Where There Is Hope, There Is Healing: My Journey With “Narcolepsy”
Okay, I’m just going to put it out there.
This is a part of me I have avoided sharing publicly for a while. The one about my so-called narcolepsy, my lifelong relationship with sleep, and the deeper truth my body has been trying to tell me all along.
My Lifelong Relationship With Sleep
I’ve struggled with sleep for as long as I can remember. I was all about the sleepovers as a kid, but I was always the one who fell asleep first. In college is became a running joke, a couple drinks in and I’d be the “passed out” girl, except I wasn’t passed out in the crazy intoxicated college way. I was just…asleep. My body would simply shut down.
As I entered adulthood, it became less funny. Long drives were hard. Short drives were hard. Even red lights were hard. I’d doze off without meaning to, and for a long time I brushed it off as “just how I am.”
The Moment I Knew Something Was Wrong
There’s one moment I’ll never forget.
I had just had my oldest daughter. I was working almost an hour away, exhausted in that new-mom way that feels like living underwater. One morning, on a short 15-minute drive with her in the backseat, I dozed off. My car drifted into the opposite lane.
Thank God there was no one coming.
That was the moment I knew I needed help.
Five Years of Searching for Answers
Throughout the last five years, I’ve seen neurologists, sleep specialists, more neurologists and more sleep specialists. I did sleep studies beyond sleep studies. Eventually, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy.
But here’s the thing: something in me never fully believed I had narcolepsy.
My inner knowing, the part of me that has always been attuned to my body and my energy, kept saying, This isn’t the whole story.
Still, I did what you’re supposed to do. I tried every medication they offered. None of them helped. Eventually I was prescribed Adderall, and even at the maximum dose, it didn’t touch the symptoms. Sure, I could focus more. But the sleepiness? The shutdown? Still there.
And I remember thinking: If this is the highest dose and it’s still not working, something has to change.
A Different Kind of Understanding
Through my daily practices, yoga, meditation, breathwork, slowing down, integrating pieces from my own trauma therapy experiences and learning about my sensitivity as an empath, I started to see a different pattern.
My body wasn’t “malfunctioning.”
It was protecting me.
What looked like narcolepsy symptoms often felt more like a parasympathetic shutdown, a freeze response, especially when I was overstimulated, overwhelmed, or absorbing too much from the world around me. I began to notice how deeply I felt other people’s energy, how quickly I fatigued in crowds, how my system would collapse when I pushed past my limits.
Over time, I realized something:
I didn’t need more medication!
I needed regulation.
I needed boundaries.
I needed rest that actually restored me.
I needed to honor the way my nervous system works.
Learning to Work With My Nervous System
I’m not “cured” and I don’t expect to be.
I still need more sleep than most people. I still get tired easily. I still have to be mindful of my energy.
But I’m no longer falling asleep while driving.
I’m no longer dozing off mid-conversation.
I’m no longer collapsing into sleep the moment I slow down.
I’m learning myself.
I’m learning my body.
I’m learning what it means to be an empath with a sensitive nervous system in a world that never stops.
And that learning has changed everything.
Why I’m Sharing This
I hear so many stories from people who feel like their bodies are broken, like they’re destined to live with something forever, like their symptoms define them.
I don’t have answers for every ailment. I don’t have answers for any ailments. But I do know this:
There is always room for hope.
There is always room for growth.
And sometimes healing looks less like “fixing” and more like understanding, honoring, and supporting the body you have.
This is my story. Just one woman learning to trust her inner knowing, listen to her body, and believe that transformation is possible in ways we don’t always expect.
Where there is hope, there is healing.
About Mallory Tedrick, LISW
Mallory Tedrick is a trauma-informed therapist and EMDR clinician in Rocky River, Ohio, serving adults across the west side of Cleveland. She specializes in trauma, anxiety, depression, and nervous system regulation, supporting highly sensitive and intuitive individuals who often feel overwhelmed by the world around them.
Her work integrates nervous system education, trauma processing, and grounded therapeutic presence to help clients move from shutdown and overexposure toward steadiness and self-trust.
If you’re navigating nervous system overwhelm or noticing patterns of depletion, therapy can offer a place to understand what your body is signaling and how to respond with care. Start with a free consultation here.