say to everyone, you WILL get better. You are capable of sleeping, it is a natural thing you do. Don't try to force it, when it happens it will happen. You have to have trust in yourself. It's easier said than done but reading the effortless sleep method and watching success stories has triggered a switch in my mindset. Something that I think about to reassure me is that I was always capable of falling asleep with no problems before, so I am just as easily capable to do so now. I tried to reach out via email to try and share my success story but it seems that the email bounced back.
Angela! Thanks soo very much for this comment, it means the world that you too time to share 😊 I would love to hear more, just email daniel@thesleepcoachschool.com (sorry for that old email address bouncing!). If you’d like to share in writing that’s great, and if you’d like to guest the podcast, amazing as well! Best!
Hi Yolly, It’s really always the same answer… it’s about non resistance.. when we no longer try to prevent trouble sleeping, whether it’s every night or every month, there’s less pressure and less struggle
If it's meant to be it will be! And you know, if that happens, I will be very happy because the teaching reaches more people. But I will miss it when I can't respond to every kind and supportive comment like this one!
Haha I was! You know to be honest, I wasn't very nervous, I just thought it was so cool having Sasha on the channel. But I became starstruck when she laid out truth after truth in such a clear and warm way... wow!!
I just started her book. I don’t know how to build up trust. She says “you either trust in yourself or in your meds” but I don’t get sleepy, yet I am very fatigued, depressed from insomnia and not being able to work because of it. I think I get relaxed, lay down, reassuring myself that I trust me. Can’t fall asleep... I know what not sleeping leads to for me. More anxiety, more no sleep... then psychosis. It’s happened 3 times now. So I get up and take 50mg seroquel and/or an ambien. Then they don’t work after a few days, I wait, little sleep, reintroduce meds again. It’s a horrible cycle. I want to trust me. My fears are knowing and experiencing the psychosis of not sleeping. It’s real.
Hi Monica, thanks so much for being here and sharing. This surely isn’t easy after all you’ve been through... and you know, I don’t want to belittle anyone’s experiences, but do know that this cycle isn’t uncommon. The pressure to sleep builds from all the struggling, the pressure leads to less sleep, anxiety builds, you end up hospitalized or in the ER on strong sedating medications. There’s some safety in the meds or “trusting the meds”, but the fear is if anything stronger. Now in addition to all the fear from the struggle, you also have the fear of the often traumatic experience of a hospitalization, which makes you yet more pressured to sleep... this is a tough cycle for sure. Especially since lots of people like family or even therapists and doctors don’t understand sleep and tell you it’s something very strange and dangerous and unusual happening to you... Hang in there! Now to the question, I say it’s just like building confidence to use a different word. Very often people ask me how they can build sleep confidence. It is true that confidence is very helpful. Particularly confidence in a sense that you know that there’s nothing wrong with you. This confidence comes from simply learning about insomnia and seeing that insomnia comes from thoughts and that it is a type of anxiety. This gives you confidence that there’s nothing wrong with you! Sleep confidence can also be thought of as believing that you can sleep on an ongoing basis. This is also helpful of course but things can get a little tricky when you make it a goal of building confidence. Remember that confidence happens passively. It is sort of a deduction/conclusion in the brain that comes form sleeping with no struggle. Now let’s say that you want to actively build more sleep confidence. Well then you have to sleep more so that this can happen. And then suddenly you are pressure to sleep because building sleep confidence is contingent upon sleeping! As you can see, this takes you down a path of effort and more trouble sleeping. So it is good to know about sleep confidence but it happens completely passively. When you’re not trying to build confidence you sleep with more ease and then the confidence part just falls into place from a place of no effort and no pressure!
I love it: Insomnia doesn’t exist, there is nothing there. It is just a set a thoughts… It is a monster built by the mind. It is enabling by the human. Maybe the solution should be just to observe it as we observe the cloud in the sky ?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 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.
Goodmorning Daniel, woowwn this is so recognizable!.......I enjoyed so much this interview................Another proof we are not crazy......Somewhere in the middle of this night, like all nights, I felt a kind of pressure in my head, I could not sleep, I tried to figure out what thought kept me awake but there was none, it was just the pressure, that probably I built up unconsiouscly the hours before, my head felt warm and I felt even my heartbeat in it..........Try to resist the pressure with new positive thoughts are efforts to control at that moment, aren't they Daniel? .....Better to get up......................Something I never tried before, staring at the ceiling with eyes open with a small table lamp on, maybe my eyes will get closed eventually?❤
Hi Flip! Thanks for the support. You know, we often have a headache when we had a stressful day, nothing strange about this! It's just one example of how our mind and body are connected. And yes, trying to come up with positive thoughts to push away the negative thoughts, that's effort and leads to more trouble.... Be well and be in touch!
Hey there! Thanks for sharing your experience. 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.
The videos gives me alot of hope, thank you for all of these gems! Do you have any videos adressing nightmares? I often have very vivid nightmares in bad insomni periods which i think is result of anxiety. But dont know if i should tacke insomnia or anxiety problem first, or both?
So glad to hear! I think there’s one nightmare episode, but it’s not important to find it. Rather it think nightmares often happen when we are scared, and being awake happens when we are scared/anxious. And the answer is the same to all of the above, when we aren’t afraid of being afraid, the struggle fades
I remember reading her book. I’ve made the mistake of becoming fully addicted sand dependent on medication to sleep. Trazadone and seroquel. I feel like because I am so dependent and still don’t sleep well that I’m facing an even larger issue.
Hi Violet. Sorry to hear this but you know, remember that taking medication is simply an act of self-love and self-preservation, nothing to be hard on yourself for... you know self-criticism is maybe what keeps us struggling more that anything else... a really great step towards sleeping well is being super super kind and gentle with yourself. Then you can learn here on the channel and you know there’s nothing standing in your way of abandoning the struggle and having peace of mind and peaceful sleep!
I like the point on how self obsession leads to chronic problems...Sasha mentioned that that is how conditions like chronic insomnia, even chronic fatigue and depression can develop. What is your thinking on this Daniel? Is it paying too much attention to a problem, analyzing, overthinking that can lead to chronic mental and even physical problems?
Hi Nina! Yes absolutely, in fact in this interview, I was the one taking the step fully, saying how all suffering comes form the same place, wanting to not have discomfort. And she seemed to fully agree. And you know, it’s really a universal truth imho, Buddhist teaching or stoicism and many more schools have that same thought.. wanting to get rid of discomfort makes it stick. And yes even things we experience physically, because there’s the mind body connection. I think This is Natto could really be helpful for you, this is exactly what it talks about! Let me answer the other comment from you!
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 hi Daniel. I read This is Natto. Loved or. Made many highlights and notes. Can I ask you for your thoughts again on something? If we have strong negative emotions associated with persistent fatigue or sadness, wouldn't brain make us avoid these feelings because they're a threat? Why would they persist if brain is trying to avoid them? How is it possible to stop chronic fatigue?
Wow! I think you might be the first person to read it, thanks for the support! This is a good question, the way I think about it is this. The negative emotion is a signal, for example sadness is a signal that is there to make us stop doing something that is not going to lead us anywhere, for example you are trying to reach a fruit high up in the tree and after a while you realize you can’t get it. The body produces a bit of sadness to stop trying and that has helped you survive! Now, when we identify the signal which is the sadness as the threat, the thing we don’t want to have then it is as if we’re not listening to the body or the rain anymore. We try to run away from the sadness and then the brain thinks you’re not listening and it makes you have more sadness. It’s basically like talking to someone. If that person feels you’re not listening they start shouting. It doesn’t matter what message the person had, if it was a message about pain or sadness or anxiety, when you’re not listening they start shouting. This is why when we try to escape, that thing we try to scape become stronger!
Simona, hang in there! There’s soo much on this channel that I believe can truly help. Check the success stories playlists, that’s a nice place to start. And ask questions! Thanks for being here and commenting.
When you have OCD rituals at night in an effort to make you sleep, should I challenge the anxiety and fear and resist the rituals ..even if it keeps you up while lying in bed thinking about them?
Hi Jacob, I think it is true that when we are willing to experience the uncomfortable feelings that are signals, communication, from our brain… then the signal is received and no need for it to be repeated. For example, the fear of the absence of rituals keeping us awake, yes if we are willing to experience it this can help much
Do you have any insight to insomnia that is caused by weather changes? During the summers in Phoenix we have what's called monsoon season which cause a lot of pressure changes with those pressure changes for me, comes insomnia. It will wake me up at 2:00 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, in pain or not sometimes and I can't get back to sleep. My worst insomnia is related to weather events. Thank you for any insights.
Hi Rosanna, I think Sasha said it well in this interview - we all can have choppy sleep when it’s hot or cold for example, but that has nothing to do with the ongoing struggle we call insomnia
I think it could help if we don't call it insomnia. If it does not exist then there should not be a word for it. Maybe call it for what it is, a belief that you won't/can't sleep.
I think there’s so much truth here Beth… of course the tricky thing is, how to reach people to educate without using the words commonly used… but this said, I truly hope one day this can happen. Thanks much for the comment 🙏
Hey Daniel. This will be the first night I’ve had without sleep. I’m scared, and my thoughts are all over the place. But tell me if u have ever heard of this: I will get on the very edge of dozing off. It’s like right as I’m about to doze off, I get stuck in that state. I’m always tired and I’m scared now. Anything helps. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping for a couple of days.
Hi Lucci, sorry to hear this but I'm glad you're here asking and sharing. I've heard this before. In fact check the playlist that is in the description of all new episodes, the playlist on hypnic jerk/hypnic awareness, I think it will be very helpful!
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 here. Imma explain it like this, it feel like my brain has completely lost the ability to go unconscious. I can feel myself somewhat drifting off. Idk. I’m very scared. And kinda want to go to the hospital.
I have just read Sasha's book...and will try to use her method.But it's terrible not to be able to sleep(((( I don't sleep and all my thoughts by insomnia((( Thanks!
It’s a very nice book… and I’m very glad you’re here. It can be a dark and lonely place, but you know when you see there’s nothing wrong with you and you leave the struggle, things become easier. Do check the playlist Success stories, I think it can help much, it’s in the description of any new video. Hang in there!
Thanks! I wish she did. I think she sort of left the insomnia space and as far as I know, she does not have a podcast or RU-vid channel. I wish she did!
Thank you! The basic understanding is the same, but I’d say maybe her promises are a bit more “prescriptive” than what we teach here now which is more fluid. Which btw I was too before, much more prescriptive.
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 you are right . I am reading her book . I want to order one of yours as well. Which one of your books gives your up to date approach. ? And one more question please ,both you and shasha recommend getting up from bed when one can't sleep. I feel getting up very exhausting and also makes my mind more alert all night to watch my sleep. Probably go to the first or second stage of sleep and my brain is always in dilemma if I am sleeping or not or get up or not
Hi! I’d say Set it is a really nice and easy read, I generally recommend it to start with. This is Natto is more up to date but not as much an easy read. We teach that it doesn’t matter where we are at night, no need to leave the bed, we can befriend wakefulness wherever we are, showing the brain that we are safe 🙂
I experience insomia for about a week . There are nights I can sleep , but there are nights I can’t straight sleep like for 2-3 nights. Need some help .
Hang in there, you found this channel really early which I think can help much, the less we have tried to make sleep happen, the easier it may be to see that we slept fine before because we didn’t do anything when we work up at night
Hi Dara! You know, the short version is that I still work as a sleep doctor. But I realized where I can make a difference is helping people with trouble sleeping. And there's really nothing medical about that, it's education and support and guidance that helps. So that's why I call myself a coach, but it could just as well have been "teacher". I started with teaching CBTi and then, I realized there were a lot of problems with it and gradually, I developed a way of teaching that I know realize is the universal path towards not struggling... Hope this made sense and thanks for asking :)!
@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Hi Daniel. I just wanted to say you are amazing and helping thousands of people. The way you explain things is brilliant. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping us all to believe we can all sleep.