Insomnia

When we experience difficulty or stress in life our sleep is one of the very first things to be affected. For this reason, difficulty sleeping is also a common symptom seen in depression and anxiety along with other psychological struggles. Often, we find it hard to fall or stay asleep because our minds take over and we can’t stop thinking. We lie in bed worrying about the future, remembering past events, replaying scenes, making plans and obsessing about various things. With such busy minds, it becomes impossible to relax and fall asleep. For most people, this will resolve and we will be able to sleep again once the stressor goes away and after some time passes. Unfortunately, others continue to have difficulty sleeping long after stressful events or changes have subsided.

Difficulty sleeping turns into insomnia once it becomes a problem on its own. Stressful life events or changes have passed and we might have nothing to worry or think about lying in our beds but we still can’t sleep. The primary issue in insomnia is that we have come to develop a conditioned association between our inability to sleep and our bedrooms, beds or bedtime. We may find ourselves exhausted and ready to crash but the moment we get into bed, we’re suddenly wide awake and miles away from sleep. In this place we tend to ruminate about not being to sleep and how this will negatively effect our ability to work or function the next day which keeps us even more awake! This is an automatic brain process that can be addressed and treated using a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness techniques.