My Story: The Nightmare of Insomnia

Anyone who has ever had a "bad night" only gets a small taste of how an insomniac feels.  I compare being an insomniac to being sick with a really bad flu only add crankiness, extreme anxiety, and huge bags under your eyes.  The one good thing about the flu...you know it will be over soon; not so with the insomnia monster.  The more you don't sleep, the more anxiety builds up---the more anxiety builds, the more you don't sleep.  At least with the flu you can call in sick to work or maybe have someone bring you soup in bed.  For the insomniac there is "no soup for you!"

About 6 months after I had my first child I fell into a bad habit.  When I would wake up in the night and couldn't fall back to sleep I would lay there for hours stewing.  This I found is the worst thing anyone can do.  My mind started to associate bed...awake, bed...awake.  Before long my bed became the enemy.  I rarely had trouble falling asleep but when I would wake up (and I always woke up) the real nightmare began.  I would cry, pray and sometimes read, then repeat the cycle.  I usually would fall asleep a couple of hours before my daughter would wake up.  My work suffered and I was cranky with my family. When would this end?  It went on for months...