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Insomnia Insomnia

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164 Perlis et al.<br />

Cognitive Therapy<br />

Several forms of cognitive therapy for insomnia have been developed. Some<br />

have a didactic focus (6), some use paradoxical intention (35), others employ “distraction<br />

and imagery” (36), and still others use a form of cognitive restructuring<br />

(37). Although the approaches differ in procedure, all are based on the observation<br />

that patients with insomnia have negative thoughts and beliefs about their condition<br />

and its consequences. Helping patients challenge the veracity of these beliefs<br />

is thought to decrease the anxiety and arousal associated with insomnia. The cognitive<br />

restructuring approach, adapted from for the procedure used for panic disorder<br />

(38-40), is illustrated below.<br />

Cognitive restructuring focuses on catastrophic thinking and the belief that poor<br />

sleep is likely to have devastating consequences. Although psychoeducation may<br />

also address these kinds of issues, the more important ingredient of cognitive<br />

restructuring lies not in disabusing the patient of erroneous information, but rather<br />

in having the patient discover that his or her estimates are ridiculously inaccurate (a<br />

testament to the tendency to think in less than clear terms in the middle of the<br />

night). When undertaking this exercise with a patient, it needs to be introduced in a<br />

considerate way, one that avoids any hint that the therapist is being pedantic,<br />

patronizing, or condescending.<br />

The following are examples of the catastrophic thinking that occurs when the<br />

patient is lying in bed trying to sleep...<br />

“If I don’t get a good night’s sleep,<br />

I’ll be in a bad mood tomorrow. If my mood is poor tomorrow, I will—yet again—<br />

be short with my wife. If I’m irritable with my wife (again), she may start thinking<br />

about not putting up with this anymore. If she thinks about not putting up<br />

with this anymore, she’ll consider leaving me...” [get divorced].<br />

I won’t be able to stay awake or concentrate when I’m driving to work. If I don’t<br />

stay awake or concentrate when I’m driving, I may get into an accident...” [wreck<br />

the car].<br />

I won’t be able to function tomorrow at work. If I am not able to function at work,<br />

I may get a reprimand. If I get reprimanded... ” [get fired].<br />

The first step in the cognitive restructuring process is to have patients discuss<br />

and list the kinds of negative things they think can happen when their sleep is poor.<br />

Usually, the list is constructed with the patient and placed, as a chart, on the cognitive<br />

therapist’s ever present in-office chalkboard. The first column in the chart lists<br />

catastrophic events. Note that the patient may need to be prompted to identify the<br />

underlying and most catastrophic thought. For example, the patient may say “I<br />

worry about not being able to fall sleep” when what he or she is primarily worried<br />

about is the extreme version of this proposition: spending the entire night awake.<br />

Once the list is compiled (5 to 10 things constitutes a reasonable list), patients<br />

are then asked how likely they think each of the events are, given a night of poor

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