Insomnia Treatment in West Ashley, Charleston
Expert evaluation and treatment for chronic insomnia — medication options and behavioral approaches to help you sleep again.
Understanding Chronic Insomnia
Chronic insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early — occurring three or more nights per week for three or more months. It is not simply a bad night of sleep. Chronic insomnia affects every dimension of your life: mood, cognition, work performance, physical health, and relationships. It is also one of the most common co-occurring conditions with anxiety and depression — and often, treating the underlying psychiatric condition resolves the insomnia.
At Hope Behavioral Medicine in West Ashley, our providers take insomnia seriously as both a symptom and a condition in its own right. We evaluate for underlying causes, provide medication options when appropriate, and incorporate behavioral approaches that address the root patterns keeping you awake.
Our Approach to Insomnia Treatment
Your evaluation begins with a thorough assessment of your sleep patterns, medical history, psychiatric history, and current medications. Many patients with insomnia also have untreated anxiety or depression — we screen for these conditions and treat them simultaneously, as addressing the underlying cause often resolves the sleep problem.
Medication options include trazodone (commonly used off-label for sleep at low doses), hydroxyzine (for anxiety-related insomnia), melatonin receptor agonists, and in selected cases, short-term sleep aids. We avoid long-term use of sedative-hypnotics and instead focus on sustainable solutions. Our counselors also provide CBT-I informed approaches — cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia — which addresses the thought patterns and behaviors that perpetuate poor sleep.
Behavioral Strategies
Sleep restriction therapy, stimulus control (using the bed only for sleep), consistent wake times, and sleep hygiene education are all components of evidence-based insomnia treatment. These approaches are often as effective as medication in the long term and can be combined with medication for patients with severe symptoms. Living in the Charleston Lowcountry brings additional sleep challenges: high humidity, seasonal heat, and longer daylight hours during summer months can all disrupt sleep patterns. Our providers understand these regional factors and incorporate them into your treatment plan.
Also available via telehealth: Insomnia treatment for all of South Carolina →