Insomnia and Depression- How the Two Dance Together

December 10, 2013

Insomnia and Depression- How the Two Dance Together

Insomnia and depression are 2 conditions that essentially go together, hand in hand. The lack of rest on a nightly basis for a long period of time leads to an incredible amount of damage toward the mental psyche, and causes changes in the way that an individual perceives daily routines. This is something that can be put into consideration on the notion of common sense. The effect a lack of sleep has on mental health has led to a study conducted at Ryerson University, and claim, that curing insomnia and curing depression fall under similar criteria.

When a body and mind experience a lack of rest over a long period of time the perception toward everything around an individual changes. When the body and mind are exhausted the most mundane and simple tasks can be seen as challenging, and an overpowering sense of negativity can be felt as a result. The development over time of these negative feelings can lead to them gradually taking over the mind and body, and eventually this leads to the very birth of the condition we know as ‘depression’.

Therapy and Defeating Insomnia

Therapy that has been based around effectively curing ‘depression’ has put a study into place around the idea of insomnia, and the interaction it has with depression. The study states by taking various thought processes and structuring the way a mind perceives them, a certain kind of ‘calm’ can be achieved, which will lead to acquiring better sleep patterns. From this, the acquiring of better sleep patterns, the mind will be able to function more clearly, and the result will be a more rested and clear psyche. Thus, the claim that curing insomnia can help cure depression.

When the body is deprived of a need such as rest, than it falls into a position of panic, stress is heightened, and negative thoughts eventually become a common routine. The claim that healthier sleeping patterns will help cure depression is correct, but it is also a statement that is common sense. The more important thing to recognize in all of this is the idea of ‘perception’, and the coping technique of how to mentally digest various thoughts and feelings. The coping technique of how to take various ideas and stresses in is the actual component that is helping cure the depression, the sleep is simply a side-component. Acquiring sleep is definitely something the body needs, but the effective management of things that make us think and cause stress is the idea here that is most important.

When the mind is racing and thinking about several different problematic ideas, than the opportunity to get a healthy amount of rest becomes quite challenging. The ability to acquire coping techniques to keep the mind frame in a stable place helps treat the problem we know as depression, and it also defeats the other problem, insomnia.  Do insomnia and depression happen together all the time? Not always. Can learning how to defeat insomnia contribute to a healthier mind frame? Absolutely. The important thing to keep in mind however is that insomnia and depression are two entirely separate problems, and while insomnia can worsen the condition of depression, it isn’t the cause of it. Insomnia is a common side-effect of depression.

The therapy of curing insomnia is based heavily around our problem solving abilities and how to separate thoughts when they come to mind. When you take a stressful situation and learn how to properly break it down and cope with the final outcome, that is a piece of education that is directly relevant toward overcoming depression. Depression is often associated with the inability to think clearly, and the result of this unclear thinking leading to a lack of motivation, and an overwhelming outcome of negative feelings. These negative feelings are the part of the equation that an individual can’t take control of, and usually is the core of the condition we know as depression. The ability to properly cope with ideas, and separate and understand ideas may be considered a way of ‘curing’ insomnia, but more importantly it is a skill that in itself can help deal with depression. Curing and overcoming depression isn’t so much about making it fully go away, but about how to maximize an individual’s control  over the feelings it can bring.

Curing Insomnia is Curing Depression

I think that when you take this statement you have to be careful with how far you place the two together on the same concept, as I’ve mentioned before. A lack of sleep certainly does contribute toward the development of depression, but the sudden ability to rest and get a full night’s sleep shouldn’t be deemed a ‘cure’ for depression. The necessity to separate the claim that curing insomnia can help conquer depression as opposed to the claim it can ‘cure’ it is essential. The ability to overcome the mental condition known as depression has far more strings attached beyond the ability to simply get a good night’s rest. The key to overcoming depression is associated with defining what the condition depends on to exist. From these core dependencies the development of an effective plan to manage stress with various coping strategies, a healthy daily routine, and healthy rest all play vital roles when combating depression. Basing depression solely around the idea of sleep is not only an error, but a delivery of false hope for people who struggle with the condition. The ability to see the condition for all that it is will be the only path that leads to eventually curing it.

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