Insomnia, a curse or a blessing in disguise?
Insomnia interferes with a lot in your life, but it is also a great way to get to know yourself (as I experienced). As such it is a blessing disguised as a curse. I have a long history of “Lack of Sense of Self.” I had over 20 years of insomnia, and in time thankfully I learned what was going on. To start the day exhausted while others begin it refreshed doesn’t feel just or fair. For those who suffer from insomnia–which diminishes your vitality, focus and productivity–it is painful to not have the vitality to express oneself. Getting to the root of why this sleeplessness is hard work mingled with alternating feelings of desperation and a longing for peace of mind. My choice was to say no to sleep-inducing drugs. Knowing what causes this condition isn’t solved by drugging yourself. In fact, taking drugs takes away the urge to face the task of investigating what lives beneath your insomnia. After 20 years of explorations in my Inner Self and my personal circumstances, I put my finger on a problem. I have not found a true source of sleeplessness being addressed in Allopathic or even in Alternative Health Care; that being a Lack of Sense of Self or Fear for Loss of Self. To be able to connect to your Inner Self and experience a (steady) Sense of Self (SOS) is largely taken for granted. When I speak to people about this concept of Sense of Self they often ask, “What is that exactly?” To be grounded or to center yourself are phrases used liberally and with an ease by many counselors and health care professionals that suggest it is an easy thing to do. Throughout my 20 years of insomnia, I found that was not the case. The idea of being in a relationship with yourself in such a way that you can access that Sense of Self at any moment was unknown to me. I would then spend many years to come to the conclusion that I was missing something that others clearly were accessing continuously during the day (and night). This Sense of Self was clearly something that popped up automatically for others when needed–or so I imagined. In other words, something was present with them on sub-conscious level that was absent from me. To discover that you don’t have something that others do, which you don’t know is missing in the first place (because you don’t know that it exists) was quite a shock to me. This realization would have never occurred to me if I had taken sleeping pills as my solution. Insomnia can be the symptom of the disease “Lack of Sense of Self (LOSS)”. Instead of keeping our focus on eliminating the insomnia, it is helpful to work on growing a Sense of Self or on restoring to whole health the existing one. The Sense of Self Method can heal insomnia, and the other negative impacts sleeplessness has on one’s life. To learn even more about ways to overcome what’s keeping you from sleeping at night and from being your most effective, Healthiest Self, sign up for our newsletter and take our online Sense of Self-Help! course.