Dedicated Worry Times and Paradoxical Intention
In this blog, we will describe two techniques that will help you overcome insomnia. One is “Dedicated worry times”. Worry is when one thinks about adverse and negative events that might happen in future. During the day time, people tend to worry all the time. Dedicated worry times are not about reducing the worries but reducing the time spent on worrying. This kind of negative rumination constantly might disrupt sleep at night to a large extent. We encourage people to have “Dedicated worry times”. This is a strategy often used in cognitive behaviour therapy and will form part of therapy for insomnia. First, consider how much time you want to invest in worrying.
Secondly, consider when you will worry and choose a place to worry. Do not do anything else during the dedicated worry time except worry. Sit in a desired place and write or think about one single worry occupying your mind. During the daytime, set a time for worry in the morning and evening. Say15minutes each. During this “worry time”, do not do anything but “worry”. Pick one concern and worry yourself to the maximum about one concern at a time. DO NOT try to find solutions. DO NOT reassure yourself. DO NOT go into a problem-solving mode. DO NOT distract yourself, but try to worry about one concern to the maximum.
You must stop worrying as soon as the worry time is over. You can immediately get up from that place and switch activities such as cleaning your room, returning to your desk to work, returning to the kitchen, or switching on the TV. You must train your mind to escape the worry once the dedicated worry time is over. Then,DO NOT worry during the rest of the day until the next worry time, when you can pick one more worry. Setting worry times like this will teach your mind that it is not helpful to worry all the time and set your mind free during other times.
The second technique that we will be discussing in this blog is known as “Paradoxical Intention”. Paradoxical intention is a CBT technique used since the 1970s in treating insomnia. This technique aims to do the opposite of what you intend to achieve. For example, your intention might be to sleep immediately after hitting the bed. But that, in turn, might cause you a lot of pressure and increase anxiety, known as performance anxiety. However, when you use this paradoxical intention technique, you do not go to bed with the intention “to sleep.” You might want to stay awake but relax and be mindful the whole night without any pressure to sleep.
When you are unable to sleep, you can rehearse the following in your mind: “I am awake”, “I don’t have to sleep”, and “I can stay awake the whole night”. When the pressure to have to sleep is taken away from your mind, you will realise that the lack of pressure will help you relax more easily and go to sleep better. This week or next, try the two techniques mentioned above – one during the daytime, known as “Dedicated Worry Times”, and the second during the night, known as “Paradoxical Intention”. These two techniques will help you overcome insomnia with ease.
In Chennai Minds we offer exclusive treatment for Insomnia and have developed packages which incorporates diet, psychoeducation, CBT, yoga and mindfulness. Chennai minds , the Best Psychiatrist in Chennai now also offering Telepsychiatry including Online Counselling for Depression and OCD as well.
