Insomnia is more than an inability to sleep.

It’s this overwhelming feeling of being too exhausted but restless.

Anxiety is a clock that never stops ticking away the hours.

Chronic pain brings tossing and turning relentlessly with no relief.

“Insomnia comes in many shapes and sizes: it can be the result of chronic pain, anxiety, or just exist on its own.”

You try everything that’s supposed to help.

Melatonin

Reading

Turning off your phone

Home remedies

Going to bed earlier

White Noise

Soft Music

binaural beats

Cuddling

Exercising

Yoga

No caffeine

Meditating

Praying

Counting sheep

Trying every single online article trick from counting backwards by threes to balancing chakras.

And get irritated when you’re told that you aren’t trying hard enough.

You are more exhausted getting up then when you first lay down.

Getting 3 hours of sleep in the 12 hours you lay there is a good night.

But you still never truly feel refreshed upon waking.

Yet you’re an expert at looking like you’ve gotten 9 hours of sleep.

You’re not lazy, you’re too tired to function.

It’s the endless cycle of being frustrated that you can’t sleep, and that frustration then making it harder to sleep.

When someone tells you they have insomnia, don’t say “I have trouble falling asleep sometimes too.”

Listen.