Can Therapy Help My Sleep Problems?

When you can’t get regular, good-quality sleep at night, all sorts of aspects of your daily life are disrupted. You might be constantly tired, frazzled, forgetful, or irritable if you haven’t gotten enough sleep. And, the stress of chronic insomnia can wreak havoc on your peace of mind and personal relationships.

At Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates, LLC, in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, our team of expert providers can address your insomnia issues. Under the leadership of Dr. Ronald P. Winfield, we diagnose and treat new and existing patients with insomnia from around the Merrimack Valley.

You might be surprised at how much a holistic approach using integrative therapies can do to resolve your insomnia and help you get the good night’s sleep you need. Here’s what you should know about the connection between therapy and improved sleep problems.

Coping with chronic insomnia

Everyone has nights from time to time when sleep just won’t come. However, if your sleep problems persist for weeks and months at a time, you could be dealing with chronic insomnia. Long-term sleep deprivation can damage your physical and mental health, causing difficulty concentrating, mood swings, and increased errors, accidents, or mistakes.

Your provider at Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates can help you explore your options for treating and resolving your insomnia. We screen you for underlying health conditions that may be contributing to your insomnia.

If you have chronic insomnia, you may benefit from dietary and other lifestyle changes, keeping a sleep diary, or prescription medications. However, sleeplessness can also be a mental or psychological issue, needing therapy for full resolution.

If your insomnia could be connected to underlying depression, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can help you transform the areas of your brain that govern your mood, without resorting to antidepressant drugs.

How therapy can help

Insomnia sometimes forms a part of a negative cycle with mood disorders like depression and anxiety. Mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can leave you sleepless, exacerbating your existing symptoms and causing additional stress. The effects of chronic sleeplessness can also be damaging to your self-esteem.

In therapy, your provider works with you to unravel the effects of sleeplessness, stress, and any underlying mental health conditions. Effective therapeutic approaches to insomnia include psychotherapy or counseling and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Learning stress management techniques can also help you find rest.

To learn more about how counseling or therapy could help you move on from restless nights and weary days, get in touch with the compassionate team at Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates today. You can schedule your evaluation over the phone or book online now.