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Therapy in a Nutshell

Insomnia- How to Fall Asleep When your Brain Won't Shut Up!

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.8658 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2024

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Do you want to learn How to Process Emotions and improve your Mental Health? Sign up for a Therapy in a Nutshell Membership, you'll get access to all of Emma’s courses, workbooks, and a Live Q and A with 100’s of exclusive videos: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership  If you are lying in bed trying to go to sleep, and find your mind racing, feeling anxious, what's the next best step to stop the anxiety cycle? You all know that feeling. I’ve been there, You’ve got a big day ahead, or you’ve had a long day behind you, you really need to sleep, you’re soooo tired, but when you finally lay down, your mind starts running, you worry about everything, or you can’t stop thinking about all the mistakes you made throughout the day. You can feel your stress levels rise, and despite your best efforts, you can’t sleep. And that makes you more anxious, which perpetuates the cycle, and on it goes. You desperately want to sleep, but your brain won’t shut up. In this podcast, you’ll learn why your brain doesn’t trust you to process these thoughts during the day. And, there is something you can do about this. So, let’s talk about the science behind why your brain gets stuck doing this, and 3 things you can do to escape that cycle. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books  Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Therapy in a Nutshell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam, a licensed marriage and family therapist.

0:05.9

These episodes are filled with research-backed therapeutic education that you can start applying in your life today.

0:11.5

I hope you find today's episode beneficial, and if you know of someone who could benefit from this podcast, please don't hesitate to share it.

0:18.6

Let's work together and share tools everyone can use

0:21.5

to help deal with the difficult mental health struggles they're going through.

0:25.7

Each podcast episode comes from a corresponding video. You can find them on the Therapy in a

0:30.9

nutshell YouTube channel. Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice

0:36.9

or direction you may be receiving from a therapist or other health professionals.

0:42.7

Please enjoy the episode.

0:44.5

So a member of my online community asked me this.

0:47.3

If you're laying in bed, trying to go to sleep and you find your mind racing, feeling really anxious, what's the next best thing to stop the anxiety cycle?

0:56.5

Now, you all know that feeling. Like, I've been there. You've got a big day ahead of you,

1:00.6

or you've had a really long day behind you, and you really need to sleep. Like, you're so tired.

1:06.1

But when you finally lay down, your mind starts running and you worry about everything, or you can't stop

1:11.7

thinking about all the mistakes you made throughout the day. You can feel your stress levels rise,

1:16.5

and despite your best efforts, you can't sleep. And that makes you more anxious, which perpetuates

1:22.3

the cycle and on it goes. You desperately want to sleep, but your brain won't shut up. So in this video, you'll learn

1:29.8

why your brain doesn't trust you to process these thoughts during the day, and you'll learn what

1:35.7

you can do about this. There is something you can do about it. So let's talk about the science

1:39.8

behind why your brain gets stuck to. And this and three things you can do to escape that cycle.

1:44.3

Okay, so first thing about your brain, you can't just force yourself to stop thinking about

1:48.8

something. We'd like to think that we can control our thoughts. You might think like, oh, I have to

...

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