Can Counseling Help with My Sleep Disorders?

Are you having difficulties staying focused during the day due to drowsiness?
You may find it difficult to fall asleep at night or need too much sleep.

And while not all sleep disorders are related to stress, anxiety, or depression, some are. Knowing the difference — and treating the root cause of the sleep disturbance — can significantly improve your quality of life.

To help you determine the root cause of your symptoms, our experts at VP MindCare explain what sleep disorders are and when we recommend counseling.

Understanding sleep disorders

Sleep disorders are conditions that interfere with your sleep cycle — whether it’s the quality of your sleep, the duration, or difficulties falling asleep or waking up.

Some of the most common types include:

• Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
• Breathing difficulties that lead to waking up during the night
• Uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during the day
• Difficulties waking up in the morning

While some sleep issues have a physical cause (thyroid issues, breathing issues, etc.), many are linked to mental health, making therapy and counseling the only approach that addresses the root of the symptoms.

When counseling helps with sleep disorders

Counseling helps with sleep disorders when the sleep problem is not purely physical but could be the consequence of psychological challenges, such as:

• Depression (insomnia, early morning awakening, or sometimes excess sleep)
• Anxiety (difficulty falling asleep due to racing thoughts)
• Nocturnal panic attacks that interfere with sleep
• Trauma and hyperarousal
• Unprocessed emotions can manifest as restlessness, nightmares, or insomnia

Therapy can determine the psychological cause of sleep disturbance, help your body relax, and help you find different ways to cope.

What to expect in counseling for sleep disorders

During counseling, we ask you questions to help us determine what’s causing your distress.

In counseling, you can expect to:

• Teach your body how to feel safe after the threat is gone
• Find ways to achieve a deeper sense of emotional security 
• Learn relaxation techniques to regulate your nervous system
• Process unresolved trauma that may be keeping you in hyperarousal

For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) effectively reduces sleep disturbances in the short term, and clinical data suggest that participants maintained those results even 10 years after the intervention.

Learn what’s keeping you up at night

Unsure what’s causing your sleep problems? Contact us to schedule an appointment at our office in Anchorage, Alaska, and take the first step toward better sleep and quality of life.