subject: Chronic Insomnia - Why No Sleep Aid Ever Works [print this page] Chronic insomnia is one of the most unpleasant fates that can befall a person, and anyone who has suffered this devastating problem is likely to have tried all manner of treatments in an effort to get a good night's sleep. For many, these will have no effect.
Why is it that some people seem to be cured by drinking hot milk, or listening to a relaxation CD whereas others can take the strongest of sleeping pills and still stay awake? There is a simple reason for this: chronic insomnia is not just about sleep. And this means that none of these sleep aids is addressing the actual problem.
Chronic insomnia is less about sleep and more about our negative beliefs about sleep. And until these are changed no sleep aid will ever work. Remember, the human mind is much stronger than any of these cures and only a treatment which addresses the thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours you have about sleep is going to be effective. If you believe that your problem is incurable, that there is something fundamentally wrong with you, and in particular, that your problem is different, then there is not a sleep aid on this planet which will have the slightest effect.
Not convinced? Look at a couple of examples: When you try a new sleep aid, pill or relaxation technique do you lie there thinking "this is never going to work", "nothing else has ever worked", "why should this be any different?" The sad fact is that thoughts like these can override even the strongest sleeping pill, or will wake you after a couple of hours of poor sleep.
A belief that you are 'an insomniac' can become so entrenched that it becomes part of your identity, part of who you are. When this happens, many insomniacs will unwittingly sabotage their chances of recovery. If you find yourself 'testing' each new sleep aid, or obsessing about just how bad your problem is, then you will have become an unconscious sleep saboteur.
So what is the answer? Well, it's not easy for a long-term insomniac. The only answer is to slowly and thoroughly change your thinking and attitude to your insomnia and to sleep in general. By changing the thoughts and behaviours which may be contributing to your problem, you can start to turn things around.
As a beginning, try the following:
1. You need to know and accept that there is nothing physically wrong with you.
2. You need to know and accept that there is nothing special or different about your problem.
3. You need to know and accept that there is nothing psychologically wrong with you, other than the fact that you have developed an unhelpful habit.
4. Try to identify the negative thoughts and attitudes you have to your situation and see how they are reinforcing your problem.
5. Try to focus on the positive. For example, focus on the good nights rather than the bad ones.
If this seems impossible, or difficult, or you just don't know where to start then then you are going to need help which is beyond the scope of this article. This may come from a sleep therapist who specialises in CBT, or from an online insomnia recovery programme. Sadly, any new 'miracle sleep aid' is unlikely to have any effect whatsoever on a chronic insomnia problem.
