Emotional Factors
If you’ve ever had trouble sleeping, it will not surprise you that sleep and emotional health and well-being are intimately connected. What may surprise you, however, is that chronic sleep problems, if left untreated, can increase your risk of developing depression or anxiety even if you’ve never been particularly depressed or anxious.
Additionally, more than 25% of Americans struggle with some form of a mental health condition, which can also interfere with sleep. At times these sleep difficulties persist even though the mood or anxiety disorder improves. Consequently, treatment of mood disorders can also result in sleep disturbance or low energy.
Dr. Scott also understands the special needs and concerns of her patients recovering from alcoholism and substance abuse and that poor sleep is a risk factor for relapse. Together you will create a treatment plan that is both effective and consistent with your sobriety.
It is important to know that we all can experiences changes in our ability to sleep just as we experience changes in our ability to manage our blood pressure, cholesterol or vision. Since low mood, distractibility and anxiety commonly result from poor sleep, it can be difficult to tease apart the symptoms and the causes. Sleep and mood disorders (anxiety, depression, attention-deficit disorder) share similar symptoms and what initially might appear or be, or is diagnosed as a mental health disorder could actually be a sleep disorder in disguise.
Understanding the interplay between mental health and sleep is complex. Dr. Scott respects this complexity and believes that healthy sleep is imperative to a healthy emotional life.