July 2026 - Page 2 of 2 - Dr. Charles Freeman - San Diego Insomnia and Sleep Problems Treatment

Dr. Charles R. Freeman standing against a purple background with the words Why Trauma Causes Insomnia, explaining how trauma affects sleep

Why Trauma Affects Sleep for Years

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, Insomnia, San Diego Sleep Specialist, Sleep Psychology, Trauma and PTSD / admin

Trauma affects sleep for years because the body may continue operating as if danger is still nearby, even when the traumatic event is over. That is why trauma affects sleep long after the event has ended. A person may intellectually know, “I am safe now,” while the nervous system still reacts at night with alertness, nightmares, anxiety, muscle tension, racing thoughts, or early-morning waking.

If you are asking, “Why am I still having sleep problems years after the traumatic event ended?” the answer is usually not weakness, failure, or lack of willpower. Trauma can teach the brain and body to scan for threat. Sleep requires letting go of control. For trauma survivors, that letting go can feel unsafe, especially at night when distractions are gone and the mind becomes quieter.

As a behavioral medicine psychologist specializing in insomnia, PTSD, trauma, nightmares, and CBT-I, I often tell patients that insomnia is frequently the symptom, not the root cause. Sleep is one of the foundations of health, but when trauma has trained the nervous system to stay on guard, sleep can become one of the first areas to break down and one of the last areas to fully recover without proper treatment.

Why Trauma Affects Sleep for Years Read More »

A purple sleep hypnosis graphic showing a person holding a pendulum with the words Sleep Hypnosis

What Is Sleep Hypnosis?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), San Diego Sleep Specialist, Sleep Hypnosis, Sleep Psychology / admin

Sleep hypnosis is a focused, guided therapeutic process that helps the mind and body move out of alertness and toward a calmer state that is more compatible with sleep. It is not magic, mind control, or stage entertainment. In clinical practice, sleep hypnosis is best understood as one possible tool within behavioral sleep medicine, especially for people whose insomnia is connected to tension, worry, conditioned alertness, trauma, or an overactive nervous system.

Can sleep hypnosis help you sleep better? For some people, yes. It may help by reducing mental and physical arousal, giving the mind a structured path away from rumination, and helping the body experience bedtime as safer and calmer. Research on sleep-directed hypnosis suggests it may improve subjective sleep quality, although it should not be presented as a cure for insomnia or as a replacement for a full evaluation when sleep problems are chronic, complex, or trauma-related.

In my work as a behavioral medicine psychologist, I think of insomnia as the visible part of a larger picture. The sleep problem is often the symptom, not the whole condition. Below the surface may be anxiety, sleep anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, grief, medication dependence, perfectionism, or years of frustration from trying to force sleep. Sleep hypnosis can be useful, but the real question is not simply, “Can hypnosis make me sleep?” The better question is, “What is keeping my mind and body too activated to sleep naturally?”

What Is Sleep Hypnosis? Read More »

EMDR for Trauma-Related Problems

EMDR, PTSD, Trauma and PTSD / admin

EMDR for trauma-related problems may help when painful memories, body reactions, nightmares, shame, fear, or relationship patterns continue long after the original experience has ended. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured trauma therapy that helps patients work with disturbing memories without simply talking in circles about the past. Trauma-related problems are not limited to one diagnosis. Some people have PTSD. Some have Complex PTSD.

Others do not think of themselves as “traumatized,” but they still live with a nervous system that stays on guard. They may avoid certain people or places, wake up in panic, shut down emotionally, feel chronically ashamed, or keep repeating relationship patterns that make sense only when the trauma history is understood.

EMDR for Trauma-Related Problems Read More »

EMDR and PTSD Recovery

Active Duty Military and Dependents, EMDR, PTSD / admin

EMDR may support PTSD recovery for some patients by helping them process traumatic memories that continue to trigger fear, shame, anger, body tension, nightmares, avoidance, and hypervigilance. EMDR is not about erasing the past. It is about helping the nervous system respond differently so the traumatic memory is no longer experienced as if the danger is happening right now. A 2022 open trial published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology studied an intensive outpatient PTSD program that combined EMDR, prolonged exposure therapy, group psychoeducation, and physical activity. The results were encouraging: 55% to 62% of patients showed clinically significant recovery in PTSD symptoms, there were large treatment effects, no dropouts among those who started, high attendance, and high patient satisfaction.

That distinction matters: this study did not test EMDR by itself. It tested an intensive PTSD treatment package that included EMDR along with prolonged exposure therapy, physical activity, psychoeducation, therapist rotation, and frequent treatment sessions. We cannot say which part of the program contributed most to the improvement. What we can say is that structured, trauma-focused treatment can help many patients when it is carefully planned, paced, and monitored.

As a behavioral medicine psychologist, I look at PTSD recovery practically. Trauma affects thoughts, emotions, sleep, the body, relationships, work, and the person’s sense of safety. Good treatment should not be vague. It should help the patient build tools that last beyond the therapy office.

EMDR and PTSD Recovery Read More »