TrendLife Baby

Postnatal insomnia is a torturous condition which means that, even when their baby is sleeping, sufferers lie awake with racing thoughts.  Life is slowly taken over with the anxiety and concerns about whether you will be able to sleep that night and how you will cope the next day. However, there is help at hand, a new form of therapy based on Mindfulness that has helped many new Mums overcome their insomnia.

Insomnia is a complex problem which can be linked with depression and / or anxiety but can also simply be caused through sleep disturbances caused by pregnancy, childbirth and night feeds.  These changes can come as quite a shock to a new mum. As tiredness sets in and the pressure of motherhood increases, a seed of doubt about their ability to cope can creep in and begin to take hold. At this point the pressure to get a good night’s sleep has never been so great, something that can push it further away.  In desperation some mums take sleeping tablets which can provide a short term respite and sometimes this is enough for some mums to get back on track, yet breastfeeding may have to be put on hold for that period.  For others going on anti-depressants can help ease the anxiety which then lets sleep happen.  For others therapy can help, CBT is commonly given as a solution but a more recent type of therapy, called Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT)can be hugely successful.  One reader went to the London Insomnia clinic with Dr Guy Meadows, a specialist in Sleep Disorders.  His practice focuses on mindfulness techniques which help you to accept the insomnia and by doing so, the fear lifts and normal sleep returns again. Our Mum found that over a period of a month her natural sleep began to return, and also the panic that came when she was lying awake and petrified of not coping the next day began to ease, even on the bad nights.

There are a range of workshops and private sessions available. For more information visit: www.londoninsomniaclinic.co.uk