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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What is Insomnia?

    Related Topics
    Insomnia Sleep Medicine
    I find it hard to fall a sleep at night, it takes hours and sometimes i feel like i didnt get any rest. Is this insomnia?
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  • Sleep Health Foundation

    The Sleep Health Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of ‘valuing sleep’ as part of a healthy lifestyle alongside regular exercise, a … View Profile

    Insomnia is a very common condition where people experience difficulties either falling asleep or staying asleep and sometimes both. Almost all of us will experience acute (short-term) insomnia with stressful situations such as exams, loss of a loved one, change of job for example, and when the stressful situation passes, sleep goes back to normal. This acute insomnia doesn't generally cause long-term health or sleep problems. Insomnia causes problems for people when it persists over a longer period of time. If people have difficulties with sleep for over 4 weeks, and the sleep difficulties start to impact on their day-to-day life, it is called chronic insomnia. Once chronic insomnia becomes established, it is less common for sleep difficulties to settle by themselves, and it takes changing behaviour and sleep habits to get sleep back on track. Good non-drug treatments to improve chronic insomnia are available and can be accessed by first discussing your symptoms with your family doctor. For more information on insomnia click here.

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  • Stephen Tsousis

    Psychotherapist

    Stephen for over 30yrs continues to study,experiment and explore a multidisciplinary approach to Psychotherapy.Know Yourself -is his motto.Stress, Anxiety & Depression (SAD ) are major … View Profile

    As a practising psychotherapist/counsellor who is currently experiencing chronic insomnia and learning a great deal about this.
     
    I wish to say that all the infomation available on Healthshare is indeed true but I wish to suggest a complementary psychological depth approach that also views Insomnia as a language of symbolic meaning which encourages the healing process by also being explored ie. one enters into relationship with the disorder. The old notion that the disorder is the key to its cure.

    My insomnia, and probably all disorders of mind, require all of our inner/outer resources in order to heal and finally make sense.

    Medically my continuing case of shingles is not allowing me to sleep but instead of only learning to fight/manage this disease I am listening to it. We are healing each other, it might be said.

    I sense that only resisiting the Insomnia is part of the solution so again I am learning to enter into relationship with it. I am learning its language for the virus comes from within me.

    Insomnia is a wake up call which demands to be attended to, hence we can not sleep. Fighting with it seems to make it worse.

    Whatever the type of Insomnia paying attention to it from a multi disciplinary  approach is the key.

    My insomnia is a medical,psychological and metaphysical issue.
    And I am learning al lot from this.

    Treat Insomnia by all methods while understanding the language of its particular symptoms.

    So the next time you cant sleep make a play of it. Let your creativity come out and do what you love in the dark of night, indulge, explore, welcome being awake. Ask your insomnia what it wants and give your insomnia your answer.  Insomnia's cure  also comes from within us.

    You are always in charge.



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