For whatever reason, I began having difficulty sleeping in my mid thirties.  (I was 55 when I crashed.) At first it was an occasional thing. I would awake about 3:00 a.m and I would have difficulty getting back to sleep. My remedy back then would be to spend about an hour reading my Bible. Afterwards I would be able to get back to sleep.

As time went on, however, I began to loose the battle with insomnia and I resorted to sleeping aids (over-the-counter drugs). As time went on the insomnia worsened and I went begging for prescription drugs to solve my problem. I discovered that doctors really hesitate giving prescriptions for sleeping pills. They question a person's emotional stability if they are having difficulty sleeping. And, they hesitate giving a prescription for a drug that they know is very habit forming.

I'm sorry to say that I got dependent on the sleeping pills - addicted in other words. And, because of that I had my guilty conscience to deal with. I detest being dependent on any kind of medication, but at the time I was desperate. Eventually the sleeping pills were not helping. My body was needing more than the pills could give. I knew I had to get off the pills - I had to break the habit and I knew it would have to be cold-turkey. Going cold-turkey was quite an experience - one that I'll never forget. For three nights I did not sleep a wink. The fourth night I went into withdrawals - sweating, chills and stomach cramps. I was aware of what was happening in my body and once the symptoms subsided I knew I was free of the drug.

My battle with insonmia continued, however. By the time of my CRASH I was getting only two hours sleep each night. My naturopaths put me on a nutritional regimen and my sleep improved greatly overnight.

I discovered that many things contributed (and still contribute) to my insomnia. It, like depression, is a most complicated symptom that can have many causes. I continue to battle insomnia to a degree.

I continue to have difficulty sleeping during a full moon. As strange
as that sounds, I have experienced this for decades. I mentioned this
to a chiropractor and he prescribed a copper detox homeopathic remedy. It seemed to cure the problem.

Note: A doctor asked me, "What do you mean by insomnia? Do you have difficulty going to sleep or do you have difficulty staying asleep?" I answered, "Both".