The Sleep Book by Dr Guy Meadows

Author:Dr Guy Meadows
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: The Orion Publishing Group Ltd

Welcoming Your Unwelcome Thoughts

When you welcome your thoughts, you can look at them and put them into context. You respect the fact that they are a product of your mind, but you have the mental clarity not to take them as the literal truth. You no longer need to struggle to get rid of them or change them into something more positive, but rather accept them for the bits of noise or objects that just so happen to have arrived in your head in this moment. Most importantly, welcoming enables you to respond to your unwanted thoughts in a way that does not fuel further thoughts or wakefulness.

To be able to welcome your unwelcome thoughts, first it helps to get to know what turns up. This may be an easy process as you see them show up every day, but if you’ve had years of repetition, they may be automatic and you only know they’ve been because you suddenly feel anxious or experience a racing heart rate.

Here is a list of some of the common thoughts that insomniacs report having about their insomnia and the effect it has on their lives. I have given each one a short hand descriptive nickname or label. This can be a quick way of referring to them, which you will use later. For now take a look and identify which ones sound like yours and start to make a list of your own including giving them shorthand names.

Think about the stories, comments, put-downs and so on that you repeat to yourself in the night and the day. If your thoughts are mostly images then have a go at drawing the scenes or describe how they look.

You could try writing your thoughts down on paper which helps to get them out of your head and create some physical separation between you and them. Write only in the daytime as normal sleepers don’t write out long lists of their thoughts in the night. Once you have a list, you may find it helpful to keep it near you to remind you that you are separate from them.

THOUGHT NAME THOUGHT

Sleep I won’t sleep tonight

Coping If I don’t sleep tonight I won’t be able to cope tomorrow

Fix it What can I do to fix my sleep?

Medication Should I take another pill?

Why? Why is this happening to me?

What if? What if I don’t sleep tomorrow night as well?

Failure I’m a failure because I can’t sleep

Bully I need to stop being so pathetic and sort myself out

Self judgment Why am I doing this to myself?

Health This must be seriously affecting my health

Time How long have I got left to sleep?

Lonely I’m the only person who can’t sleep

Jealousy It’s not fair, why can they sleep and I can’t?

Prop If I don’t wear my ear plugs then I won’t be able to sleep

Noise If he starts snoring then I won’t be able to sleep

Bed sharing I won’t be able to sleep if I share a bed

Tiredness If I don’t sleep soon I

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