WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT YOUR INSOMNIA?[MENTAL HEALTH] ARTICLE 1,2

ARTICLE 1

Most people I see with insomnia say they have’tried everything’ . Medication , over-the-counter products from the pharmacy, remedies that people have recommended and even psychological therapies. CBT, correctly applied is the most effective treatment for persistent insomnia because it deals with the thoughts, behaviour and emotions that build up the problematic vicious cycle.

During the past twenty years, over one hundred clinical trials of CBT in the treatment of insomnia have been conducted , showing that 70 per cent of people gain lasting benefit. There is also some preliminary evidence that mindfulness – based therapies might help insomnia , although there has not yet been a full clinical published.

I’m going to concentrate, therefore on CBT- a brief versional.

A brief CBT programme for insomnia

Article 2

SETTING CLEAR PERSONAL GOAL

Before you set out on a journey, it’s always a good idea to know what your destination is! Once you know that , then you can plan ahead . Most likely your personal goal will be pretty much the opposite of what you have been experiencing .

For example, if your problem is that you wake up at night and this affects your mood and your relationship , then your goal might be something like, ‘I want to be able to sleep right through , be in a better frame of mind during the daytime , and be able to get on better with other people.’

In your notebook , write down what you think would be the best statement to summarize your goal .

I will complete in article 3 soon.