How Vicky changed her approach to insomnia when sleeping pills stopped working after 20 years (#43)

Listen to the podcast episode (audio only) Vicky dealt with her insomnia by taking sleeping pills and this seemed to work well until one night, after 20 years of regular use, the medication didn't help her sleep. This led Vicky to think that something was wrong with her. She felt alone. She felt that without getting the amount of sleep she wanted to get, she would be unable to take care of her children and she wouldn't be able to be the person she wanted to be or live the life she wanted to live. She started to experience a lot of anxiety and would wake up in the middle of the night and have panic attacks. This all led Vicky to explore a new approach to insomnia that involved letting go of the struggle. She began to recognize that difficult thoughts and feelings, although very unpleasant, didn't need to prevent her from doing things that mattered — so she didn't need to engage in a battle with them. Vicky started to allow her mind to think what it wanted to think and to generate the full range of human feelings and emotions. She started to acknowledge and make space for thoughts and feelings — even though she often wished they weren't showing up — instead of going to war with them. She committed to doing things that were important and meaningful even after difficult nights and even in the presence of uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. Today, Vicky still experiences some difficult nights from time to time but she is no longer engaged in an exhausting and distracting battle with her mind throughout the day and throughout the night. She is living the kind of life she wants to live even when difficult nights happen and even when uncomfortable thoughts and feelings show up. In fact, Vicky now thinks of her insomnia as a gift — as something that has helped her become more resilient and better able to react in a more workable way to the difficulties we all experience as human beings. Click here for a full transcript of this episode.Click here to hide the transcript. Martin Reed: Welcome to the Insomnia Coach Podcast. My name is Martin Reed. I believe that by changing how we respond to insomnia and all the difficult thoughts and feelings that come with it, we can move away from struggling with insomnia and toward living the life we want to live. Martin Reed: The content of this podcast is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. The statements and opinions expressed by guests are their own and are not necessarily endorsed by Insomnia Coach LLC. All content is provided "as is" and without warranties, either express or implied. Martin Reed: Okay. So Vicky, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come onto the podcast. Vicky Chiu: Yeah, absolutely. I'm really grateful to be here. Thank you. Martin Reed: I'm really looking forward to everything that we are hoping to cover today, so let's just dive right in. Let’s start, if you could just tell us when your sleep problems first began and what you think caused those initial issues with sleep. Vicky Chiu: I'll start right from the very beginning where it all started in my teens and I think it's about when I was 17. I got my very first early morning job, and of course, that got my nerves going before when I go to bed, and actually I didn't sleep well. But then going on forward with that job,