Mr. X accepted a stressful job that caused insomnia. Despite various efforts to improve his sleep, his stress and lack of sleep worsened. He saw a doctor and started anxiety medication, which helped improve his sleep, health, and outlook. Mrs. Y went through a breakup that left her heartbroken and unable to sleep. She started behavioral therapy, yoga, meditation, and volunteering, which helped improve her confidence, sleep, and long-term happiness.

1. MR. X AND MRS. Y

2.  Last winter, people noticed there is something fishy behind Mr.
X’s successful smile. Others were trying hard to solve the
mystery behind Mrs. Y’s happiness secret.
 This is not a love story and Mr. X and Mrs. Y are not related in
anyways, but they both have something strange in common.
They both perfectly know how it means to be sleep deprived.

3.  It all started when Mr. X accepted the offer at the “Emotional
Stress” firm. Well, the name of the firm is not exactly that, but
this nickname is created by the firm’s employees since this is
how they feel about it, especially Mr. X.

4.  At first, he tried to ignore his stress and distract himself, but it
just got worst. He was up all night thinking about millions of
things. He de-cluttered his bedroom, stopped smoking and
drinking coffee, changed his mattress, sheets, and lights
and tried reading books, listening to relaxing music and
going to bed at the same time every night.

5.  It worked for sometime but then the wandering mind kept him
awake once again.
 He started having naps in his car during the lunch time, at his
desk and even in the firm’s washroom, but as he became
more tired, his performance went lower and his stress level
increased which itself contributed to his insomnia. It was like a
dead end loop with no hope.

6.  Enough is enough! He said it loud to himself one morning in
front of the mirror while shaving. Part of his face was covered
with blood after he cut the area accidently following another
restless night.

7.  5 weeks later, in front of the same mirror, he felt something is
different. He never believed in anti anxiety medicine, but
after seeing his doctor it looked like the best choice knowing
his current condition.
 Outside, he noticed flowers and birds again. Having a better
sleep he started eating healthier, exercising more often. He
felt ready to make necessary life changes as a long term
plan.

8.  But what is Mrs. Y’s happiness secret if she had the
same sleeping issue?
 It was less than two years ago when things didn’t work
out between him and Mr. Z. She didn’t know how to put
her broken pieces together and start over. She used to
rely so much on “Z” that she didn’t know how to move
forward on her own. She was
scared, lonely, heartbroken and sleepless.

9.  One of her friends suggested a very good therapist working
just two blocks away from her house.
 She decides to take the therapies advice and started
behavioral therapy, worked on her confidence, started
doing yoga and meditation.

10.  She also tried relaxing techniques before and at bedtime.
Listening to natural sounds was very soothing in addition to
breathing and visualization techniques.

11.  She felt so good after a while that not only she slept well, she
also joined a few clubs and used her extra time to do more
volunteering jobs. Volunteering made a big difference in her
life and happiness.

12.  She didn’t get where she is today fast but all the hard work
were totally worth it in terms of her long term happiness.
Today she loves and respects herself; gets a lot of support
from her, friends, family and community and sleeps at night
like a baby.