Why I recommend Insight Timer to my clients
I’ve used the Insight Timer app almost daily for a few years, and I’m always recommending it to my clients.
Not necessarily for meditation, but as a form of self-regulation, self-care and self-therapy.
About Insight Timer
Insight Timer is a free meditation and sleep app featuring over 300,000 guided meditations, talks and music tracks.
Source: Insight Timer
Insight Timer for sleep
Many of my clients struggle with insomnia due to anxiety and racing thoughts.
Here are my tips for using Insight Timer if you find it hard to sleep as well:
Search for tracks on Insight Timer that touch on whatever is bothering you.
You could search for a topic, e.g. anxiety, loneliness or a breakup.
Or you could search for tracks on relaxation, insomnia or sleep.
2. Choose a guided meditation, talk or music track.
Music tracks can be relaxing but might not be sufficiently distracting for racing thoughts.
Talks can give you more insight but may be too stimuating at bedtime. Though listening to boring talks puts me to sleep really quickly!
Guided meditations usually include relaxation exercises, which can be helpful for sleep.
3. Play the track and just let yourself drift.
Why this helps
Relaxation: If you choose a guided meditation, it usually starts with relaxation exercises like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation where you consciously relax each part of your body in turn. This helps you to get to sleep more quickly. It’s also good for your body to practise relaxing.
Distraction: When you listen to a guided meditation or talk, it’s harder to pay attention to your ruminative thoughts. Again, this helps you to calm down and relax more quickly.
Companionship: It can feel lonely when you’re awake at night. Listening to a voice can give you a sense that someone is there with you and you’re not alone.
Insight: When you listen to a talk or guided meditation about the issue that’s bothering you, it can help you to gain new perspectives and insights. This is a form of self-therapy that can help you grow.
Meditation: If you enjoy meditating or would like to try it, listening to guided meditations is a gentle way to get into it.
Insight Timer for SOS
Insight Timer also offers lots of short tracks for SOS situations, such as panic attacks, addictions, anger and burnout.
Listening to a calming voice can be very grounding and comforting when you’re feeling overwhelmed and need instant support.
Just knowing that this resource is immediately available when you need it can make you feel less anxious.
More support
Insight Timer can be very helpful in your healing and growth journey. But as with any self-regulation tool, it can also be used as an escape from doing the deeper work, like papering over the cracks.
If you find that you’re still anxious or unhappy most of the time, it might be time to take a look at what’s going on inside.
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Get in touch
Feel free to get in touch for a free introductory call or to arrange a session.
Eunice Tan
Trauma & Attachment Psychotherapist, Free From Trauma
I help people heal from painful memories.
