Credit: Ben Blennerhassett/Unsplash, Creative Commons
“I lay awake most nights staring at the ceiling. It was driving me crazy! If you ask me when was the last time I had a decent night’s sleep, I can’t remember. I’d only get four hours sleep and then get up early in the morning to go to school or work. That was my life for years.”
“I’ve been struggling with chronic insomnia for years,” says Celine (not her real name). The National Sleep Foundation explains that insomnia can be a reaction to a medical condition or the result of a mental illness, like depression or anxiety. Poor sleep hygiene, chronic pain, certain medications, lifestyle habits, and allergies can also play a role. But in Celine’s case, doctors couldn’t find an underlying cause, and her insomnia seemed to “come out of the blue.”
In the United States, one in three people suffer from mild insomnia, and 10% suffer from chronic insomnia. Because insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, a variety of treatments have been developed, from medication to cognitive behavioral therapy. In an interview with the Trauma & Mental Health Report (TMHR), Celine spoke about her experience with prescription sleeping pills.
“After the first two weeks there was no change in my sleeping habits so I went back to the doctor. I was prescribed a different sleeping pill and then had mild side effects. For some reason it didn’t work but I kept taking it hoping that one day it would work. It never did.”
Frustrated with medication and frustrated by lack of sleep, Celine sought out alternative treatments and then attended her first hypnotherapy session. She saw a rapid change, and was able to sleep through the night for the first time in over a year. In an interview with TMHR, certified hypnotherapist Andrew Gentile said, “It’s not uncommon for hypnotherapy to be a one-off session to treat insomnia.”
Andrew Crystal, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University, explains that many of the treatments for insomnia, especially medications, are either ineffective or not supported by research. Gentile also weighed in on the medical treatment of insomnia:
“The mainstream mental health system is pushing the general public towards medication. For example, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers psychiatrists because they are medical doctors, but it doesn’t cover hypnotherapists. People who receive an OHIP referral don’t have the option to see a hypnotherapist, which is a type of therapy that many people are unfamiliar with.”
Combining medication with hypnotherapy can have positive results in treating insomnia for some people. In an interview with TMHR, Alex Rivlin, MD, spoke about the use of medication in hypnotherapy.
“I generally don’t use medication unless it’s absolutely necessary. The advantage of being a physician while also practicing hypnosis is that I know when to use medication and can administer it when necessary, such as for epilepsy or hormonal imbalances.”
Recent studies have found that both acute and chronic insomniacs respond well to hypnotherapy. In one study, hypnotherapy appeared to be more effective than other methods at helping participants fall asleep. According to Gentile, benefits of hypnotherapy include identifying destructive thought patterns, discovering the causes of insomnia, and getting a deeper, more restorative night’s sleep.
Still, not many people choose hypnotherapy as their primary treatment for insomnia. In an interview with TMHR, James (not his real name), who suffers from sleep problems due to a severe concussion, expressed his doubts:
“I saw it once on a show. It seemed completely fake to me. Either way, I would never try to fool myself. I’m scared of anything that’s beyond my control. The circumstances and outcomes are all outside the client’s control. I have certain trust issues with experiences like that.”
Gentile explains such skepticism:
“What works against hypnotherapy is the stigma surrounding the entertainment hypnosis industry and the way it is portrayed in the media. A lack of understanding and representation of the benefits of hypnotherapy plays a large role in this.”
Gentile added: “Over time, things are changing. In the UK, hospitals sometimes use hypnosis rather than anesthesia for surgery.”
By Lucia Chiara Limanni, Trauma and Mental Health Report Contributor
Editor in Chief: Robert T. Mueller, Trauma and Mental Health Report
Copyright © Robert T. Muller.
