Insomnia Problems

Insomnia is a difficulty in getting to sleep, or getting enough sleep.

Sleep is something everybody needs. It plays a vital role in both our physical and mental health.

This is because when we sleep our body heals and repairs itself and sorts and compartmentalises the day’s experiences.

Sleep allows our brain to process the information collected through the day and if we are deprived of sleep we can suffer real physical problems.

Indeed, sleep deprivation has been used as an effective means of torture leading to a loss of reality and hallucinations.

As well as making you feel tired, the lack of sleep can lead to physical illness and increase your risk of heart disease and obesity.

Mentally, not getting enough sleep can lead to anxiety and can make it hard for you to concentrate.

Common Symptoms of Insomnia

• Fatigue or Chronic Fatigue
• Low levels of concentration
• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Irritability
• Excessive sleepiness
• Anxiety
• Depression

Why is Sleep Important?

If you are experiencing prolonged periods of disrupted sleep or getting no sleep at all, the damage may affect you instantly or over time. For example, if you are lacking in sleep but need to drive, your low levels of concentration could result in an accident.

Alternatively, over time the damage can lead to many chronic health conditions. A prolonged lack of sleep can increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease.

Sleep is also important in your ability to learn. It helps your creativity and improves your problem-solving skills.

When sleeping problems develop, these abilities are hindered. Over time this can make daily activities difficult, impacting your relationships and working life.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is defined as difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning and is considered, by some, to be a medical condition rather than a psychological one.

Most of us will have experienced a disrupted sleep and will know how it feels when you can’t seem to fall asleep. It may be that you are thinking about the next day or have had a coffee too near to bedtime.

Perhaps you found it easy to fall asleep, but continue to wake up through the night. Either way, a rough sleep can leave you feeling drained and irritable the next day. Those who suffer with insomnia will experience these feelings regularly.

It is estimated that a third of people in the UK have episodes of insomnia during their lives. While it is not uncommon, it is believed that it can affect any age. However, people over the age of 60 and women seem to be more susceptible.

Psychotherapy for Insomnia

While some sleeping problems will have an obvious cause, others may not. Psychotherapy for insomnia can be helpful if you are unsure why you are having difficulties sleeping.

When suffering from insomnia for a long period of time, the patterns of sleep disturbances can become embedded in your subconscious as habitual patterns of behaviour.

In these cases we will help you to identify any areas of your life that may be giving rise to stress or anxiety and by learning how to manage your thinking more effectively you will be able to relax more and enjoy more ‘meaningful’ sleep.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia

If you’re committed to overcoming your sleeping problems then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT 10 session programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic psychotherapy course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify how unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issue, and then show you how to make any changes to your unhelpful thinking styles or maladaptive safety behaviours that you may have developed as part of your coping strategies.

The programme is also available as an online self-help CBT programme.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an empirically supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Teach Yourself CBT and Overcome Insomnia Problems for only £149!

Our online CBT course has been designed to teach you the fundamental tools and techniques of clinically proven Cognitive Behavioural Therapy without having to see a therapist.

Structured over TEN, in-depth modules, this self-managed course will teach you everything you need to know to change the way you think about and experience your problems without having to visit a therapist.

Click Self-Help CBT to find out more.

Alternative Therapies for Insomnia

Although our preferred form of psychotherapy for sleeping problems is Tranceformental CBT we also offer alternative psychotherapies for those who might prefer a different approach.

These include:

Psychodynamic therapy which focuses more on emotional problems and relies on the Therapeutic Relationship to bring about change. Available with Paul.

General Counselling which is less structured but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment to discuss issues which is therapeutic in its own right.

Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of therapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.

Free Initial Consultations for Insomnia

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to discuss your difficulties with sleeping prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss any therapy treatments BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.