Is Insomnia Ruining Virtually Every Area of Your Life?
- Are you constantly exhausted due to ongoing poor sleep patterns?
- Do you regularly wake up too early, have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep?
- Are you experiencing anxiety, irritability or depression?
- Have you tried everything to get better sleep but see no improvement?
If so, you may have insomnia. Going through days or occasional weeks of poor sleep is normal, especially if you’re experiencing higher-than-normal stress levels.
What isn’t OK is for this to last months and even years. If that happens, it’ll spell big-time trouble for every aspect of your personal health. There are few human needs as foundational as good sleep—the opportunity to rest from your troubles and for your body to repair itself.
What Your Life May Look Like if You Have the Common Problem of Insomnia
Insomnia is a widespread problem. But right now, you may feel like you’re the only one in the world suffering in this way.
“I just want to relax. Is that too much to ask? Just one good night of sleep, at least,” you say.
But even one good night of sleep evades you night after night. It seems like the harder you will your body to fall asleep, the more it resists your efforts.
You’re supposed to be calm in order to sleep. Sleep is meant to just happen. But it feels more like a dog fight for you.
Life has grown increasingly overwhelming because you’re never rested. You often dread dragging yourself through yet another day.
You’re tired during the daytime and struggle to complete tasks at home, school and work. You find that you’re often forgetful and make more mistakes than you should.
It’s no small wonder that your mental health is declining due to your crummy nights of sleep, too. Anyone’s mental health would who was in your situation. Your anxiety, moodiness and depression have also worsened over time.
You’ve Tried Everything to Get a Better Night of Sleep
On top of that, you’ve tried every sleep home remedy known to man with no relief.
“Have you tried a warm cup of tea before bed, a bubble bath, reading a boring book, meditation, keeping a routine and no caffeine?” your friends and family ask in a high-pitched, caring tone of voice.
“Actually, I have,” you respond. They look back at you with raised eyebrows and disbelief but you don’t care because you know better.
“I’ve also tried not napping in the middle of the day, aromatherapy, a new pillow, a new mattress, keeping my room cool, counting sheep and counting squirrels,” you reply matter-of-factly.
You’re at your wit’s end, but now what?
If you could relate to some of these sleep-related problems and can find no relief, counseling for your insomnia may be what you need to regain control of your life.
Counseling Can Help You Sleep Better and to Enjoy Life More
There are two main ways that Comforts of Home Counseling assists individuals who experience insomnia: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I) and hypnosis.
CBT-I helps you get to the root of your problem—your thinking patterns. This form of therapy is not a fringe, obscure, band-aide fix.
The Mayo Clinic cites CBT-I as, “an effective treatment for chronic sleep problems and is usually recommended as the first line of treatment.”
This structured therapy teaches you to identify thoughts and feelings that undermine your ability to get great sleep. After you find out what thoughts are to blame, you can work with your therapist to replace those negative thoughts with positive ones.
Keeping a sleep journal allows us to help you identify the specifics of your unhealthful thoughts.
Again, the best thing about this treatment is that we address the underlying problem. That’s something that sleep medication or home remedies can’t do for you. What that means is you can arrive at a more satisfying and long-lasting solution than just a “quick fix.”
Hypnosis is the second treatment our practice uses to help relieve symptoms of insomnia. This method teaches you to follow cues through focused attention. The feeling is comparable to when you’re completely absorbed in a good movie or a novel. It involves losing yourself in an activity.
Through relaxed verbal cues, you’re able to focus solely on rest and even fall asleep. Although your body is in a resting state, your brain is strongly focused on the task at hand.
Some individuals are not good candidates for this type of therapy while others respond very well to it. The only way to know is to try it and see if it works for you.
Our therapists have years of training and experience in helping individuals with insomnia. We would love to help you, too! You don’t have to needlessly suffer with this condition.
“I’m afraid I’ll get diagnosed with more than Insomnia if I start counseling.”
Maybe you’re afraid that, like a bad dentist, we’ll start poking around in your mouth. And that we’ll find more “cavities” than you actually have.
That definitely isn’t our goal with therapy. We work hard to address whatever concerns you have without pigeon holing you into a diagnosis. We take the diagnoses process seriously at Comforts of Home Counseling.
Often, if you’re experiencing irritability, anxiety or depression, those symptoms will lessen dramatically once you start sleeping better.
So, is your poor sleep causing things like anxiety and depression or is it the other way around? The only way to know for sure is to visit a skilled professional to find out.
Don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from making an appointment. Not knowing what you’re up against is way scarier than knowing and having a plan to overcome your adversity.
Do you suspect that you may have insomnia? Why not schedule an appointment with Comforts of Home Counseling? Getting treatment for your sleep disorder will drastically improve the quality of your life!