In my consultation room, Ms. Kong was sitting there slightly haggard. She didn’t know how determined she was to come to the insomnia clinic. Before a few words, she was busy making a statement: “Doctor, is it okay not to take sleeping pills, I am afraid of addiction.” I laughed bitterly and said to her, “Please tell me, what is addiction?” Miss Kong thought for a moment, “Addiction is to leave the no.” I then said, “According to you, eating is not also an addiction?” Miss Kong was stunned for a moment, and her face was a little unnatural. In the practice of insomnia clinic, will often encounter patients ask such and such questions. One of the most concerned, the most frequently asked questions is whether taking sleeping pills will be addictive, will not produce dependence. It is an indisputable fact that long-term use of high doses of sleeping pills can produce dependence. Some scholars even believe that taking therapeutic doses of sleeping pills can be addictive. So, is it true that sleeping pills should not be used? And how should insomnia be treated? If you look up the books on the subject, for chronic insomnia patients, the treatment should first deal with the causes, such as dealing with anxiety and depression, solving the problems that have recently created distress, and digging out the basis of insomnia from the root, and only by treating both the symptoms and the root cause can you rest easy. Psychotherapy such as behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy can also be used. Try not to take sleeping pills. Even if you take them, it should be short-term and in small doses. Are sleeping pills really that terrible? Water can carry a boat, but also can overturn it. There are two sides to the coin. Although there is a possibility of addiction, if used properly, sleeping pills can relieve the pain of insomnia for many patients. As many insomnia patients have “anticipatory anxiety”, as soon as they think about sleeping, they will immediately become anxious, and the thought of “if I can’t sleep, I don’t know what to do” will arise, resulting in a vicious cycle of “insomnia – anxiety – insomnia – more anxiety”. In this case, taking sleeping pills may be one of the effective ways to stop this vicious cycle. Moreover, under the proper guidance of a specialist, addiction rarely occurs. Finally, Miss Kong asked me with a smile before she left, “Actually, taking sleeping pills is as necessary as eating, and if the disease is cured, there is no need to take them, right?” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled unabashedly. However, deep inside I knew clearly that tonight Miss Kong would definitely have good dreams.