CBT-I for Sleep Anxiety

Here's a scenario I see often in my CBT-I practice:

When it gets to bed time, your mind races. You dread night times, you worry about not getting enough sleep, and sometimes, you even wake up and find yourself in a physiological state of panic. You can't seem to find a specific reason why you can't sleep or find ways to control it. You feel frustrated, anxious and hyper.

This is what we sometimes call sleep anxiety or sleep panic. It isn't just insomnia - it's a fear of not sleeping that then (ironically) makes you so anxious, you can't get to sleep. It can be a frustrating and distressing cycle to be caught up in - and your attempts to get it under control can often make it worse.

It's also a type of sleep problem that is not well-understood. Well-meaning friends, family and even professionals might tell you to focus on sleep hygiene, on eating better, exercising more but the truth is - you're probably doing all of those things already. I know pretty much every person that works with me has 'tried everything' to fix their sleep and anxiety and none of it seems to help. In fact, it's really making things feel a lot worse when even doing all the right things can't seem to bring about peaceful nights.

As a CBT-I trained therapist, I regularly help high-functioning adults break this complex cycle and get back to restful, restorative sleep using evidence-based tools and an integrative approach that goes beyond just treating insomnia. I work with you to get to the root of the issue - why is your fear of not sleeping there in the first place? I also look at a concrete relapse prevention plan that you can always return to whenever you have a wobble in the future because therapy cannot guarantee you no more bad nights of sleep - but it can give you the tools to stop one bad night becoming a source of anxiety that leads back to that spiral again.

If you or someone you know is struggling with this type of sleep problem, don't hesitate to reach out to me here to see if I can help or visit my website: www.maryacbt.com