Insomnia

Erica’s Exhaustion

Erica* originally contacted NYPW because she was unable to sleep well and was tired all the time. Her exhaustion became so debilitating that one day she actually dozed off while sitting in traffic and had a minor fender-bender with the car in front of her.

She reported that she had been on a prescribed sleep medication for more than 5 years, but she still wasn’t sleeping.

“Well,” Dr. Meyers began, “first we have to contact your prescribing physician and get you off the sleep meds.”

“WHAT?!?” Erica screamed. “I’ll never get ANY sleep if I stop taking those!”

Dr. Meyers patiently responded, “You’ve been on those meds for five years, right? And you say you aren’t sleeping – even though you are taking them, right? So, what are they doing for you?”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Erica said firmly.

“Sleep is partially a learned behavior. You need to unlearn your bad sleep behaviors and replace them with good, efficient ones. That begins with stopping the false and unproductive dependence on the sleep meds. They don’t work, anyway, right?”

Erica did not look pleased, but she knew she had to do something. Eventually, she conceded, “You’re right.”

“To sleep, perchance, to dream…”

Sleep – quality sleep – is vital to psychological and physical health.

An estimated 20-30% or more of Americans suffer from some type of persistent sleep disorder. One of the most common is insomnia.

It’s well after midnight, and you’re counting sheep or watching infomercials. Your mind is racing – you can turn off the tv – if only you had a switch for your brain.

Or you have no trouble falling asleep, but you can’t stay that way – you’re either awake several times or up well before dawn, needlessly.

Nodding off at work, snapping at coworkers and family members, struggling to concentrate, forgetting the simplest things, utterly exhausted.

You really can’t go on like this. It’s affecting every part of your life.
In fact, insomnia is commonly paired with other psychopathologies (i.e., depression, anxiety, pain).

But there’s hope – something more effective than the latest pill.

Behavioral sleep medicine (cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia) has proven to be effective and long lasting, surpassing the effects of prescription and over-the-counter remedies while avoiding medication side-effects.

You’re long overdue for a reunion with an old friend – the sandman.

Toss the pills and fluff your pillow. Contact us today at (718) 225-5505 to get started.

*fictitious name but based on an actual patient