Introducing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Introducing...) Read Online Free Page A

that this is not the time to be worrying. If you are frequently in the habit of worrying in bed then fix a set period within your bedtime routine as ‘worry time’, in which you give yourself the opportunity – and indeed permission – to think about all those things your mind might be worrying about. Try writing them down and dealing with the things that can be dealt with before you go to bed. Use the ‘worry tree’ described in Chapter 4 . Once you have had your worry time for the night, be firm with your mind if the worry tries to start again. Focus and really concentrate on something more pleasant and relaxing, perhaps a favourite memory, planning a holiday or even just counting in your head. Remember that what you focus on expands, so it should be something that helps you switch off, not wakes you up. If you worry that you will forget things, keep a pen and paper near the bed. Write things down, then once again, move on to something else. Remind yourself that there’s no chance you’ll forget them, it’s all written down, and that now is not your worry time – it will just have to wait to tomorrow’s slot. Chapter 4 tells you more about managing worry.
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In bed, trying to sleep, is NOT the time for trying to think through problems or worries
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    Tackle worry about not sleeping. If you lie awake saying to yourself ‘I’ll never manage work tomorrow if I don’t sleep’, you’ll find it harder and harder to switch off and relax. This can become a vicious cycle as shown in the diagram earlier in this chapter. You may need to work on breaking this cycle. Remind yourself that although you may feel tired this will not necessarily affect your performance. Part of sleeping is allowing your body to physically rest so make this your goal rather than sleep. Relax your muscles and begin focusing on relaxing thoughts. Move your alarm clock so that you can’t easily keep checking the time.
    Nightmares
    Nightmares can be very frightening. Some people can be afraid to sleep in case they have one. Once again there are a number of theories as to why some of us have nightmares, while others never have any (or at least don’t remember them). It’s generally agreed that when we are upset, frightened or distressed we’re more likely to experience nightmares. If you do wake up from a bad dream, you need to first remind yourself it really was only a dream, and that your mind is just working things out in its own way. Writing down the dream can also minimize the hold that it has on you. Seeing it on paper, weird and not making much sense, can be a way of making it feel smaller and less important. You can allow yourself to just look in a detached way at the strange things your mind comes up with, without attributing any additional sinister meanings to them.
    Should I use sleep medication?
    Your doctor can prescribe various medications to help you sleep. However, over time some can be addictive and can leave you feeling tired and ‘hungover’ the next day. Over time the body can become used to them, meaning that you need higher doses. The same can be true of medications which you can buy over the counter without prescription. Sleep medication should really only be used for short-term relief of acute sleep problems when, for example, someone is so distressed that they cannot sleep at all, night after night.
    There are also herbal remedies available which some people find helpful. Again, however, it is preferable for you to develop improved routines and habits to help you to sleep naturally than to rely on any kind of substance to help your sleep.
    So how could applying these techniques help Simon and Robert?
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Case study – Robert
Robert needs to tackle his worry in order to switch off and sleep at night. He implements the techniques suggested here by starting a good bedtime routine an hour and a half before bed. Robert and his wife decide to eat dinner slightly earlier in the evening to allow time for Robert to relax