On the Couch with Gail Saltz, M.D. | A Mental Health Blog at iVillage.com
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Losing Sleep Over Money
A recent survey found that 90 percent of Americans are having trouble sleeping as a result of worrying about economic issues. People are worrying during the day too, but nothing quite stokes anxiety like lying down to relax with no distractions at all; just blackness and quiet looming before you. This is when obsessive worries can really take over, making sleep impossible. Unfortunately, the less you sleep the more worried and irritable you will feel the next day. It can become a worsening vicious cycle.
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To break that cycle, it is important to form your plan during the day. How will you deal with your money, your job and your home? For example, you can stop going out to lunch to save money, polish up that resume, and make an appointment with a financial advisor to discuss how you can better manage your money and your home. At night, when worry starts to knock, remind yourself that you already have done whatever you deemed doable and that there is nothing to be gained by mulling it over now.
Employing methods to relax your body, such as muscle relaxation and deep abdominal breathing, can be helpful. Visualize a relaxing spot to help calm your mind. Tell yourself that it is only worth worrying about something if you can actually do something about it, and then do what you need to do to cease the worry.
Situational sleep problems like this are best handled with these techniques rather than jumping to medication. However, if the problem is going on for weeks and impairing your functioning during the day, you should see a doctor to evaluate if medication may be helpful.
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To break that cycle, it is important to form your plan during the day. How will you deal with your money, your job and your home? For example, you can stop going out to lunch to save money, polish up that resume, and make an appointment with a financial advisor to discuss how you can better manage your money and your home. At night, when worry starts to knock, remind yourself that you already have done whatever you deemed doable and that there is nothing to be gained by mulling it over now.
Employing methods to relax your body, such as muscle relaxation and deep abdominal breathing, can be helpful. Visualize a relaxing spot to help calm your mind. Tell yourself that it is only worth worrying about something if you can actually do something about it, and then do what you need to do to cease the worry.
Situational sleep problems like this are best handled with these techniques rather than jumping to medication. However, if the problem is going on for weeks and impairing your functioning during the day, you should see a doctor to evaluate if medication may be helpful.
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that's not a question of money, that's a question of a stress. It doesn't matter what is the reason of stress the result is always the same: sleepless nights and high nervosity...