A Man Who Couldn’t Sleep Well for More Than Ten Years

A woman brought her husband to see me regarding his sleeping disorder.

“When did it start” I asked.

“More than 10 years ago,” he said.

“What major thing happened in your life before this started?”

“My dad died.”

“You felt very sad about it?”

He nodded.

“You cried a lot?”

He nodded.

“You then forced yourself not to cry?”

He nodded.

“And then you had trouble sleeping.”

He nodded, and his wife interjected, “That’s it. That’s why I ban him from going to any wake. Even if he just sees a wake happening from afar, surely for the whole night he won’t be able to sleep.”

With the matter confirmed, I talked to him about death, helping him to see the reality and inevitability of death. He was very receptive.

That was the first and the last time I saw him. But I did meet his wife about a month later, and took the chance to inquire about her husband. She said, “Oh, he can sleep now.”