Insomnia!
That word used to conjure up thoughts of tossing and turning in bed. Restlessness. Frustration. Not knowing what to do with myself during the early hours of the morning. Constantly looking at the time & experiencing an eternity in every minute.
I hate medication of any sort, even shying away from doctors during bouts of the flu, so sleeping pills have never been an option for me.
That was then. That was all before I decided to accept that I have an over active mind and embrace my insomnia.
So, instead of spending my nights tossing and turning, I decided to use the time to do something productive.
I’ve always had a passion for writing so I decided to do just that. Over the last year alone I’ve written and published 3 books, all written on my trusty little BlackBerry during the early hours.
I didn’t stop there. I also used the time to learn new soft skills and read up stuff on the internet. Anything of interest. Knowledge, after all, is power, so they say.
Just three short weeks ago I had no idea how websites worked, the language used to construct them or where they lived on the internet, but here I am now writing a blog post on a website and blog built by myself over the last two nights, thanks to my insomnia. I literally learnt about HTML & HTML5 responsive websites over the last 3 weeks, learning during the early hours and balancing a busy career during the day.
Admittedly, there are nights when I just feel lazy and spend the time chatting to other insomniacs on my social media. You know who you are and here’s a shout out to you! I appreciate the company.
I really do look forward to my insomnia now with so many new things to learn and the world’s knowledge base right within my grasp on the internet.
Perhaps I am a freak of nature? Maybe I’m just crazy enough to take a sleep disorder and turn it into something positive? I don’t know.
What are your experiences with insomnia? How do you cope? I’d love to hear from others who experience this condition.
– YRS