A good friend recently sent me a link for a web based tv channel which broadcasts programmes on the themes of consciousness, healing and psychology. Anyway, I found a programme in which Dr Guy Meadows was being interviewed, the director of the London Sleep Clinic. It was pretty interesting to hear his take on insomnia. He has helped hundreds and hundreds of people lead a normal life again (including the presenter who, after 10 years of poor sleep, was "cured" after a single session with him.)
What I took from watching the interview was a simple heartening fact which helps in some way to face the day after yet another night of very little sleep (2? 3 hours?).
Three quarters of the people Dr Meadows sees are women. Of these women, roughly half of them stop sleeping after they hit menopause. And the other half stop sleeping after the birth of their first child. I felt like he was describing me exactly - that up to that point in their lives, sleep had not been an issue. But along comes a small person who naturally disrupts your sleep patterns and then even when they start sleeping through the night, you don't, because all it has taken is a night or two of 'worrying' about sleep and not getting enough to trigger something more enduring.
The reason that I find this so comforting is that there have been many, many times when I wonder what on earth is wrong with me, if I'm completely abnormal or quite simply losing it. But the fact that Meadows treats so many women in a similar situation to me suggests that I don't necessarily have deep-rooted pyschological issues that need resolving before I can sleep again (phew!) and that there are many, many people out there going through something similar to me. You see, I've never met anyone who's been through this before and I don't think I really want to either. But it's good to know I'm not alone.
I remember now, although I had buried it. I didn't honestly get a decent nights sleep when my girls were tiny. Five years of a half sleep, an eye open, ears perked sleep that rendered me exhausted and slightly insane. I'd forgotten all about it. I know it's not the same as you but it was awful. I remember crying a lot and wondering why I couldn't cope. I also recall the memory of thinking I will never ever sleep the sleep of satisfaction but of course, it passed and I did. Still do. Feeling for you over here
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That's so interesting to hear Lou. And very, very reassuring. Because that's what I'm hanging in there for - the knowledge (or hope)that this isn't a permanent state of affairs. Interesting too that those memories have been largely buried even though it sounds like it had a big impact on your life at the time - I guess that our minds are very good at remembering only what we want to remember.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing that xx