Sleep Health Center Philosophy
Are you tired of being tired? Are you sick of your health condition controlling your life? More importantly, do you want to be treated OR managed? At Sleep Health Center, we believe in actually treating those conditions that can be treated and assisting in the management of those which remain.
What do we mean by treatment?
Treatment involves going through a period of intervention which ultimately results in resolution or remission of the problem. A simple example of treatment would be taking an antibiotic for an infection. For this, you would take an antibiotic for a limited period of time and after the course of antibiotics, the infection would resolve and there would be no further need for additional intervention. Of course, it is possible that a similar infection could occur in the future, which would require another course of treatment.
We believe that many conditions can be treated! Unfortunately, too many conditions which may be able to be treated are just being managed. The reasons for this are numerous, however factors include limited time, and differences in training or expertise of healthcare providers.
Our current healthcare system is wonderful in many ways and terrible in others. A significant limitation involves the time providers have to spend with you. It is simply not possible to design an individualized treatment plan in a 10-minute office visit. As a result, too many are being “managed” with medication as providers don’t have the time or expertise to actually treat you.
Lack of training or expertise in treatments
Clinical experience has confirmed that many of those we see have never been told that there is an actual treatment for their condition. In some cases, this is because the provider they are seeing is either not aware of the available treatments or is aware of the treatment options but does not believe you will be able to succeed with the treatment. A good example of this is weight loss. So many providers have simply given up on recommending weight loss (a treatment for many conditions) as they feel like their recommendations will “fall upon deft ears”. However, many do succeed in losing weight and many can also succeed in improving their sleep and health in incredible ways.
At Sleep Health Center, we believe in you! We are constantly reviewing the literature and keeping up to date on available treatments for a variety sleep and health conditions. Clinical experience confirms that with adequate understanding, guidance, and support many of those we see are able to find a solution for their condition even when they thought they were a lost cause.
Management versus treatment: How can I know the difference?
If little is asked of you, and the intervention is relatively easy, then you are probably being managed. Examples of management of insomnia include taking medication nightly or listening to a guided meditation nightly. Such strategies may help in the short-term, however may be problematic in the long-term. Ultimately, the body will adjust to the sedating effects of the drug and they will stop working. To add insult to injury, once somebody has experienced short-term success in sleeping with these options, they are likely to develop the belief they cannot sleep without them, even when they are obviously no longer effective. This is called dependence. It is important to understand that all “management” strategies lead to dependence on the strategy and hence ARE habit forming. There is no such thing as a non-habit-forming management strategy.
Treatment on the other hand, generally involves time and effort. Treatment may be challenging, require you to develop a good understanding of your condition, will require you to make changes, and will take time and effort. The benefit is that you will ultimately not have to depend on anything outside of yourself for continued relief. The results of this short-term effort include the possibility of a true resolution of the problem which endures after the course of treatment.