Depression and Insomnia: The Chicken or the Egg?

According to David N. Neubauer, M.D, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, at least 80 percent of depressed people experience some form of insomnia. The link between depression and insomnia is well documented. Until recently, it was assumed that depression brought on the insomnia, but science is now suggesting that insomnia is the chariot for depression.

This is no surprise to any average, healthy minded person who has dealt with insomnia. I've had my share of sleep troubles. Sleep is a vital factor of living a healthy life, especially for our minds. It's hard to function when you are sleep deprived. I remember going to the doctor pleading for help and leaving with a prescription for Prozac. I assured the doctor that my problems where with sleep and nothing else but since I was only the person experiencing the symptom and did not have a degree, I guess I was not qualified to make such allegations based on a lifetime in this body.

Once the Prozac failed I was taken off of it and put on another anti-depressant. This cycle repeated to the point where I was given more aggressive drugs that had me lying motionless on my couch dripping tears from my eyes. Finally, I was actually depressed. Luckily, I found a cure. I immediately stopped taking the antidepressants. I know they say you should not quit cold turkey, but I was in a state of mind where nothing mattered. I wasn't suicidal, but if the house was on fire I would not have gotten up to safe myself. I just did not care. It was vital to get out of that mindset as soon as possible.

I then switched doctors and luckily my new doctor understood the importance of sleep and wrote me a prescription for Ambien. Ambien has received a lot of bad press from people who have misused it but, for those who are trying to get sleep, Ambien offers sweet relief. Anything in this world could be misused. There have actually been people who have overdosed on water. Really, look it up. The Ambien put me to sleep and allowed me to get my mind right so I no longer had to worry about falling asleep while driving.

Now that there are people with fancy degrees acknowledging the link between getting sleep and having a healthy mind, maybe doctors will start treating sleep problems before tinkering around with a person's brain chemistry.

Sources: pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com,livestrong.com , scienceagogo.com, medicalnewstoday.com,
psychosomaticmedicine.org, jfponline.com