How do I know if I have chronic insomnia disorder?
Insomnia - difficulty with falling asleep and staying asleep - is very common. How do you know if you have chronic insomnia disorder? Whether or not a person has chronic insomnia disorder can sometimes be very clear cut, but many other times may feel tricky to diagnose. One of the reasons it can be hard to tell is that insomnia can be a symptom of something else, or it can be a disorder in its own right. Let’s do a deeper dive into what this really means.
Insomnia is a symptom of many mental health disorders, like generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and PTSD. It can also be a side effect from taking medications like beta blockers, steroids, and certain antidepressants. Medical disorders or conditions that cause chronic pain, and frequent urination also commonly lead to insomnia. So when are these symptoms just symptoms of your medical condition or the medication you’re taking and when do they point to chronic insomnia disorder? One way to distinguish this is by examining the persistence and frequency of your symptoms. For example, if anxiety and racing thoughts cause you to have difficulty falling asleep 1-2 nights per week, it’s most likely a symptom of your anxiety disorder. In contrast, if your anxiety feels like it has been keeping you up most nights of the week for the last year, you likely have chronic insomnia disorder as well as an anxiety disorder.
Why does distinguishing insomnia symptoms from chronic insomnia disorder matter?
It matters because it will tell us how to treat your insomnia. If your insomnia is truly just a symptom of another issue, then it should improve once you’ve treated the underlying problem. If you have chronic insomnia disorder, it is unlikely to go away when the problem it’s related to is treated. You’ll also likely need treatment specifically to treat your insomnia. Talk to your doctor or a behavioral sleep medicine specialist if you have questions about whether you have chronic insomnia disorder and could benefit from treatment. If you’re in Colorado or Illinois and would like to get assessed and treated for chronic insomnia disorder, you can contact me here.
About Dr. Liz Culnan | Denver, CO & Chicago, IL
Dr. Liz Culnan is a licensed clinical health psychologist with specialized training in the areas of perinatal/reproductive mental health and behavioral sleep medicine. She is passionate about supporting women through reproductive and life transitions. Learn more here.
Other services offered at Mindful Health Psychology:
Mindful Health Psychology is a practice offering online therapy for Denver, CO, Chicago, IL and beyond in the states of Colorado and Illinois. We specialize in therapy for anxiety, depression, depression and anxiety during pregnancy, postpartum anxiety and depression, coping with miscarriage and pregnancy loss, PMDD, coping with fertility-related stressors, birth trauma, coping with a chronic medical condition, insomnia, nightmares, circadian rhythm disorders, and hypersomnia disorders. We provide online therapy, making treatment more accessible, which means you can be located in Denver, Chicago, or another city in Colorado or Illinois to receive services.