How Abbie went from being ruled by insomnia to getting her life back by stepping out of the struggle (#76)

Abbie has long brunette hair and is sitting on a chair facing the camera with a smile as she talks about her insomnia experience

Abbie’s experience with insomnia didn’t just affect her nights — it slowly began shaping her days, her plans, and how much freedom she felt in her life. What started after a brief illness turned into constant pressure around sleep and an ongoing effort to make it go a certain way.

Like many people, Abbie tried to fix the problem. Earlier bedtimes, strict routines, supplements — all in the hope that sleep would finally come more easily. Instead, the struggle took up more space, and life began to feel smaller.

In this episode, Abbie shares what began to change when she stepped out of that struggle. Not by forcing sleep, but by shifting how she responded and re-engaging with her life. It’s an honest, grounded conversation about insomnia — and what can happen when the struggle stops running everything.

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How Natasha went from structuring her days around insomnia to letting sleep come naturally again by putting life before sleep (#75)

Natasha has dark shoulder length hair and is wearing a neutral colored top while sitting in her bedroom and smiling at the camera.

Natasha’s insomnia began during the pandemic, when a single rough night grew into a pattern of worry and disrupted sleep. She spent a lot of time looking for solutions and trying different products, hoping something might quiet the fear she felt around bedtime and make sleep feel easier.

Things began to shift when she stopped treating sleep as something she had to fix. Instead of endlessly monitoring sleep, she allowed herself to do ordinary things again — watching TV shows she enjoyed at night, keeping morning plans, and making choices that reflected the life she wanted to live.

As she moved toward the things that mattered to her, nights became less of a struggle and sleep started to fall into place by itself. Today, sleep isn’t something she chases, and her days are no longer shaped by insomnia.

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How Dan went from feeling broken to regaining confidence in his natural ability to sleep by changing his response to insomnia (#74)

Dan, a man sitting indoors, smiling and taking about regaining sleep confidence

Dan’s insomnia began suddenly. What started as a couple of sleepless nights quickly escalated into months of clock-watching, strict routines, and desperate attempts to fix sleep. The harder he tried, the more stuck he felt — and before long, he was convinced he was broken.

Everything changed when Dan began responding differently. Instead of fighting with his nights, he focused on easing the pressure, limiting clock-checks, and committing to meaningful actions during the day. Over time, he realized he could notice his thoughts without believing them, and his confidence in his body’s natural ability to sleep returned.

In this episode, Dan shares the ups and downs of that journey — and what finally made the difference.

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How Kelly reclaimed her life from insomnia by stopping the fight with sleep and dropping the struggle with her thoughts (#73)

Kelly, a woman with long blonde hair, is sitting in a chair and smiling at the camera as she talks about reclaiming her life from insomnia

Kelly’s insomnia began after the birth of her first child. Sleepless nights quickly turned into panic-filled evenings, anxious days, and a desperate search for fixes that only made things worse.

Her turning point came when she realized it wasn’t her body that was broken, but the exhausting fight with sleep and her thoughts. By loosening her grip, letting go of rituals, and meeting thoughts with openness, she began to live more freely.

When insomnia returned during pregnancy, Kelly chose acceptance over fear. Instead of battling sleepless nights, she allowed them to unfold. The fear eased, sleep returned naturally, and today her life is no longer defined by insomnia.

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How Stephanie got her life back from insomnia by letting go of the fight she thought she had to win (#72)

Stephanie is wearing glasses and a plaid shirt, smiling at the camera, and talking about how she ended the fight with insomnia

After one sleepless night in Switzerland triggered panic attacks, Stephanie found herself trapped in a cycle of fear and fixes — strict rules, heavy meds, endless searches for answers at 3am. Nothing worked.

Her turning point came when she stopped fighting sleep and started meeting insomnia and all the difficult thoughts and feelings that can come with it with acceptance. In this episode, she shares how letting go helped her rebuild trust, presence, and her life — one night at a time.

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How Laura found freedom from insomnia by accepting her thoughts — not just her sleepless nights (#71)

Laura is a woman with long fair hair and wearing glasses and a white shirt while in a room, smiling at the camera, talking about her insomnia transformation.

Laura’s insomnia began during one of the happiest times in her life. She tried everything to fix it but nothing worked. The real shift came when she stopped fighting her thoughts and started meeting them with openness and compassion.

This is her story of letting go of the struggle and moving forward — with or without sleep.

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How Rebecca went from doing everything right and still struggling with sleep to letting go and achieving insomnia freedom (#70)

Rebecca is an older woman with short brown hair. She is wearing a red top and sitting in her kitchen while smiling at the camera as she talks about insomnia freedom.

Rebecca never struggled with sleep — until 24-hour shifts as a hospital-based midwife changed everything. To protect her patients, she stayed awake through every shift. Eventually, she couldn’t sleep even when she tried.

She turned to medication, tracked every detail, followed every rule — but sleep only got harder. It wasn’t until she stopped chasing sleep, and started reconnecting with life, that things began to shift.

Today, Rebecca lives fully. She has achieved insomnia freedom.

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How Rupsa ended her insomnia struggle by being more open to experiencing insomnia and all the thoughts and feelings that come with it (#69)

Rupsa is a young Asian woman wearing glasses and a dark top, sitting in a room and smiling at the camera while talking about how she stopped struggling with insomnia

Sleep was never a problem for Rupsa but after experiencing some professional challenges and moving to a new city, it became a struggle.

Although Rupsa found a new job and everything was going well in her life, her struggle with sleep continued. She started to fear each night. Her heart would race. It felt like her mind was working against her.

Things started to change when Rupsa realized her mind was actually trying to help her. When she stopped struggling with her thoughts and feelings, when she stopped trying to control sleep, when she practiced accepting what was out of her control, things started to improve.

Rupsa now sleeps well and whenever a night of less sleep shows up from time to time, it no longer has any power or influence over her life.

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How Tim broke the cycle of sleep anxiety and insomnia by relinquishing control, embracing self-kindness, and building skill in acceptance (#68)

Tim is an older male wearing glasses and a maroon dress shirt. He is sitting in a room while smiling at the camera and talking about how he dealt with insomnia and anxiety by practicing acceptance.

A few bad nights during a stressful period triggered Tim’s struggle with insomnia. The more he tried to fix his sleep, the more difficult it became, the more power and influence it had over his life, and the more anxiety he experienced.

Tim’s transformation began when he realized that trying to control sleep was keeping him stuck and that his response to the fear of not sleeping was a bigger problem than being awake at night.

As Tim relinquished control over sleep and was less resistant to experiencing insomnia and all the thoughts and feelings that come with it, insomnia began to lose the stranglehold it once had over his life — and sleep started to show up all by itself.

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How Sophie recovered from postpartum insomnia by moving away from trying to control her sleep so she could regain control over her life (#67)

Sophie wearing a black top sitting in front of an open door, smiling at the camera and talking about her recovery from postpartum insomnia

Sophie never thought of herself as a great sleeper but when her son was born, sleep became a real struggle. This was expected in the short-term but when things became more difficult over time, Sophie became increasingly desperate. Listening to the stories of others offered reassurance and gave Sophie a new way forward that led to improvements.

Unfortunately, after a few months insomnia returned and seemed to be taking over her life. This is when Sophie committed to an approach that involved committing to actions that reflected who she was and the life she wanted to live, regardless of how she slept. As she did this she realized how much power she still had over her life. How capable and resilient she was, independently of sleep.

Sleep started to lose its importance. It became less of a focus. And, as a result, it was able to take care of itself and it lost all its power and influence.

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