Treatment Of Insomnia In Anxiety Disorder Discussion Response

Treatment Of Insomnia In Anxiety Disorder Discussion Response

Discussion Response

Insomnia is highly prevalent in psychiatric disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Its relationship with anxiety disorders is influenced by comorbid major depression; hence 58% of MDD patients have GAD (Brenes et al., 2019). Previous studies highlight that insomnia and sleep deprivation significantly increase anxiety (Asnis et al., 2020). Importantly, patients with high insomnia levels display high anxiety symptoms. As such, administering z-hypnotic drugs to improve sleep is the first treatment option for GAD Treatment Of Insomnia In Anxiety Disorder Discussion Response.

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Insomnia affects daytime functioning deleteriously and negatively impact quality of life. Its prevalence in patients suffering from GAD increases the likelihood of depression, suicidal behavior, and substance abuse. Huang et al., (2019) reports that insomnia is an under-recognized and under-treatment issue in patients with anxiety disorder, hence, it is important to consider it in early assessment of GAD. Additionally, doctors rarely enquire about insomnia while diagnosing GAD (Asnis et al., 2020). As such, obtaining a patient’s history is the first step for assessing insomnia and GAD.

Ideally, the presence of insomnia should be acknowledged and treated on its own in GAD patients. Although z-hypnotic drugs such as zolpidem, eszopiclone, and zaleplon were prescriptions used to treat epilepsy, anxiety, and insomnia decades ago, recent research confirm that the drugs have only be approved for insomnia (Brenes et al., 2019). A study by (Huang et al., 2019), report that before beginning GAD treatment, it is important to rule out any associated insomnia symptoms (substance abuse, medication treatment, and concurrent medical illness) that might worsen the condition.

Also, it is important to consider and eliminate other conditions such as excessive light, daytime naps, and loud music to reduce sleep deprivation. Later, administering z-hypnotic drugs can be considered to treat insomnia and GAD (Huang et al., 2019).

References

Asnis, G.M., Caneva, M., & Henderson, M.A. (2020). Treatment of insomnia in anxiety disorder. Psychiatric Times, vol 29, no.1,  https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/treatment-insomnia-anxiety-disorders

Brenes, G. A., Miller, M. E., Stanley, M. A., Williamson, J. D., Knudson, M., & McCall, W. V. (2019). Insomnia in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry: official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(6), 465–472. https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181987747

Huang, Z., Zhan, S., Chen, C., Li, N., Ding, Y., Hou, Y., Wang, L., & Wang, Y. (2019). The Effect of Insomnia on Cortical Excitability in Patients With Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 755. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00755 Treatment Of Insomnia In Anxiety Disorder Discussion Response