How Deeandra reclaimed her life from insomnia and got her sleep back on track without medication (#37)

Deeandra always slept well but a stressful period in her life led to 48 hours of no sleep whatsoever and this generated a lot of anxiety. Deeandra started to panic and thought that she had lost the ability to sleep. Doctors gave her different medications that didn't always seem to be helpful and came with their own set of side effects. For three years, Deeandra put her life on hold while she engaged in a long list of rituals and experiments in an attempt to improve her sleep. Gradually, Deeandra moved away from trying to control sleep and avoid nighttime wakefulness. She started to go to bed only when sleepy enough for sleep. She decided to live her life regardless of how she slept at night. She started to do things she'd withdrawn from — she no longer canceled plans, she started to exercise again. Little by little she reclaimed her life from insomnia — and her sleep began to improve. Today, Deeandra averages around six to seven hours of sleep. She still has difficult nights from time to time but they no longer have such an effect on her life. In Deeandra's own words, "life is about the time we spend awake, not the time that we sleep". 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, Deeandra. Thank you so much for coming onto the podcast today. Deeandra: Thank you, Martin. Thank you for having me. Martin Reed: It's great to have you on let's just start right at the beginning as always. If you could just let us know when your sleep problems first began and what you think caused your initial issues with sleep. Deeandra: Well, it started in 2018. I was going through a stressful time in my life, lots of stress, lots of problems at work, and switching houses, and stuff like that. I was going through a tremendous amount of stress, but I actually used to be a really great sleeper even through stress and anxiety. I mean, strangely, I never really struggled that much with sleep before. But in 2018, I don't know, maybe it was lots of stuff going on, and I basically just started struggling with sleep. All of a sudden I couldn't sleep. Before I would have a sleepless night every now and then, and I wouldn't really think much of it. It would happen and the next night I would be okay. I would go to sleep and I would recover from that. Deeandra: The first night, after this lots of stress, I struggled for sleep that one sleepless night. I said, "Okay, a sleepless night. It happens every once in a while. It's nothing in particular. And the next night I will sleep." And the next night happened and still, I didn't sleep. And then I thought, "Oh my God, this has never happened before. Why I'm still not sleeping. I mean, this is the second night I'm not sleeping. This is new. I mean, this is not something I have experienced before.