I Took Control Of My Insomnia And Got My Life Back!

Carol Hickson, 54, shares how she overcame four years of sleep loss to take control, banish stress and feel energised.

- Rachel Tompkins

I WAS NEVER A PARTICULARLY good sleeper. Most of my life I’ve tossed and turned, and I went through phases of having nightmares. Then, in November 2012 my dad was diagnosed with cancer. I was a mother-of-three, having problems at work, and studying for a degree at night-school, too. With all this going on I began waking at 3am and just couldn’t get back to sleep. Then I started waking at 2am, and then 1am. Dad died in the January.

Soon the effect of the grief and the lack of sleep meant I was tired all day and irritable with my partner, Richard, and my children, Cieran, then 19, Liam, then 22, and Rebecca, then 24. I was struggling to concentrate at work, and lacking patience. My body was suffering too, and I began picking up colds that wouldn’t go away. After six months my GP prescribed sleeping tablets and anti-depressants. Although I insisted I wasn’t depressed, I was so desperate that I agreed. Initially, they allowed me to sleep for a few hours a night, but the next day I walked around in a haze with an awful metallic taste in my mouth, and growing anxiety.

A DOWNWARD SPIRAL