Have you ever wondered to yourself can therapy help my insomnia?
If you have ever struggled to fall asleep or stay asleep, chances are you know just how much it can negatively affect you. Not only are you fatigued the next day, but you may be more irritable, anxious, or absent-minded as well.
This chronic lack of sleep is typically called insomnia and may be able to be diagnosed by a doctor. Because getting a good night’s sleep is essential to maintaining good health, insomnia can very easily have negative effects on not only your physical health but your mental health as well.
While one might be able to treat insomnia through doctor-prescribed treatments or even self-care rituals, another great option is therapy. Attending therapy for insomnia can dramatically increase your ability to get a good night’s sleep and wake up the next morning feeling well-rested, content, and ready to face the day.
What are the signs of insomnia?
If you have experienced difficulty sleeping, you may wonder if this truly qualifies as insomnia. Insomnia is a fairly common sleep disorder, and many of the people who are affected by insomnia can diagnose it themselves without help from a doctor, although a doctor’s expertise can help.
Insomnia consists of persistent or chronic difficulties falling or staying asleep, but can also occur acutely, such as for one night. This inability to get a proper night’s sleep causes short-term symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, irritability, and difficulties with memory.
One might develop insomnia for several reasons. In fact, the causes of insomnia are divided into two groups, one for primary insomnia and one for secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia is typically caused by factors other than those connected to a health condition, such as stress or jet lag, while secondary insomnia is a complication due to another health problem, pain, substance use, or medication.
What does therapy for insomnia look like?
Because insomnia is often the result of other health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, or occurs along with things like stress and big life changes, therapy is a great way to help curb some symptoms.
Most often, people who experience insomnia will utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, which is a kind of talk-based therapy, to work through their sleep disorder. CBT aims to help change your behavior and habits and allows you to create new, healthy behaviors that allow for better sleep.
Because CBT is tailored to every person uniquely, you and your therapist may work on the development of different mechanisms and tools in order to create healthy sleep habits. These mechanisms work in response to the root cause of your insomnia in order to retrain your brain to implement healthier practices for a good night’s sleep.
Some of these tools may include the ability to recognize and put a stop to anxious or negative thought patterns as well as the implementation of relaxation techniques and practices like stimulus control or sleep restriction therapies. Stimulus control therapy simply means limiting one’s exposure to things like phones and TVs that may keep you awake, while sleep restriction is the limiting of naps or pushing your bedtime later in order to increase feelings of tiredness and cause a better night’s sleep.
Sleep is incredibly important for one’s health. A good night’s rest is essential in allowing your brain and body to replenish so that you can be the best you can be the following day. While practically everyone gets a bad night’s sleep every now and then, the chronic lack of sleep inherent in insomnia can have a truly negative effect on your health.
If you are experiencing insomnia or difficulties with sleep, it can be beneficial to reach out to a trusted therapist who can give you effective tools to help you create healthier sleep habits. Your mental health is worth it.
Marie Miguel Biography
The author of Can Therapy Help My Insomnia? Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with MyTherapist.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
