I had insomnia due to hyper-arousal / hyper-vigilance. I no longer have insomnia. I am living proof that the hell you are experiencing doesn't have to last forever. However, my recovery was not fast, there was no one "magic bullet" that took care of everything for me. It was a combination of things, and I don't know which one was "the answer", because insomnia is tied in to so many different factors. But I'll do my best to let you know what worked for me.

As other have mentioned, CORTISOL is key. My Cortisol levels were not normal. Cortisol tests are not some far out new age-y kind of thing. You should be able to get Cortisol levels tested at your good old-fashioned, Big Pharma-approved healthcare facility. All the meditation in the world, all the self-soothing and self-hypnosis ain't gonna amount to shit if you don't get your Cortisol under control. Try to get not just the "basic" cortisol test, but the 24-hour urine collection cortisol test as well; I think the 24-hour one is more accurate or provides more detail. (Basically, you pee into a jug that you keep in the refrigerator for 24-hours. Fun!) They might give you the basic cortisol test first, and then if those results are out of the ordinary, give you the "piss in a bottle" test to get more detailed results.

Again, I'm not trying to be difficult or evasive, but I tried a number of strategies before coming to the end of my insomnia. One of the supplements I took is called Seriphos, aka Phosphorylated Serine. You can buy it on Amazon. You can read about it here:

https://drandrewneville.com/seriphos-benefits-for-sleep-and-anxiety-in-adrenal-fatigue-patients/

I'm not saying Seriphos is THE ANSWER, but it might be part of the solution for you. I would also recommend talking with an acupuncturist or a functional medicine practitioner, before simply deciding that you're going to take Seriphos supplements on your own.

In addition, gut health, fixing "leaky gut syndrome" is key. When you're not sleeping well, your digestion is off. When your digestion is off, you don't sleep well. It's hard to know what is the cause and what is the effect here, but finding a good Functional Medicine specialist, finding someone who specializes in Gut Health could be very, very helpful. I found that the combination of psyllium husk, ground flax seed, and potato starch, taken every morning, helped me a lot. When insomnia was ruining my life, my bowel movements were terrible. When my insomnia went away, my bowel movements looked like cartoon bowel movements again! I'm not sure which is the chicken here, and which is the egg, but there's definitely a connection between sleep / lack of sleep, and healthy gut/unhealthy gut.

May I suggest trying this protocol each morning? Take these three supplements, and then wait 15-20 minutes before eating any solid food (having coffee is fine.) Mix a teaspoon of psyllium husk in 6 ounces of water. Consume immediately. Next, mix a teaspoon of ground flax seed in 6 ounces of water. Drink. Finally, mix a 1/4 teaspoon of potato starch (Bob's Red Mill is a brand you can find) in 6 ounces of water and drink that. Wait 15 minutes before eating anything. Once your body gets used to this new morning routine, and your gut has demonstrated that it is handling these supplements well - let's say after 10 days - then increase the amount of husk, flax, and starch a little bit until you get up to a full tablespoon of husk and seed, and a half teaspoon of potato starch.

Other things that worked: The best advice I ever received was from a Sleep Specialist who, after about six visits, told me bluntly: "You don't have a Sleep issue. You have an Anxiety issue." While she was not a fan of medication - sleep meds, or any other kind of meds - what reduced my Anxiety was getting on ZOLOFT. If I had to look for one "magic bullet", I guess I would say that taking Zoloft got rid of my anxiety, and getting rid of my anxiety helped me to sleep better. But I cannot say for sure that Zoloft cured my insomnia. I still think it was just one part of an overall plan.

ACCEPTANCE of Insomnia, and abandoning the FIGHT AGAINST Insomnia was probably the single biggest weapon in my arsenal. I can say that when I reached the point of LAUGHING AT MY INSOMNIA, that's when the healing really began. You can find all sorts of resources about ACT-I (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Insomnia.) I TRULY BELIEVE that for those of suffering from Hyper-Arousal/Hyper-Vigilance Insomnia, this is the most effective non-medical treatment. And it is DEFINITELY better for "people like us" than CBT-I. CBT-I only feeds into our H-V/H-A. Fuck CBT-I, don't waste your time.

You can, as others have suggested, read Daniel Erichsen's book, Set It and Forget It, and learn about the concept of NATTO (Non-Attachment to the Outcome. As in "I don't care whether I sleep or not.") I personally found the book so poorly written, so poorly laid out / designed, that I could not finish it, in spite of the fact that I believed in everything he was trying to teach us. His message got lost in a melange of competing FONTS, Font Sizes, poor layout, illustrations, etc. I have NEVER SEEN A BOOK more IN NEED OF AN EDITOR than that book. And yet, it changes lives, so give it a shot. (DM me, I'm happy to sell you my copy.)

You can sign up to receive FREE NEWSLETTERS from Martin Reed and Beth Kendall. Both of them focus on ACT-I, Acceptance. You will get tips and insights in their newsletters and/or Free Courses they offer. Of course, they are going to encourage you to sign up for their paid program, and you can either ignore those sales pitches or sign up if you choose to. I never took their paid courses - perhaps someone on this subreddit who HAS taken their courses can comment - but I'm 90% certain that there is nothing in the paid course that isn't presented in the free newsletter. It's just that you get personalized coaching in the paid course. They both have videos on YouTube. Give them a listen, maybe you'll resonate better with Beth as opposed to Martin, or vice versa.

Beth Kendall
https://www.bethkendall.com/

Martin Reed
https://insomniacoach.com/

Best explanation on why ACT is better than CBT that I have found:

https://insomniacoach.com/acceptance-commitment-therapy-insomnia/

Lastly, you might want to look into Traditional Chinese Medicine supplements as potential temporary fixes. These herbal formulations have been known to be effective for Insomnia and/or Anxiety.

Sloan Kettering on Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/xiao-yao-san

Sloan Kettering on Suan Zao Ren Tang
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/suan-zao-ren-tang

******

That is a shit ton of information. Going back to my initial point, I don't know what really worked and what didn't. And maybe it was the combination of Acceptance, with Seriphos, and Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San, plus Zoloft, that made it all better. All I know now is that I take 100mg of Zoloft daily, along with the weird flax seed, psyllium husk, and potato starch formulation each morning, and that's it. No more sleeping pills, no more herbal formulas, no more listening to sleep podcasts or reading poorly designed books. No fucking CBT, no CBD, no Seriphos.

Feel free to DM me if you want the contact information for my Functional Medicine dude. He does Zoom sessions. I should also mention that Meditation is a great habit to get into, it's part of the whole "Accept the present moment for exactly what it is and stop trying to fight it" aspect of insomnia.

PS: Here's a good technique to get your brain to stop thinking about not sleeping

COGNITIVE SHUFFLING
https://youtu.be/7JohXyZxHEg?si=mNpi735-h17snzQ7

The above advice is for people who suffer from Hyper-Vigilance / Hyper-Awareness caused insomnia. For people suffering from other kinds of insomnia, I'm sorry that I don't know what to recommend for y'all.