The main causes of insomnia are physical and mental. Somatic causes mainly refer to insomnia caused by physical disorders, such as apnea syndrome, hyperthyroidism, pain, etc. Mental causes mainly refer to insomnia caused by mental illness and mental stress. For example, depression, manic episodes, schizophrenia, etc. can all cause insomnia. At the same time, insomnia can also occur when people encounter major life events, anger and other mental tensions. The treatment of insomnia mainly consists of allopathic treatment and symptomatic treatment. Insomnia is only a symptom, we have to find the cause of insomnia with the help of doctors, that is, the original cause. Once the primary cause is treated, insomnia will naturally improve. For example, if the primary cause of insomnia is depression, after antidepressant treatment, the patient’s mood improves and so does his or her sleep. In addition to treating the primary cause, managing one’s emotions is also an important aspect of allopathic treatment. How to manage our mood? 1. Develop a positive way of perception. There is always a positive side and a negative side to everything. And we always habitually see only the negative side of things, which makes us easily angry, negative emotions, etc.. A negative person will say, “It’s only half a glass of water!” And a positive person would say, “Ah, there’s still half a glass!” Which way of thinking are you? Take insomnia, for example. The vast majority of people who suffer from insomnia feel so miserable that almost no one will think about what positive things can come out of it. When I give health education to insomnia patients in the community, I lead people to think about what positive things insomnia has to offer. Many people began to think positively about insomnia. Some said, “Insomnia makes me stay awake longer”; some said, “Insomnia can be an excuse to excuse myself from activities I don’t really like”; others said, “When I have insomnia, I think more clearly and can I can think better about life”. If we can think in a different way and look at the positive side of things, we will have a better mood and thus avoid insomnia caused by anger. 2. Learn to express negative emotions. Even if we have a positive way of perception, but also inevitably negative emotions, such as frustration, anger, aggression, sadness, etc.. With these negative emotions, if we can not express it in time, this will make our hearts suffer a lot of damage. Negative emotions are like floods, if you only know how to block them, then one day, the flood will destroy your dam. Therefore, we have to manage our negative emotions like the Great Yu did, i.e., we should express our negative emotions in a way that “can be unblocked but not blocked”. How to express them? We have the following ways to express our negative emotions: first, talk to our relatives, friends or psychotherapists; second, exercise or shout in the open; third, integrate ourselves into a beautiful environment, such as travel; fourth, write out our negative emotions in words, such as an emotional diary. You can choose one or more ways to express your negative emotions according to your situation. Symptomatic treatment Symptomatic treatment mainly includes two aspects of medication and behavior therapy. 1.Medication. The main drugs for treating insomnia are tranquilizers (such as eszopiclone, clonazepam), antipsychotics (such as mirtazapine, quetiapine, etc.). Because each of these drugs has its own characteristics, patients should use them under the guidance of a doctor and should not take them on their own. The use of sleeping pills, we need to know the principles of use, that is: “on-demand, intermittent medication”. “On-demand” has two meanings: first, if you really need to take it, then take it, do not worry about the side effects of drugs and insomnia pain; second, if the sleep has improved, no longer need sleeping pills, then reduce or even stop the use of sleeping pills. “Intermittent” medication means not to use the same sleeping pill continuously for a long time, because sleeping pills if taken continuously for a long time, it is easy to develop tolerance, dependence, etc. 2. Behavioral treatment. Mainly including stimulation control therapy, relaxation training and the development of good sleep habits three parts. (1) Stimulus control therapy: Under normal circumstances, the bedroom, bed environment will induce sleepiness and make people fall asleep faster. After insomnia patients enter the bedroom and bed, the brain instead becomes excited and has difficulty falling asleep. Stimulus control therapy aims to correct this poorly conditioned reflex and re-establish the conditioned reflex between the bedroom and bed and falling asleep quickly. The specific requirements are: not to do things other than sleep and sex in the bedroom and bed. If you cannot fall asleep, get up, leave the bedroom and go to another room; return to the bedroom and bed only if you feel sleepy; if you still cannot fall asleep, repeat the above steps. Also do, regardless of how much sleep you feel throughout the night, get up regularly every day, and insist on the same on holidays; avoid lying in bed during the day, and if you need to nap, then only once at noon time, whether you fall asleep or not, the lying time is controlled within 20 minutes to 30 minutes. (2) relaxation training: the purpose of relaxation training is to reduce the somatic tension before bedtime and the excitement of thinking that interferes with sleep during sleep time. Specific practices are as follows: a. Lie flat on the bed or sit on a comfortable chair and adjust to the most comfortable position; b. Close your eyes, then inhale deeply and exhale slowly; c. When exhaling slowly, feel the shoulders sink and shoulder muscles relax; d. Continue to inhale deeply and then exhale slowly, feel the shoulders sink and relax while feeling the muscle relaxation gradually expand to the upper limbs, fingertips, trunk, lower limbs, toes and other parts; e e, continue to breathe in deeply, exhale slowly, feel the muscles of the shoulders, torso, limbs relax, the neck and head also get relaxed at the same time; f, continue several cycles of deep breathing, slowly exhale when feeling the relaxation of the muscles of the whole body, feel relaxed and calm, then you can fall asleep. (3) Develop good sleep habits: regular exercise, adhere to five times a week, each exercise for more than half an hour, avoid strenuous exercise within two hours before bedtime; control the intake of coffee and tea, and avoid drinking at least 8 hours before going to bed; do not resort to drinking alcohol to induce sleep; eat easily digestible food for dinner, avoid being too full or too hungry; avoid over-exciting activities before bedtime, such as watching action movies, listening to Avoid over-exciting activities before bedtime, such as watching action movies, listening to rock music, participating in debates, etc.
Support Us
Discussion
Share your experience, or seek help from fellow patients.
