How to Break the Sleep Anxiety Loop: A Real Recovery Story with Carly
About this episode
Carly shares her journey of overcoming sleep anxiety and hypnic jerks, discussing the fears and compulsions that kept her trapped in a cycle of anxiety.
Sleep Anxiety and OCD: How Carly Broke the Hypnic Jerk Loop and Learned to Trust Her Body Again If bedtime fills you with dread, if you've started dreading the sunset, or if hypnic jerks have turned falling asleep into a nightly battle, this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW sits down with Carly, a member of the Restored Minds community, to talk honestly about what it's like to live inside a sleep anxiety loop, and what actually got her out of it. Carly walks through her own descent into relentless hypnic jerks, the compulsions she didn't even realize were compulsions (bedtime routines built on fear, checking the clock, seeking reassurance from her husband), and the belief that was quietly running the whole show: that a bad night of sleep meant a ruined day. This isn't a sleep hygiene episode. It's a conversation about fear, control, and what it actually means to trust your body to do what it already knows how to do. 🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ Understand why sleep anxiety isn't a sleep problem, it's a fear problem ✅ Learn why traditional sleep hygiene advice can backfire when anxiety is driving it ✅ See why hypnic jerks happen and why they're not dangerous ✅…
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