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Susie never had a great relationship with sleep — but dealing with her insomnia wasn't something that was high on her list of priorities. That all changed, however, when Susie went overseas and her sleeping pills seemed to suddenly stop working. Quite understandably, Susie's anxiety skyrocketed and she ended up cutting her vacation short and returning home.

It was at this point that Susie realized she had to do something to improve her sleep. In this episode, Susie talks about the changes she made to create significantly better conditions for sleep. She also discusses the challenges she faced as she implemented these changes, and describes the ups and downs she experienced along the way.

Susie used to feel anxious about going to bed and used to dislike even being in her bedroom. Today, Susie loves her bedroom, loves sleep, and is confident in her natural ability to sleep. This transformation was entirely down to her own efforts to address the thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate sleep disruption, her natural ability to sleep, and her refusal to give up!

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Martin Reed:
Welcome to the Insomnia Coach Podcast. My name is Martin Reed. I believe that nobody needs to live with chronic insomnia and that evidence-based cognitive and behavioral techniques can help you enjoy better sleep for the rest of your life.

Martin Reed:
The content of this podcast is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. The statements and opinions expressed by guests are their own and are not necessarily endorsed by Insomnia Coach LLC. All content is provided "as is" and without warranties, either express or implied.

Martin Reed:
Hello Susie. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come on to the podcast.

Susie Mason:
Hey Martin. I'm really happy to do this. And it's good to see you.

Martin Reed:
Yes, it's great to see you too. It's always such a difference because so much of the communication I do with clients or visitors to my website is just by email, the written word, and sometimes I don't actually get to see people. So it's always nice to just put a face to the name and actually see the person that I'm communicating with.

Susie Mason:
Yeah, definitely. Same. It's good to see you. And really, I'm really happy to be doing this too. I want to. It'd be really nice to give other people the knowledge that they can get through insomnia. The hellish thing, and I'd really like to enable somebody else to do that, because it's made such a difference to my life. It's really nice for you too because I've got so much from you.

Martin Reed:
Great. I appreciate that, and I know that everyone listening to this is going to get so much from you too. So without further ado, let's start right at the beginning. So, when did your sleep problems begin, and do you have any idea what that initial trigger for your sleep issues was?

Susie Mason:
Yeah, definitely. I had a pretty traumatic childhood. I was terrified of going to bed. It started really early. I was scared to go to bed, and if I did go to sleep, I would wake up in the night and I'd be screaming. I'd be terrified. And I don't know how that got dealt with really, and my parents were always arguing about me.