[Review] Chronic Insomnia Treatment | Malaysia - FYR Case

Name: FYR

  I was having very bad insomnia for the past 7 years. This insomnia problem has worsened during early 2019. I could not find out the reason of my insomnia other than blaming it to my work. It has worsened to the extent that I am unable to focus at work despite me being me a high-performance worker at work. In addition, I started to feel sad for no reason, being emotional, and this time I blame it to my insomnia.

I finally took the effort to solve my issue by seeking help from psychiatrist. However, it did not help as I could not tell them what issue I am facing. In the end, my brother found me this clinic and asked me to try. I was very skeptical at first but I decided to give it a try as I really want to overcome my problem. I started my therapy in April 2019 when I was on a short break from work. I had about 2 to 3 sessions before I resume work in May 2019. I can see improvement from the beginning as I am able to focus and perform at work. After continuing the sessions, I realized my main issue is stress management. I did not find a way to release the accumulated tension since young and in particular after started working. I took Hiro’s advice and applied the technique learned (e.g. taking a 1-minute silent break before entering my house after work every day). I realized this helped me to leave my stress at work before entering home. The people around me can also see that I am happier and more relaxed compared to January 2019.

            After 6 sessions in less than 4 months, I realized I am now able to cope with stress better. My insomnia has also improved. I believe the therapy that provided by Hiro Koo is a natural way to help people like me (e.g. non-medical condition like emotional or stress issue). I am really thankful to have made the decision to come to Hiro Koo in April 2019.

Remark: Our client's information will be kept strictly confidential all the time. All reviews and photos have been acknowledged and provided by past and current clients of Hiro Koo.

Review ( Non-drug approach - Insomnia Treatment Malaysia) - Miss Shilley Case

Name              : Miss S

The first initial reason for me to visit Hiro Koo is to improve my insomnia. Insomnia affected my mood, my work and my life. I had no mood to do anything including my social life and family life. I went to visit a psychiatrist before and took medications. The medicines did help me to fall asleep but I can wake up easily throughout the night. I will still feel tired and experience light sleeping issue. 

After several sessions of hypnotherapy, improvements were noticeable. I can sleep deeply and my sleep quality improved. Now, I felt motivated to work and I had better interaction with my family member. All the worries about sleep gone and I can concentrate on tasks. Other than this, I found that my emotions are much more stable and can think rationally. Before this, I always feel that my world is in grey color and meaningless. But now, I can get rid of all these hopeless feelings. 

Clinical Hypnotherapy sessions helped me to find out the root cause of my problem. I learn how to manage myself and I felt a sense of control. However, I realized that 50% of success need to depend on myself, I need to take responsibility as well throughout all the sessions for better improvements.


Remark: Our client's information will be kept strictly confidential all the time. All reviews and photos have been acknowledged and provided by past and current clients of Hypnosis Integrative Hub (Clinical Hypnotherapist Hiro Koo). Clients names have been changed to protect their identity. 

Sleep disorder-Insomnia therapy in Malaysia (Neurofeedback method)

Sleep Difficulties Have a Variety of Contributors 
Many complex factors contribute to sleeplessness and insomnia including stress, anxiety, trauma, and habitual over-thinking resulting in abnormal brain wave function.

Why am I Tired All of the Time? 
Until recently, insomnia was studied from a behavioral perspective, but as this problem grows, new research and insights have been discovered. Recent studies suggest that in cases of insomnia, the brain is unable to process information properly due to cortical hyperarousal. This creates abnormal brainwave function.

Restore Sleep Naturally
By retraining the brain and improving brainwave function in those key areas affected by insomnia, the brain is rewarded through neurofeedback for creating healthier patterns. As the brain learns new responses, new patterns and pathways develop improving brainwave function as you begin to sleep better, longer.

Does Neurofeedback Work? 
Clinical studies have shown neurofeedback to be an effective, drugless, natural approach to insomnia, especially for people who have struggled for years. If you are ready to be able to fall asleep and stay asleep, for improved energy, health and wellbeing, then it’s time to relax and reward your brain.


Why Does Neurofeedback Work? 
Neurofeedback takes advantage of the brain’s ability to change itself through a process known as Neuroplasticity. It utilizes the same learning process that occurs whenever we acquire a new skill. The brain learns by forming connections between nerve cells and utilizing important pathways that connect different locations in the brain. The more frequently you utilize these pathways the better the brain becomes at performing the associated task. In psychology, this type of leaning is called “Operant Conditioning”. It is a type of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences. Quite simply, Neurofeedback offers the perfect learning conditions, since it facilitates awareness of when the brain is producing healthier brainwave patterns, provides reinforcement for the positive change and multiple opportunities to provide practice during a training session.

How do I start with neurofeedback?
A comprehensive assessment is where neurofeedback therapy begins. The assessment allows me to determine whether a client’s brainwave patterns are different from normal. Based on your brainwaves analysis results, we then create a restorative plan of care. Each assessment provides me with neurofeedback training protocols. These protocols are designed to retrain the brainwave patterns towards better pattern. The result of rebalancing these brain waves improve health, healing and functionality for lasting results.


Contact us if you would like to do a brainwaves analysis assessment. 
Kindly note that this is not a medical diagnostic but merely provides additional information for your brain to run more efficiently and sleep better. 
The price of this assessment is RM190 (Report will be provided).



Source:
https://braincoretherapy.com/brainwaves/

How to Overcome Insomnia in Malaysia - CBT | Hypnotherapy Treatment | Drug-Free Approach

Common causes of insomnia
Sometimes, insomnia only lasts a few days and goes away on its own, especially when the insomnia is tied to an obvious temporary cause, such as stress over an upcoming presentation or a painful breakup. Chronic insomnia, however, is usually tied to an underlying psychological or medical issue.

Psychological problems and emotional distress. Anxiety and depression are two of the most common causes of chronic insomnia. Other common emotional and psychological causes include chronic or significant life stress, anger, worry, grief, bipolar disorder, and trauma.

Medical problems or illness. Many medical conditions and diseases can contribute to insomnia, including asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, kidney disease, and cancer. Chronic pain is also a very common cause of insomnia.

Medications. Many prescription drugs can interfere with sleep, including antidepressants, stimulants for ADHD, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications, and some contraceptives. Common over-the-counter culprits include cold and flu medications that contain alcohol, pain relievers that contain caffeine (Midol, Excedrin), diuretics, and slimming pills.

Sleep disorders. Insomnia is itself a sleep disorder, but it can also be a symptom of other sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and circadian rhythm disturbances tied to jet lag or late-night shift work.


When to seek professional treatment 
If you’ve tried the insomnia self-help strategies above and are still having trouble getting the sleep you need, a doctor or sleep disorder specialist may be able to help.
Seek professional help for insomnia if:

• Your insomnia doesn’t respond to self-help 
• Your insomnia is causing major problems at home, work, or school 
• You’re experiencing scary symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath 
• Your insomnia occurs almost every night and is getting worse 

Bring a sleep diary with you. Your doctor may be able to diagnose an illness or sleep disorder that's causing your insomnia, or refer you to a sleep specialist or cognitive behavioral therapist.



Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for Insomnia

CBT is aimed at breaking the cycle of insomnia. Poor sleep tends to lead to stress and anxious thoughts about not being able to sleep. This in turn leads to stress and tension, which leads to poor sleeping habits, such as the use of sleeping pills. This leads to worsening insomnia and so on.

In addition to improving sleep habits, CBT is aimed at changing thoughts and feelings about sleep that may be causing stress and contributing to your insomnia. A therapist may also recommend sleep restriction therapy, whereby you initially shorten your sleep time. The idea is that by limiting the time you spend in bed to the number of hours you actually sleep, say from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., you'll spend less time awake and more time asleep. As your sleep efficiency increases you'll gradually start going to bed earlier and getting up later until you reach your optimum sleep schedule.

Clinical Hypnotherapy for Insomnia
It is important to contact your GP if you are experiencing a sleep disorder. They will be able to provide you with a diagnosis and advice, as well as being able to rule out any underlying medical conditions. At this stage your doctor may recommend a special treatment or service, such as hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy focuses on understanding and changing patterns of behaviour. Though the cause of the problem will vary for each individual, there are many conditions that may increase the risk of developing a sleep disorder. Certain psychiatric disorders, sleep deprivation, various medical conditions and medications, as well as previous trauma are thought to be underlying causes of sleep disorders.

Hypnotherapy has been used as a way of altering and reconditioning negative patterns of behaviour for many years. Hypnotherapy for sleep disorders will do this by seeking out the root cause of the problem and altering the individual’s perception of it. Many sleep disorders are fuelled and worsened by issues that can be effectively treated with hypnotherapy, such as stress and anxiety. Usually it is not the situation itself that causes stress but the way we react to it. By inducing a state of deep relaxation, the hypnotherapist will be able to gain access to the unconscious mind. The hypnotherapist will target the negative thought patterns, teaching the individual how to manage the feelings and view them in a positive perspective.

A clinical hypnotherapist may use a combination of the techniques mentioned, or they may think you will benefit from just one. To achieve the most effective outcome, the practitioner will consider your concerns. After this, they will tailor the treatment to your personal circumstances.


Message from Hiro Koo: 
We have succefully treated many patients who suffering insomnia. They were treated with clinical hypnosis combined with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and EEG biofeedback method. If you’ve had insomnia for a long period of time, if you have tried sleep medications and haven’t had significant relief, or if there’s no obvious medical or psychiatric cause you’re aware of, then it’s likely you’ll want to address your concerns about the sleep disturbance as well as habits you’ve developed over time that will perpetuate insomnia. Clinical hypnotherapy combined with CBT and EEG biofeedback training method might be your key to improve your symptoms. 
Our unique drug-free approach will help you sleep better from today onward. 
Contact us now for more info.




Source;
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/cant-sleep-insomnia-treatment.htm
https://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/choosing-cbt-insomnia-specialist
http://www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/articles/sleep-disorders.html

Insomnia Treatment in Malaysia

Insomnia Meaning:
Insomnia is a lack of sleep due to insufficient sleep quality or quantity. The insomniac’s major complaint is awakening during sleep, followed by difficulty falling asleep. An insomniac may sleep but experience poor sleep quality, also known as nonrestorative sleep. As a result of a lack of quality sleep, impairments are experienced in social and occupational functioning.

The three types of insomnia are sleep insomnia involving difficulty falling asleep, sleep maintenance involving awakening during sleep, and late insomnia involving early morning awakenings. Insomnia can be episodic lasting for a period of one month within 3 months, or persistent lasting longer than 3 months. Recurrent insomnia is two or more episodes within a year. Insomnia disorder is one of the major three groupings of sleep disorders under DSM-5, together with hypersomnia and arousal disorders.


Insomnia Symptoms:
The DSM-5’s major criteria for a diagnosis of insomnia, in brief, are (APA, 2013):

1. Dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality, with one or more of the following symptoms: difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early-morning awakening 
2. The sleep disturbance causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, educational, academic, behavioral, or other important areas of functioning 
3. The sleep difficulty occurs at least 3 nights per week, is present for at least 3 months, and despite adequate opportunity for sleep 
4. The insomnia does not co-occur with another sleep disorder 
5. The insomnia is not explained by coexisting mental disorders or medical condition

Insomnia is a precursor to, and comorbid with, a number of mental and medical disorders. To ensure proper treatment, DSM-5 recognizes that one or more disorders may be present at the same time. A medical condition such as chronic pain or mental disorder such as breathing-related sleep disorder may be the cause of the insomnia. However, DSM-5 does stipulate that the insomnia should be clinically significant on its own to warrant a diagnosis.


Insomnia Treatment:
Medication is the most commonly used treatment for insomnia. A class of sedatives called hypnotics is typically prescribed. Benzodiazepine has a high risk of side effects and long-term dependence, and therefore is recommended for short-term use. Nonbenzodiazepines are more commonly prescribed today but still have a risk of side effects and are habit forming. Doctors will first try non-drug approaches to treat insomnia. These may include mind relaxation exercises and avoiding stimulants before bedtime such as caffeine. Despite the complications, insomnia worsens when patients go off medication for insomnia.

Psychotherapy approaches (Such as CBT-I) include stimulus control to teach the association between the bed and sleeping, sleep restriction to restore sleep regulation, and cognitive restructuring to address anxiety-related thoughts that lead to a lack of sleep (Mitchell, 2012).
While almost half of us report being kept awake by stress or worry, increasing evidence suggests that a large proportion of chronic, long-term insomnia is caused not by environmental factors but by the very worry we feel about getting our prescribed eight hours. In short, this sleep performance anxiety – our worries about getting enough sleep – is stopping us from getting the sleep we need. Thus, sleep performance anxiety issue should be addressed first during the therapy session.
Study also finds that those highly suggestible to clinical hypnosis can have deeper sleep after hypnotic suggestion.


Message from Hiro Koo:
Our psychological hypnosis approach will combine psychotherapy and clinical hypnosis methods to deal with your insomnia problem. First, we will do an initial consultation (Include brainwaves analysis method) to find out the root cause of your insomnia problem. After that, we will recommend the most helpful method to deal with your insomnia. Please drop me an email if you need more info: [email protected]



Source:
http://www.theravive.com/therapedia/Insomnia-Disorder-DSM--5-780.52-(G47.00)
http://www.healthista.com/want-better-sleep-worry-less-about-how-much-youre-getting/