Sunday 4 December 2011

367 sheep, 368 sheep... Beating Insomnia

My parents have held a longtime grudge against me since birth. Which is unfair since I was never the one at fault. I am a victim of genetic Insomnia. So mom? Start pointing fingers at dad, thank you very much.

It is an old complaint that my parents would put me to bed, and one hour later I would be wide awake and wanting to play. One of them would then have to drag themselves out of bed to entertain me in the early hours of the morning. And things didn’t change. Right through my childhood I have memories of being awake at night. This is what my mom has been trying to cure ever since.

She has tried everything. When I was little  she was hesitant to put me on medication, fearing I would become dependant on it for sleep. Cue the interesting alternatives.

First I remember warm milk. Which I usually accompanied with Oreos as my personal touch to the idea. This may or may not have worked for a few days. Next was Horlicks, the taste of which I can’t stand to this day. That in effect did less than nothing, apart from putting me off Horlicks for the rest of my life. Thirdly, we tried magnesium. I took it religiously for weeks until a family member told me that magnesium doesn’t affect the members of our family. That idea flew out the window.

Finally giving in she put me on sleep medication, some of which worked and some of which I was immune to. The dark circles I had under my eyes were now as familiar as the sleepless nights, and it seemed I would never find the balance.

The problem was solved by accident.

My friend and I headed to the mall. We browsed, and came across a little stall selling crystals. Interested, I started looking at the pieces and saw one that I liked. It was a glittery brown stress crystal and I bought it, for fun. This became my salvation. I was stressed one night and started playing with the crystal. BOOM! Five seconds later I was asleep. Amazingly, this worked every night!

So if you suffer from the same problem, I’ll say this: don’t take the easiest route, because its not healthy. Try lots of different things, until you find the best solution for you. It might just change your life!

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