Seeking Help For Your Insomnia
Seeking help for any problem is never easy, but when it comes to your insomnia, it can be embarrassing, frustrating, and downright exhausting.
Suppose you suffer from a few sleepless nights here and there. In that case, it is likely not the result of insomnia but perhaps a change in sleep schedule, anxiety over an event, or other extenuating circumstances. However, when your insomnia starts becoming a pattern and you find that the lack of sleep interferes with your nights and days, you should seek help from a therapist who cares.
Non-Medical Treatment Options
If you are interested in pursuing a treatment option that does not use the help of medicine, there are different types of therapy we could recommend. As a therapist in Bethesda, MD like Lindsey Hoskins & Associates can explain, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the leading forms of therapy that helps with insomnia.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). If you would like to pursue non-medicated options for your insomnia first, there are a range of different treatments your insomnia doctor can recommend. For example, CBT aims to look at how your behavioral changes can impact how you sleep. If you do not keep a consistent bedtime schedule or if you wake up at various hours, you may be unable to have consistent sleep. By introducing positive thinking and challenging unhealthy beliefs around sleep, many people find their insomnia improves.
- Stimulus Control. This can be particularly helpful for people who use their bedroom for multiple activities aside from sleeping. If you also have a desk in your room where you work or study for school, you can associate your room with active thinking instead of sleeping. Additionally, if you begin to limit your time in bed to only the hours you spend sleeping, you can begin setting up stricter and more useful schedules.
- Relaxation Training. Relaxation training is a technique that uses muscle relaxation and teaches the person suffering from insomnia to tense and relax different muscle groups in various areas of your body. This can help the person relax and prepare their body for sleep. In addition, other relaxation techniques a person could use might be meditation, guided imagery, and even breathing exercises.
Medication Treatments
Your therapist may also recommend seeking help from a doctor in order to overcome your insomnia. Many types of medication are melatonin receptor agonists and benzodiazepine hypnotics. Further, a doctor might recommend other forms of alternative naturopathic or homeopathic medicine to help get your sleep on track again. When it comes to medication, a doctor can prescribe the right doses and the right over-the-counter or prescription medications to help you get a good night’s sleep again.
Who can I contact?
You do not have to keep living with insomnia. Instead, seek the help of a qualified therapist who can work with you to find the best treatment for your sleepless nights. Contact a sleep specialist today.
