Being Unable to Sleep Led Ellen to the Brink of Insanity – But the Solution Was Under Her Nose All Along

4 min read
Evidence based
Dainius Jakucionis, MD
By Dainius Jakucionis, MD Updated on 2024 Jan 23

Sometimes, the problems we find ourselves facing are those of our own making. 

That was the case for Ellen, a 31-year-old writer from Akron, Ohio.

“Everything was running pretty smoothly; I felt like life was quite good, if not a little boring.”

Being a writer came with its perks, but often the cons felt a little overwhelming for Ellen. It can be tedious, always writing repetitive things in a thinly-veiled attempt to feel creative

Her story is one many people can relate to – no matter their profession or stage of life. Let’s dive into it. 

Any Day Now

Working a somewhat repetitive job can be, well, repetitive. That was certainly the case here, and slowly but noticeably, her productivity started to falter.

Most of us have heard of “writer’s block” before – Ellen started to experience it more and more often. 

“Those days of opening a blank document and feeling the creative juices flowing were gone – now even the smallest of tasks felt like my personal Everest.”

But wait, that’s normal, right? We all have those times when we feel like everything is becoming a little too much. 

But Ellen knew something was different. This lack of creativity was accompanied by something more concerning.

Procrastination. 

She wondered to herself: “I wasn’t consciously procrastinating, but I had the feeling that something inside me was holding me back, but what was it?”

Giants of All Sizes

Problems like this have a way of snowballing if they’re ignored for long enough.

Unfortunately, they also often tend to get worse before they get better. 

That was the situation Ellen soon found herself in.

“The real problems began when my sleep was affected – I wasn’t sleeping through the night, I had tremors, I woke up in cold sweats…” 

Every day she’d feel more and more tired. 

But then, by evening time, suddenly she felt like she had plenty of energy.

It’s a strange paradox, waking up feeling exhausted but being unable to sleep until 3 AM the very same day.

“I couldn’t figure out where these feelings had come from. I was trying all the typical methods to change it, like reading books, not using my phone before bed, etc.”

But nothing worked. 

Ellen was becoming more and more exhausted by the day. 

Until she finally hit a breaking point. 

Forget Myself

Ellen’s faltering performance at work hadn’t gone unnoticed by her peers and manager – but luckily, she worked in a company that understood that humans aren’t robots, and at times things are more complicated. 

They didn’t go as far as to offer support, but they did allow her the time to get back to her best. 

But Ellen knew deep down that this grace under pressure wouldn’t last forever. 

And after a few more weeks, her manager gave her an ultimatum

“She came in and told me, ‘Fix this, or you will be replaced.’”

Ellen was crushed. She enjoyed her job, despite the boredom that sometimes came with it. She never wanted to do anything other than writing, but suddenly the writing was on the wall.

She knew she had to do something.

So she did what anyone would do; she Googled her symptoms. 

Aside from the usual nonsense that came up, she found some online psychology groups and forums to join. 

After a while and during a conversation with a fellow forum member, she had a lightbulb moment. 

“He was talking to me about something called Bedtime Procrastination. I was winded; it explained so much.”

Great Expectations

After some research into what bedtime procrastination was, Ellen decided that in order to finally start her road to recovery, she needed to delve a little deeper. 

“I looked high and low for a solution, but nothing felt right – medications looked too heavy, psychiatrists were too expensive; I needed something else. And then I found Sensa.”

Not all apps are created equal. So at first, Ellen was quite skeptical. 

“To be honest, even though everything from the website looked promising, there was a niggling thought in the back of my mind telling me that it couldn’t be as good as it looked.”

But knowing the severity of her situation, Ellen chose to throw caution to the wind. 

“I haven’t looked back since.”

“After completing a really simple quiz, I was given a personalized summary of my issues, and it was like my mind was being read.”

Weather to Fly

After just a few weeks of using Sensa, she already felt like she was on the path to recovery.

“My mood improved overall, but the biggest difference was in the way I was taught: to sleep properly, to organize my thoughts, and even to see signs of procrastination before they could manifest.”

Ellen found the solution to her bedtime procrastination through Sensa – and we’re sure you will too. 

So, to find out exactly what you need to do in order to finally feel like yourself again – start the quiz below.

Dainius Jakucionis, MD

Dainius is a renowned psychotherapist, holding a Master’s Degree in Medicine and additional training in Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy.