Hi Daniel, thanks for sharing this! I totally agree with this model. I've been thinking on the "thoughts" element and I actually saw there two kinds: 1. automatic thoughts (or scary thoughts) - the ones we can't really control, they are like emotions, they just appear with no effort, e.g. "I won't be able to sleep again" or "this should not be happening, something is wrong with me". 2. the second type is the "correct" or rational thoughts - the ones that I needed to consciously 'plant' in my brain, like "it is okay to not feel sleepy in the evening, eventually the body will take over and I will fall asleep, just don't force it now". I realized that I cannot control the automatic thoughts, when i tried not to think them, it only made things worse. So I ditched the idea of consciously changing them. On the other hand, I was in total control of choosing the 'rational' thoughts, so I started doing mind work to pick the thoughts that were calming me. Such "two-sided" thought work actually made my automatic thoughts fade away. Do you think that thinking the rational thoughts alongside having (and accepting) the automatic thoughts could be a potential "negative thought neutralizer"?

This really breaks it down. Brilliant! Thank you!

Wow , what great model!!

I have a comment / question that I haven't found addressed on your site, which is overall Fantastic! In your Natto book, in your newsletter, and on this channel, you often talk about how awareness and understanding are key to helping our sleep issues resolve. I feel VERY aware and understand most of what you discuss. But I still have sneaky sleep efforts or trouble befriending wakefulness on a consistent basis. This is especially true with wakings in the middle of the night, when the brain is less rational (partly sleepy but aroused!!). I feel sometimes that the emotions are before the thoughts - or at least I can't trace back to what the thought was that got me worried. I know there is no bear, but it is sure hard to keep reminding myself of that over and over and over!! Thanks for any tips...

Hi Daniel, I'm new to your channel but am already finding it very helpful. What would have been super useful is if you could give an example of a positive thought trail. Thanks !

The main thing I don't agree with is that thoughts are always the trigger for emotions. They can be, but there are plenty of things that trigger emotions directly without going through thoughts first. If someone slaps me, my immediate anger and/or fear is faster than the thought. I'd also recommend reading "The Awakened Brain" by Lisa Miller which describes the pitfall of CBT, that although its valuable, there are circumstances when it really doesn't apply.

Thank you very much for this concept , Daniel. Do you believe this concept should be applied towards thoughts that produce insomnia related sadness and depression (e.i should the thoughts provoking sadness and depression be modified), or should you just sit with these emotions as long as needed?

Daniel hello, my name is Shawn. I came across your KZfaq channel while looking for answers about my sleep issue. I am pretty worried. I know you probably get a lot of people thinking they may have a type of fatal insomnia. Thats exactly where im at. However, i cant explain it away and it seems every couple nights its getting worse. For the past few months i have been telling my girlfriend i dont feel like im getting into a deep sleep. Almost staying in a dream like state throughout the night, but not giving it too much thought or worry. Then about a week or two ago, insomnia grew more and more. One night a week or so ago, i didnt sleep at all over the night and decided to stay up so that i would feel sleepy the next night. After being up that long i would usually sleep a solid 10 or more hours straight no problem. I went to sleep that next night only to wake up two hours later, remembering every bit of a dream i had had vividly. It took a little bit to fall back asleep and woke up 2 hours later remembering every bit of that dream as well. So only dreaming as i was going to sleep for two hours at a time. This has went on for over a week, sleep almost exactly two hours, wake up remembering full dreams and go back to sleep for two hours, untill i just get up for the day. Last night i slept for about 3-4 hours once again dreaming and remembering vividly. After this last time of waking ive tried to go back to sleep and when i get to the point where i can feel im falling asleep, i jerk out of it and havent been able to go back to sleep, just gave up. Also the past three or four days days i have very loud tinnitus. Getting pretty worried but at the same time telling myself its all in my head. Any advice or opinion would be great. Thank you and thanks for your channel!

Well I guess it's pretty normal for me to think this way , mainly because I'm still a teenager and is too scared to lose sleep. But I'll do my best practice on this thing.

So how to tackle these thoughts?