Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or (CBT) Worked For me

I have pretty regular insomnia. For me going to sleep has been a nightly battle. I hate not having a sleep schedule, and I'm pretty sure I've watched an episode of just about every show on late night tv this point.
For me, the worst part is worrying about the health concerns attributed to it, as well as the side effects of sleep medication. I didn't like the idea of forcing sleep by drowning myself in sleeping pills, so I ended lying awake in bed every night.
I did a little internet research looking for alternatives, and I found an article interviewing Insomnia Specialist Dr. Gregg Jacobs. He advocates for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or (CBT). He conducted research which showed that it was very effective in the majority of his patients. I figured I had nothing to loose so I tried few things such as limiting my bed only for sleep and I found that it helped.
Here's the article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-h ... 78110.html
It helped, but I still found that I still couldn't sleep consistently. I looked around and discovered that he had a 5-week sleeping CBT therapy program online. I completed it worked for me! The program gave me tips and guidelines which helped me. I felt that having a program to keep me in line helped me stay consistent. This helped me, and I am sleeping regularly.
I would highly recommend it.


spam link removed by moderator

Mingram1 wrote:I have pretty regular insomnia. For me going to sleep has been a nightly battle. I hate not having a sleep schedule, and I'm pretty sure I've watched an episode of just about every show on late night tv this point.
For me, the worst part is worrying about the health concerns attributed to it, as well as the side effects of sleep medication. I didn't like the idea of forcing sleep by drowning myself in sleeping pills, so I ended lying awake in bed every night.
I did a little internet research looking for alternatives, and I found an article interviewing Insomnia Specialist Dr. Gregg Jacobs. He advocates for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or (CBT). He conducted research which showed that it was very effective in the majority of his patients. I figured I had nothing to loose so I tried few things such as limiting my bed only for sleep and I found that it helped.
Here's the article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-h ... 78110.html
It helped, but I still found that I still couldn't sleep consistently. I looked around and discovered that he had a 5-week sleeping CBT therapy program online. I completed it worked for me! The program gave me tips and guidelines which helped me. I felt that having a program to keep me in line helped me stay consistent. This helped me, and I am sleeping regularly.
I would highly recommend it.
{{{Commercial link deleted by frog}}}

I am bumping this possible plug because drugs are not the only solution. Not the safest, either.
This is worth a shot, and it is not quackery. Big Pharma opposes it, and that's enough for me.
Thank you, Mingram.

It was for sale... complete with 'Pricing" tab on main page. There's a lot of free CBT stuff out there.

The power of the Internet--just look harder, and you will save many coins.
Now we need some links to the FREE materials.

I've tried CBT with my psychologist to no avail. If someone finds a free online course I'm in.

Kay

Just an odd note. To IT guys like me, CBT stands for "Computer Based Training".

Julie wrote:It was for sale... complete with 'Pricing" tab on main page. There's a lot of free CBT stuff out there.

Hmm, I wasn't aware of any free online program for CBT with insomnia.

And I am curious (not being argumentative), how is this person's post any different than if I had posted a link to Greg Jacob's CBT insomnia book on Amazon's site if I had thought it had been beneficial to me? I was under the impression she was touting a program that had helped her.

In other words, I don't understand why it was deleted.

49er

Kaybaby - try another psychologist, one who's actually interested in helping you. Anyone can do CBT unless they're incredibly obtuse and incapable of any personal insight whatsoever.

I stand corrected as I found a free program for the Iphone. However, it does say it is for people who are working with a healthcare provider. So with that disclaimer in mind, it might still be worth checking out for folks like Kay and anyone else who is looking for a free CBT I online program.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cbt-i-c ... 18660?mt=8

Other fee for service online CBT I programs.

http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2014/12/o ... a-therapy/

49er

As far as "free on the internet" just remember you get what you pay for. And ask yourself is it really free or is it something pirated where the original creator is getting ripped off like our Jedimark?

The fact that you have to pay for this means you are more likely to succeed in using it, if only because most people want their money's worth. It also means, especially when it comes recommended, that it is more liable to work and not cause other issues. Playing games with your mind can cause many nasties to surface so I never show more the basic relaxation techniques.

http://www.getsleep.co/how-get-sleep-works

http://www.llttf.com/
Live life to the full is the programme - online and there's a range of books available too.
It is prescribed by the nhs here, and certainly worked for me, and has helped a few friends out too. I am trained in delivering the course too.
I'm not sure how specific it is to sleep, but I'm pretty sure it covers it - and if your insomnia stems from anxiety it will help that amyway. It can help with adjusting to a diagnoses (of sleep apnoea or anything really!) and the lifestyle changes that might be needed too!
They also do some really good stuff for new mums/ parents.

Here's some free stuff on CBT...

CBT treatment is often short-term, and offered in both individual and group settings.

CBT can be done with a trained CBT therapist, or you can do it on your own.


Effectively managing negative emotions involves identifying negative thinking and replacing it with realistic and balanced thinking. Because our thoughts have a big impact on the way we feel, changing our unhelpful thoughts to realistic or helpful ones is a key to feeling better. “Realistic thinking” means looking at yourself, others, and the world in a balanced and fair way, without being overly negative or positive. For example:

Unhelpful and unrealistic thoughts
I always screw things up, I'm such a loser. What's wrong with me?
I can't do it. I feel way too anxious.

More realistic and balanced thought
- Everyone makes mistakes, including me - I'm only human.
- All I can do is try my best to fix the situation and learn from this experience.
- It's OK and normal to feel anxious. It's not dangerous, and it doesn't have to stop me.
- I can feel anxious and still go to the party. I control my anxiety.


Once you’re more aware of your thoughts, try to identify the ones that make you feel bad,determine if they’re problematic and need to be challenged. For example, if you feel sad thinking about your grandmother who’s been battling cancer, this thought doesn’t need to be challenged because it’s absolutely normal to feel sad when thinking about a loved one suffering. But, if you feel sad after a friend cancels your lunch plans, you begin to think there’s obviously something wrong with you and no one likes you, this is problematic because this thought is extreme and not based on reality.

Pay attention to the shift in your emotion, no matter how small... when you notice yourself getting upset or distressed, ask yourself “what am I telling myself right now... what is actually upsetting me - the act of what I'm doing or the thought of doing
it, the fear I've let take control?"

The first things to do is to see if you’ve fallen into thinking traps - catastrophizing, overly negative ways to seeing or describing things (however impossible they may feel at the time), and so it must be pointless to try.

Finally, after challenging a negative thought and evaluating it more objectively, try to come up with an alternative thought that is more balanced and realistic. Doing this can help lower your distress. In addition to coming up with realistic statements, try to come up with some quick and easy-to-remember coping statements (e.g., “This has happened before and I know how to handle it”) and positive self-statements (e.g., “It takes courage to face the things that scare me”).

In CBT, the process of facing fears is called exposure, and it’s the most important step in learning to effectively manage your anxiety. Exposure involves gradually entering feared situations until you feel less anxious. You start with situations that only cause you a little bit of anxiety - it won't 'kill' you - and work your way up to facing things that cause you a greater deal of anxiety.

The first step involves making a list of the situations, places or objects that you fear. For example, if you’re afraid of spiders and want to overcome this fear so you can enjoy camping with friends, the list may include: looking at pictures of spiders, watching videos of spiders, observing a spider in an aquarium, and standing across the room from someone holding a spider. Once you have a list, order it from the least scary to the scariest.

Starting with the situation that causes you the least anxiety (little bandaid on nose for a short time if wearing a mask is difficult, even for 5 mins), repeatedly do that until you start to feel less anxious. Once you can face that specific situation at different times without much anxiety, you’re ready to move on to the next step on your list.

CBT stresses the importance of facing fears on a regular basis. The more you practice, the faster your fears will fade! Having successes and feeling good about your progress is a powerful motivator to keep going.

How to Prevent a Relapse -
Managing your problem effectively is a lot like exercise – you need to keep in shape and make practicing skills a daily habit. However, sometimes people slip back into old habits, lose the improvements they’ve made and have a relapse. A relapse is a complete return to all of your old ways of thinking and behaving before you learned new strategies for managing your problem. While it’s normal for people to experience lapses (a brief return to old habits) during times of stress, low mood or fatigue, a relapse certainly does not have to take place. Here are some tips on how to prevent lapses and relapses:

Keep practicing your CBT skills! This is the best way to prevent a relapse. If you’re practicing regularly, you’ll be in good shape to handle whatever situations you’re faced with.

Know when you are more vulnerable to having a lapse (e.g., during times of stress or change), and you’ll be less likely to have one. It also helps to make a list of warning signs (e.g., more anxious thoughts, frequent arguments with loved ones) that tell you your anxiety might be increasing. Once you know what your warning signs or “red flags” are, you can then make an action plan to cope with them. This might involve, for example, practicing some CBT skills like calm breathing or challenging your negative thinking.
Remember that, like everyone else on earth, you are a work in progress! A good way to prevent future lapses is to continue working on new challenges. You’re less likely to slide back into old habits if you’re continually working on new and different ways of overcoming your anxiety.

If you have had a lapse, try to figure out what situation led you to it. This can help you make a plan to cope with difficult situations in the future. Keep in mind that it’s normal to occasionally have lapses and that you can learn a lot from them.

How you think about your lapse has a huge impact on your later behaviour. If you think that you’re a failure and have undone all your hard work, you’re more likely to stop trying and end up relapsing. Instead, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s impossible to unlearn all the skills and go back to square one (i.e., having anxiety and not knowing how to handle it) because you do know how to handle your anxiety. If you have a lapse, you can get back on track. It’s like riding a bike: once you know how to ride one, you don’t forget it! You might become a bit rusty, but it won’t be long until you’re as good as before.

Remember that lapses are normal and can be overcome. Don’t beat yourself up or call yourself names like “idiot” or “loser,” because this doesn’t help. Be kind to yourself, and realize that we all make mistakes sometimes!

Finally, make sure to reward yourself for all the hard work you’re doing. A reward might be going out for a nice meal or buying yourself a little treat. Managing anxiety is not always easy or fun, and you deserve a reward for your hard work!

CBT-I can work wonders. It was a critically important part of bringing my CPAP-induced insomnia under control during my First War on Insomnia, as those who were around 5 years ago may recall.

That said: CBT for *anything* requires the person who is using it to be willing to work hard and accept that progress might be slow. It's not a "magic bullet" that's going to fix a problem overnight. Or even in a week. For people who want non-drug or mostly non-drug approaches to fixing insomnia (or a whole lot of other things), CBT is well worth trying---if you are willing to do the hard work. It may be the full answer. Or it may not work at all. But it's worth a shot.

Working with a therapist who is knowledgeable of CBT and willing to direct CBT can be far more effective than working on it on your own: Some of us need an external person who can hold us accountable for doing the work that's involved, as well as having an unbiased person who can point out the small steps forward as important indicators that things are getting better.

All that said, I'll offer this final note: For some people, the real solution to insomnia is going to be a combination of CBT-I plus judicous use of prescription sleeping pills. It took me a very, very long time to accept that in my own case, the sleeping pills play a critical role in preventing my sleep from becoming too fragile. And that I am not somehow "weak" or "stupid" or "lazy" because I need them on more nights than not when things are not going so well.

robysue wrote:CBT-I can work wonders. Working with a therapist who is knowledgeable of CBT and willing to direct CBT can be far more effective than working on it on your own:

+1

I'm sure there are some people who have successfully done CBT on their own. I've seen workbooks, etc., on the internet. Not saying it isn't possible. However, as RS said above, it can be far more effective doing it with someone skilled in the "how to" of CBT.

Not a magic bullet - nothing is in life, but it's nice to know there's something to add to your regimen with or without meds when you need it. It's really just kind of a reality check for yourself when you find you're going over the top with drama about how total your bad luck is... brings you back to earth and lets you work on one small step at a time, with success in each one being encouragement for the next.