Put Insomnia to Sleep

Struggling to switch off at night? Feeling stuck in a loop of anxiety? In this episode of the LIFE Podcast, Dr. C sits down with Helen Dugdale, known as "The Brain Coach," to reveal how we can train our brains just like we train our bodies.

Helen specializes in helping clients break free from chronic insomnia and anxiety by utilizing methodologies like WingWave and EMDR to create lasting change. Join us as we explore the science of neuroplasticity, the power of positive mantras, and practical "brain workouts" to help you reclaim your rest and regulate your nervous system.

In this episode, we cover:

• Brain Coaching vs. Therapy: Understanding how to resolve triggers and create new neural pathways.
• The Sleep-Stress Connection: Why "trying" to sleep keeps you awake and how to aim for "calm" instead.
• Neuroplasticity in Action: How to rewrite your internal script (even at 94 years old!).
• Practical Tools: Deep breathing techniques, visualization, and "tapping" to ground yourself.
• Overcoming Anxiety: Why chronic anxiety is easier to overcome than you think.

📄 FREE RESOURCE: Download "From Insomnia to Sleep Top Tips" here: http://bit.ly/3ZjJlvD

Connect with Helen Dugdale:

• Website: AustralianBraincoaching.com.au
• Book: Put Insomnia to Sleep (Available on Amazon at https://a.co/d/0NyrL9I) 
• Instagram: @AustralianBrainCoaching
• Facebook & LinkedIn: Helen Dugdale

About Dr. C & The LIFE Podcast:

Dr. C is a seasoned consultant and former nonprofit executive with over 25 years of experience mastering organizational change. She developed The LIFE Blueprint™ as a signature method for sustainable high performance and well-being. Her work bridges the critical gaps for organizational alignment, helping leaders and teams mitigate burnout and achieve harmony across the 8 dimensions of wellness.

Subscribe and follow the LIFE Podcast today to ensure you never miss an insight on your journey to wellness!

#LIFEPodcast #DrC #HelenDugdale #InsomniaRelief #BrainCoaching #MentalWellness #Neuroplasticity #AnxietyRelief #SleepTips #WellnessJourney #OrganizationalWellness

Thank you for listening! We'd love to hear from you!

Transcript

Dr C: 0:07

Hola and welcome back to the live podcast where we learn, inspire, flourish, and evolve together on the dreams to our first most authentic selves. I'm your host, Dr. C, and today I am so excited to be joined by Ellen Dugdale, known as the Brain Coach. She specializes in helping clients break from the loops of anxiety and insomnia, not just talking about, but rewiring the brain's response. She is the author of Put Insomnia to Sleep and utilizes mythologies like Wing Wave and EMDR to create lasting change. Helen will share with us how we can train our brains just like we train our bodies. And we'll be looking at this through the lens of our physical and emotional wellness. Hola Helen and welcome to a live podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 0:57

Thank you, Wonder, and uh it's a pleasure to be here. Looking forward to our chat.

Dr C: 1:03

Yes, definitely looking forward to our chat. So let's just jump right in, okay? So many of our listeners have been have have been to therapy, but you distinguish yourself as a brain coach, utilizing um modalities like WingWave and ED EMDR. Can you explain to us though, as if you were chatting bulb or coffee, how coaching the brain differs from traditional therapy and why the distinction matters for someone who may be stuck in a loop of anxiety?

SPEAKER_01: 1:37

Yes, yeah, great. Well, I I love the methodology that I use. It really gets results because the first thing we're aiming to do is to identify the original trigger. The second is then to resolve that trigger so that it doesn't upset you as much anymore. And then the third stage is I will help set you on a new pathway, and so this is where the brain coaching comes in, where stopping the old way of thinking, your old habits, and creating a new pathway in your brain where this will become your automatic response to whatever stresses are in your life, and it's the it's because the brain has plasticity, you can change the your pathways in your brain. And I'm doing this, knocking my fingers together, because that's the synaptic connections in your brain, and when they fire together, they wire together. So the more you do something, the more likely it's going to take effect. Because, for example, if someone keeps saying, Oh, I'm bad at maths, I'm no good at maths, I'm never any good, well, guess what? They won't be any good at maths. But if or whatever they're telling themselves, if they're telling themselves, oh, I'm stupid, oh, I'm no good, or I'm hopeless, or whatever, if you stop that way of thinking and create a new pathway of thinking, like think of something good about yourself. I am capable, I am a good person, I can do it. Whatever it is that you want to repeat, how you how do you want to feel, just keep repeating it, and eventually that will be your new way of thinking. Because the brain is rewiring to think that way. Another easy example to understand what I'm saying is just say you're right-handed and you hurt your right hand, and you have to start using your left hand, it's a bit awkward at first, and then eventually your brain is telling, sending messages down to your left hand, hold the pen this way, hold the computer mouse this way, hold the coffee cup this way, and eventually your left hand will get better at it. I love that. That's your brain, that's your brain rewiring the connections to make your left hand work better.

Dr C: 4:09

Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_01: 4:10

So that's a clear. Yes, it it and people can understand that. So, and it's like learning anything new, whether it's a language or a musical instrument. It's the more you do it, the easier it gets. So the more you tell yourself something positive, that's how you will think, and that's how you will become. And it takes effort, but that's what I'm doing with brain coaching, putting you on that pathway and reinforcing that. So I'm I'm there to help them, but I'm not there to tell them what to do. I will help get it out of the person what they want to do and what works for them. And more likely to follow through if it's something that they think will fit with their lifestyle.

Dr C: 5:05

Yeah. So let's shift a little bit because in your book, Put Insomnia to Sleep, you tackle the inability to switch off. And many, many of us struggle with turning the brain off, right? So, from a physiological standpoint, how does a person differentiate between a bad night's sleep and a chronic dysregulation of the nervous system? Like, what are the telltale signs that the brain has actually forgotten how to rest?

SPEAKER_01: 5:38

Chronic insomnia is diagnosed as less than seven hours a night, but going on for months. If it's only a night here and there, that's just a blip. But if it's going on for months, that is classified as chronic insomnia. And and you and you're right, usually people say, I can't switch off. My brain's awake, I'm on fire, right? So your brain's got into that habit of waking up two o'clock in the morning or maybe not even getting to sleep to start with. So I tell people, instead of having the word sleep in your brain, think of being calm and relaxed instead. Because if your if your cortisol levels, if your stress response is on fire all the time, there's no way you're going to get to sleep. So what we're aiming to do is to be calm and relaxed. Calm and relaxed. And then you're in a better state for sleep to happen. But if you keep saying to yourself and getting all worked up, I have to sleep, I have to sleep, there's no way you're going to get to sleep. It's like I'm bad at maths, I'm bad at maths. But if you keep talking about sleep, it's less likely to happen because your stress is racing around in your body. And you can feel uptight. The people who have trouble sleeping, they feel uptight. So the I get people to aim for calm or relaxation. So maybe their new mantra would be I am calm, I am relaxed. And maybe for the first few nights they might not get to sleep because their brain is still got into that habit. But if they aim for calm and relaxation, and I can give them a few practical tips as well, your body's in a better state for sleep to happen.

Dr C: 7:35

I I've had to use imagery visualization, like what is my happy place? I'm on a beach, I can hear the waves, you know, coming in and out, the sun is shining at me in order to get to that relaxed state and eventually fall asleep when I've been really wired. So I I I appreciate you talking about that technique because it does work, but it does take practice. And so that that's um practice is a key word, right?

SPEAKER_01: 8:01

Yes, and and that's a good tip you just said. Imagining yourself in a calm and relaxed situation, like at the beach or under a tree, or wherever you whatever makes you calm and relaxed, that's a good tip. Another good tip is deep breathing. Now we've all heard that deep breathing is good for us, but how many of us actually do it? And and psychology lecturers at university said that when you're doing the deep breathing and counting, counting to hold your breath, for you know, the like people do the box breathing, they count. Breathe in for four, and I say hold for five and breathe out for six. Well, while you're deep breathing and counting, your brain isn't thinking of the thousand other things that you normally think about. So and then keep repeating that, and that will get you into a calm and relaxed state as well, as well as imagining you on a nice beach or wherever it is comfortable for you. But the counting and the deep breathing really, really helps. I had I had someone in my office, I was helping with their sleep problem, and we went through a few of the deep breathing exercises, and her shoulders relaxed. You could literally see the shoulders relax, and then after a few, she started really relaxing.

SPEAKER_00: 9:33

I thought she was going to fall off the chair, she was so relaxed. So it definitely works.

SPEAKER_01: 9:41

Yes, it definitely works, and I use it myself too, and and a lot of my clients say, you know, they might repeat it a few times. It you don't have to go on for half an hour or or whatever, but I have a few clients who say they do the deep breathing and the counting and imagining where they are, you know, in a comfortable place, and they say the next thing they know it's morning because they've gone to sleep doing this. It is it is really, really good. And um, and the deep breathing, well, the Indian society has been doing it for thousands of years, the deep breathing, because that helps put oxygen into our bloodstream, which is a has a calming effect, reduces the stress, and and while it as I was saying before, with the the counting and the deep breathing, while you're doing that, your cognitive resources hasn't got room for all the other intrusive thoughts. So they've been pushed out, and you're doing the counting and the deep breathing.

Dr C: 10:44

Love that. Love that. You posed a provocative question in your work regarding chronic anxiety being actually one of the easiest disorders to overcome. So, what do you believe is the single biggest misconception people hold about their own anxiety that keeps them from believing recovery is possible?

SPEAKER_01: 11:04

A lot of people seem to think that that's the way they are, that's the way they're wired, and that's what they have to put up with. But they don't. You don't have to put up with that. The you you're never too old to change. So I think that's the biggest misconception that you have to put up with anxiety. We you don't. You can learn to change the way you think and to change your reactions to things. I had a 94-year-old who was so anxious, she had trouble sleeping, and that led to all sorts of problems during the day. She didn't, because she was so tired and she was a little bit depressed, she didn't want to do the things that she enjoyed. And then we worked out what she was anxious about. She started sleeping through the night, and then her doctor was able to reduce her medication because she wasn't so anxious anymore. It was it was a lovely story, and she started in enjoying the garden and enjoying visiting with friends, and she was a much happier person. So you're never too old to change.

Dr C: 12:18

I love that. We do think of ourselves as fixed at a certain part of our lives, right? I think, I mean, I'm 53, and to think that my I could still do certain things that will help me, my neuroplasticity will help me learn new techniques, new skill sets. And I I always say, like, people are able to learn new languages later on in life. That shows a huge opportunity that we have to unlearn some, you know, some toxic traits, maybe, or to unlearn, you know, how to claim certain things that that don't necessarily belong to us. And one of them being my anxiety, right? We name it as ours. It belongs to us. And so we're walking around with it, you know, in our backpacks, like it's it's it's it's part of us. So it's really interesting to hear that there is hope that nothing necessarily that it's not necessarily fixed, right? That there are opportunities to rewire our brains and acquire new new thoughts about ourselves as well as new skill sets. So what is you would say the first practical smallest step that you would recommend for someone who believes that their trauma and their phobias are permanent?

SPEAKER_01: 13:44

First of all, it just stop and take a breath. And you can say to yourself, what is really going on here? Am I really in danger? Is this is this enough to get stressed about? And then and then ask yourself, how do I want to react? Do I want to keep going down that path or do I want to go down a new path? How do I want to react? And then you can, I would suggest come up with a your own mantra, like I am calm, or I can do it, or I am a good person, whatever you want to say to yourself that replaces your other thought, like I'm anxious, I'm anxious. So, or just acknowledge that you're feeling anxious, you're not an anxious person, you're feeling anxious. There's a feeling, and it's like a storm that will pass. The storm will pass, and then how do you want to feel? Like you might not be able to change overnight. But if you can say to yourself, do I want to keep going down this path, or do I want to feel calm, relaxed, competent, productive? However, you want, whatever you come up with, just keep repeating it. And if this isn't a new age thing, this isn't just a recent thing coming up with a mantra. Aristotle said it 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher, he said, We are what we re we repeatedly do. Yes. So you think about that. If you keep doing something, that's what you'll be. And it can be positive or negative.

Dr C: 15:38

Absolutely. So what I'm hearing is when we have that mental block that hits us and it causes resistance to change, it really is our mindset that either helps us push through or keeps us paralyzed in that moment. It's the what I'm hearing is that positive self-talk, that inner talk. I heard someone the other day say reversing the golden rule. And so what that means basically is would you be saying these things to someone you care about? Right? To your point, like I'm stupid, I'm this, I'm anxious, I you know, I can't get anything right, and you start beating yourself up. It's like, would you talk to someone you love like that? So that's what I'm hearing from you is like, how do we what is our inner talk, and how do we kind of push through that paralysis moment that we're having?

SPEAKER_01: 16:30

Yes. And and it is hard to to change. So that's where you might need some external intervention, like a therapist or or someone like me, that can help you work through that because a lot of people don't know why they're anxious. Why are they like that in the first place? Sometimes they might think they know what it is, but it might not be that, it could be something else. I can give you a story about a person with a phobia. This man had a fear of heights, and it was stopping him enjoying his life with his family and friends when they wanted to go hiking or or or going, even going up into a 34-story building. He wouldn't do it. Wow. And and we and he said, Oh, I think I know what it was. When I was 15, I was climbing a tree and I fell out. But when we went through it, it was started earlier than that. Oh, and it wasn't the tree, it was an another issue, and uh so we worked through that. We and instead of his brain automatically going into fear and stress, we resolved how he felt at at a younger age and uh resolved that uh that feeling, and he's and that's when that emotional reaction started. So, and every time he got stressed, that was his automatic reaction. So we we we dealt with that so that he could think about what happened when he was younger and not let it get to him as much as it was. And that's when I used the EMDR, the left and right movement of the eyes, left, right, left brain, right brain, left brain, right brain, until the we reduced the emotion of the situation and he had time to bring the logic in. Your left side of your brain's logic, your right side's your emotional. So we reduced the emotion of that incident, brought the logic in, like the logical side of him knew that he survived, he was okay, he's he's got a good life now, except for the fear of heights. And so, and then he came up with his own saying that he wanted to repeat, and I think his saying was, I am safe, I am safe, I am safe. And the next week he found himself in Sydney in in Australia, and he climbed, he went up to the top floor of this building. I think it was 30 stories high with a a viewing platform. And he said normally he wouldn't even go up 30, let alone go over to the window, and he said he went over to the window, looked down, and nothing happened. That's amazing. Normally he would feel sick and actually start to shake and and nearly vomit. And he said, nothing happened. He couldn't believe it. Wow, that's amazing. He overcame that anxiety of being at heights. Yeah. He was just and he's happy's his family were happy they could start planning trips and and going hiking in the mountains, and was it was very It was lovely finish to the story.

Dr C: 20:03

Well, it sounds like it's freeing, right? Because we could keep ourselves in a box and say, I can't do that because of this. I can't do that because of this. And we miss out on experiences and opportunities to also add new skills or new skill set, right? So that's I'm hearing that there's there's hope. So I want to touch the so I want to touch on the mental fitness aspect for the for our listeners that are creating a wellness routine and wanting to integrate brain training alongside their physical works workouts. Is there a specific daily exercise, perhaps using the principles of your 90-day goal setting journal that keeps the emotional dimension in check?

SPEAKER_01: 20:51

Yes, and I again I keep um would reinforce the mantra, your own personal mantra, and the deep breathing, and asking yourself, is this really worth getting upset about? What is really happening here? How do I want to respond? And then think of um, and if did you mean about if you're doing some physical training, how do you motivate yourself?

Dr C: 21:21

Well, I think you know, we think of physical training as an active practice, but when you're thinking of training your brain, it's very much the same, right? You're not lifting weights, but you are doing something to strengthen your brain capacity. You are doing something to change to have that neuroplasticity take effect. So is there a daily menstrual brain practice or brain technique, brain workout, that someone can do that they can practice this daily to continue to shape their internal messaging, but also their neuroplasticity?

SPEAKER_01: 22:05

The deep breathing really helps the positive mantra and also believing in yourself that you are worthwhile, you you can do something. The other thing is to maybe learn something new, you know, really testing yourself again, just learn something new each day, or or follow like learn a language or learn an instrument or learn a dance routine. A dance routine will would will kill two birds with one stone, it will help you get fit and you're learning you're using different parts of your brain.

Dr C: 22:44

Love that.

SPEAKER_01: 22:45

Wow.

Dr C: 22:46

I love dancing. I love learning new dance techniques. There you go. I think I'm doing well then. So we're living through what you've called an anxiety uh epidemic, especially post-COVID. So beyond just getting over nicely, what's the biggest long-term transformation you see in people who truly learn to regulate their own nervous systems?

SPEAKER_01: 23:16

I'm trying to um I've I've helped a few people that get nervous about their health, they get anxious, they keep thinking they're going to get sick or remember their family are going to get sick, and that leads to anxieties upon anxieties, and so they've learned to regulate themselves, to calm down and think, what reason have I got to think that I will get sick or a family member will get sick? And there might be a slight percentage, but what's the likelihood of it happening? And then they can start to think more logically, and then they can start enjoying their life thinking of other things rather than getting sick. So you can understand how it it could be disturbing. You know, maybe they have been sick in the past. It doesn't necessarily mean that they will get sick again. Yeah. Or all the time.

Dr C: 24:14

I can imagine that that mind shift, right, really changes the way a person views their future. What have you seen with the clients that you've supported and how they view their future?

SPEAKER_01: 24:27

Yes, a lot more relaxed, they're looking forward to it. And some of them, even when they come across other people who are anxious, they've said to me, they say to myself, themselves, when they see someone else being like they used to be, they say to them, Life doesn't have to be like that. You know, you don't have to be anxious all the time because they've been through it themselves and have come out the other side. And it's interesting hearing them give that advice to someone else in their life that they can see someone being anxious when they don't really have need to be. And then they can see the transformation. That's been really interesting that they're helping other people then.

Dr C: 25:11

I bet, and I'm sure their their social network, their families and friends are seeing the transformation as well.

SPEAKER_01: 25:20

Yes. Go ahead. Yeah. And that can have a flow-on effect effect when you're more relaxed, you're less anxious. The people around you are less anxious. Oh, better not say that, better not upset so-and-so. But if if you're more relaxed, they don't need to be walking around on eggshells anymore. So the the whole that does have a flow-on effect to everyone around you, and maybe to your workmates as well.

Dr C: 25:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 25:49

You know, you're you're easier to get on with.

Dr C: 25:52

Yeah, you're happier. Yeah. Yes. You have more hope, you're happier, and I'm sure and that's contagious, right? Energy is contagious, as we know. Yes. Definitely it affects our social network, yeah, personal and professional. I I could definitely see that. So if our listeners could do one thing differently tomorrow to begin this evolution of their mental fitness, what would you recommend?

SPEAKER_01: 26:19

I I keep emphasizing come up with your own mantra, your own positive mantra for deep breathing, and do it a few times a day. And that helps calm your system down. It create it's starting to create a new way of thinking in your brain. And some people, you can also do some tapping. Tapping, especially here, that can calm you down as well. And re and it's a physical reminder, it's like grounding. How do I want to react from now on? What am I going to do? And some of my clients say when they tap their chest, it's like giving themselves a hug, giving themselves permission to change their reaction. And that that's a really nice thing to do. It's like a physical grounding. How do I want to react from now on? Oh, that's right. I am calm, I am capable, whatever it is, and do some deep breathing, and it really, really helps. Yeah. So that's something easy. You can do it anywhere, any time of day.

Dr C: 27:34

And you talk about finding your mantra, right? So for someone who's it has a fixed mindset or is stuck in a negative mindset, what is the best process to kind of come up with a positive mantra?

SPEAKER_01: 27:52

Well, I normally go through when I'm talking to with someone that what are your good points? What do you like about yourself? What would someone else say about you? What do other people like about you? So we get it out of them. What are they good at? What do they like doing? Are they a kind person? Are they caring? And usually most people have more good points than bad points. But some people only tend to concentrate on the one or two bad points.

SPEAKER_03: 28:24

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 28:25

So I tease it out of them. What are your good points? You're not all bad. There are some good points, and then just keep reinforcing that. Keep reinforcing it over and over again, and that's how you'll feel. Say it till you believe it, right?

SPEAKER_03: 28:45

Absolutely. Yes, yes.

Dr C: 28:48

So, Helen, where is the best place for our listeners to find you and learn more about the your books, as well as possibly looking into brain coaching for themselves?

SPEAKER_01: 28:57

Yes. I have a website, AustralianBraincoaching.com.au, and the book Put Insomnia to Sleep is available Amazon. And I I run individual sessions and I can also run group workshops. I can run workshops over video link on about sleep. And I run workshops about goal setting and motivation, and that's been really successful. I can do group workshops or individual. And one man in one of my group workshops for goal setting, he said, Oh, well, there goes my excuse for doing nothing. You know, people procrastinate or they keep putting off working on their goals because they might think they're not worth it, or they don't have time, or whatever their their excuse is. But I help them overcome their excuses and help motivate them to stick with their goals. And then imagine how good are you going to feel when you've achieved it? Right. Step by step, even small steps. How good does that feel when you've when you've done this? You've achieved this goal for yourself, you've worked on this for yourself. How good does that feel?

Dr C: 30:19

Yeah, and small steps lead to big victories and long-standing impact. So, you know, never underestimate a small step, which is why I always ask, what is the smallest, most practical step one can take to begin the journey? To kind of push through that paralysis that we sometimes have. And you're also writing a second book. You're in the middle of writing your second book.

SPEAKER_01: 30:47

Um, and so it's and it's again, it's that there is always hope. You can overcome your anxiety, and there's all sorts of anxieties, and there's different triggers for different people, different cures for different people. What works for one person might not work for another, but there is hope. Yes, there is hope.

Dr C: 31:10

Great way to wrap up this section. This has been so insightful, Helen. Truly appreciate you sharing your wisdom. And I'm sure that many of the listeners will be looking at that what your website to understand more, you know, how do I get to the next level? I mean, how do I train my brain? Which is something that we don't think about a lot, right? We don't think about training our brains, but we do need to invest in rewiring our brains, unlearning, and learning how fantastic of a person we are, and continuing to pour into that.

SPEAKER_01: 31:42

So thank you so much for that. That's right. And I'm happy to if people want to contact me on Facebook or on video link, I'm happy to offer a free 30-minute introductory session and we can talk about what your issues are and how I can help. Maybe give them some tips to walk away with and start straight away.

Dr C: 32:06

Great, thank you so much for that. So we heard it here first. The brain coach is offering a 30-minute free consultation to figure out, you know, how best to support your goals and how best to support your mental fitness. So thank you so much again, Holland. What time is it in Australia right now? It's 10 past eight in the morning. Okay, and it is 4 p.m., 4 10 p.m. over here in Eastern Time. So although we are miles away, I really appreciate your time that you took this morning to share your wisdom with us. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01: 32:43

I appreciate being on your show, Dr. Cooper. Thanks very much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

Dr C: 32:50

What truly resonated with me today is the power of our own agency. Helen reminded us that we are not at the mercy of our history or our habits. Whether you are 15 or 94, the principle remains the same. Neurons that fire together wire together. By shifting our identity from I am anxious to I am calm and relaxed, we don't just change our mindset. We physically alter the structure of our brains to support a healthier, more bright, vibrant life. Remember to visit AustralianBraincoaching.com.au to book a free 30-minute introductory chat with Helen. You can follow Helen on Instagram at Australian Brain Coaching or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook under Helen Dugdale. And don't forget to pick up her book, Put Insomnia to Sleep, available now on Amazon. Until next time, keep on learning, stay inspired, continue to flourish, and never stop evolving. I'm your host, Dr. C, and this is the Live Podcast.