Insomnia is the most common sleep disturbance with a major impact on quality of life. The person suffering from insomnia is functional most of the time but in failure mode, accomplishing almost everything with much effort low efficiency, and suffering.
Except for progressive insomnia, which is an extremely rare and untreatable genetic condition, all other types of insomnia are treatable at this time but the first step is to identify its causes to benefit from effective treatment.
Insomnia is often a side effect of drug treatments, especially those used to treat chronic illnesses. If you are taking medication, go to the doctor who prescribed it and specify this symptom so that he or she can adapt the treatment so that insomnia can be eliminated.
In the absence of drug treatment, insomnia can occur as a result of breathing disorders or pain in the body. Sleep apnea is commonly associated with panic attacks and insomnia but even the common stuffy nose can affect sleep quality. Snoring can affect the sleep of the person sleeping next to them but studies show that snoring affects the quality of sleep of the snorer. As an effect, we don't intervene directly on insomnia but on the cause, seeking specialist help to solve the breathing problem or to start pain therapy.
It can also occur as a symptom when a person suffers from a mood disorder, such as depression or anxiety. In this case, help comes first and foremost from the psychotherapist, who intervenes on both the insomnia and the associated disorder, knowing that the two 'support' and feed each other.
Stress can lead to insomnia. When a person is stressed, his or her mind is dominated by worrying thoughts that follow one another in a dizzying dynamic, or by a single dominant thought that he or she is constantly "ruminating" on. Worrying, pessimistic thoughts are always accompanied by negative emotions, and together they adversely affect the brain chemistry, which biologically and psychologically prevents restful sleep from taking hold.
To cope with stress, the person gradually adopts a series of unhealthy behaviors, such as watching late TV, eating before bedtime, or not following certain bedtime and wake-up times. All these also contribute to sleep onset and maintenance. It may be that the person has outgrown the stress period but not insomnia. The stress has been overcome but unhealthy, often normalized behaviors remain, and they maintain insomnia. In the case of present or overcome stress but with behavioral effects, insomnia is also combated with the help of a psychotherapist.
There is insomnia as a disorder in itself. There is no clear cause or causal complex and yet it is present and affects the optimal functioning of the person. Psychotherapy offers solutions to combat insomnia and prevent its recurrence.
Depending on the type of insomnia, one can also identify the potential psychological cause or causes of insomnia, as follows:
Falling asleep insomnia, which involves difficulty falling asleep, i.e. the person falls asleep later than 30 minutes from the time he or she went to sleep (according to the DSMV), is associated with either anxiety or stress.
Maintenance insomnia, i.e. waking during sleep and falling asleep with difficulty, indicates that it is a disorder in itself, with no associated dispositional causes.
Late or waking insomnia, i.e. the person wakes up at least 30 minutes before the normal time, is associated with either depression or anxiety.
Non-specific insomnia disorder, i.e. the person sleeps through the night, covering the normal range but wakes up tired, may be caused by depression or stress.
In the fight against insomnia, the starting point is to identify the causes and the intervention protocol is tailored to these. This presentation is primarily intended to direct you to the type of specialist who can help you. If medication or physical problems are the potential cause, help comes from the specialist. If not, guidance and support come from the psychotherapist.
The Aidoma Institut has developed a psychotherapy program dedicated to tackling insomnia. You can get guidance and support right here: https://www.aidoma.com/course/insomnia-18.html
