OUR HEALTH ADVICE – Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy has proven itself against insomnia. Everyone can learn to use it.
“L’chronic insomnia is often linked to inappropriate behavior that we have adopted during temporary difficulties, then maintained by the fear of not sleeping., explains Michèle Freud, psychotherapist and sophrologist. While its principles are commonly applied in sleep centers, cognitive and behavioral therapy (CBT) has the advantage of being a brief therapy. Complementary medicine, it can be conducted by a psychotherapist or a doctor, but it can also be applied alone at home.
The insomniac becomes a child again at bedtime. It is no longer the fear of the dark that troubles him, but the prospect of spending hours seeking sleep, the anticipation of nocturnal awakenings and the certainty that he will be tired when he gets up. These obsessive ideas create nervous tension incompatible with falling asleep. To thwart them, let’s stay children by creating a fairly strict bedtime ritual: going to the bathroom…
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