Stress Center Peer Support

Hi, everyone!

The last couple of nights have been rough. I have not been tired at bedtime, and I have been obsessing ridiculously as soon as my head hits the pillow. It actually does not matter how tired I am when I go to bed. As soon as I lay down, my eyes are wide open. I have been trying to talk to myself (positive self-talk), but so far, I am not doing a great job at it. I know as I progress through the program, that I will get better at this (only in week 1 right now). Does anyone else obsess a lot when they try to go to sleep? If so, what do you do to overcome it and actually fall asleep at a decent hour?

Genie

Hi, I am new, but I just recently went through what you are going through. I can tell you, that setting yourself up with a routine that tells your body it is time to rest worked for me. I started journaling every evening. It is wonderful and very calming. I started doing this Jauary 1, 2008, and I have never missed a day. I also do muscle relaxtions when I get into bed. It took about 3 to 4 months before my body and mind knew to shut off and go to sleep. The mind is very powerful, when it races throughout the night, I would just tell myself I was having calm, relaxing thoughts. I also pictured myself floating on a raft down a lazy river on a warm day, passing by people who are important to me. I also pictured my son's face while he was sleeping. It took some time, but it worked. Good Luck. You are not alone.

i too suffer from racing thoughts when i try to sleep in fact that is what triggred my anxity not the other way around. I try just telling my self that i will sleep and try planning on it all day. Its hit or miss i just got the program yesterday so i am excited but i could not sleep this past night and it terrifies me. let me know if anything works for you. oh also as i understand it if you are eating late at night you body takes about six hours to digest food if your digestive system is not working it can take put to 10 hours and useually the most work digesting in your body is done between 10pm and 2pm i hope this helps.

Hey there,
I just wanted to say that as you progress through the next couple of weeks in the program- and as your anxeity is reduced the obssessive thoughts will begin to subside and you will be able to go to sleep at a decent hour and sleep well. I am on session two and I have found the relaxation session to be the best thing you can do to learn to shut off you mind. stick with it-- you are doing great!

Wow! Everyone was so quick to respond! I appreciate it! Thanks for the suggestions!

LisaLisa: I like the lazy river visualization. I will definitely give it a try!

lael: I will let you know if I find something that works!

Mrs. G: Thanks for the support. I needed that! I will start week 2 in a few days. I just need to hang on until then and do the best I can!

Genie

Hello!

I haven't been on the forum for a long while, but I have been having some "challenging" nights as of late. I can completely relate to the huge amount of anxiety caused by losing sleep. The cycle reciprocates itself because you are now more anxious about sleeping and it just goes and goes.

I was on anxiety medication for over a year, had counseling and went through the entire StressCenter.com program. I have to say that the support of my wife, this program and the people on this forum were some of the main reasons I have felt that I made a complete recovery. I truly belive the therapy and teachings in this program are some of the most important things you can do for yourself.

Recently I have switched jobs, my wife and I are trying to have children, and we are selling our home to move out of state. Add to that the daily effects of regular stress and it can build up over time. I have found the last few days that sleep is really elusive. This in turn heightens my anxiety and I feel very much like I did when I was first beginning to go through this program.

The big difference is the realization that I can see clearly what I am dealing with and practicing exactly what was taught to me months back. But, the thoughts are very difficult to ignore, the mind starts racing and I find myself in a uncomfortable night trying to relax enough to go to sleep. My mind bounces from thought to thought and I have found that my obsessive tendencies lend to scary "what-ifs" that don't seem to let go very easliy.

My advice (to you and myself) is that by practicing relaxing and filling your days with things that fulfill you and a nighttime routine of settling down, then you will see results in being rid of nighttime obsessing.

We don't realize that this type of behavior actually is something that we have learned to do so well that it has become second-nature and that we can also learn to be relazed and sleep well every night just by turning toward things that make us relaxed. Sleep is not something that we can make happen, it is a result of the body and mind letting go and doing what is natural for restoring itself. We fight ourselves with thoughts that release chemicals into our bloodstream that make our hearts and minds race and it makes for a very rough night.

I apologize if this post is a little disjointed and difficult to read, as I am actually telling myself again to do the things I learned to get back to "normal".

I do hope that we all continue to recover and find out more about ourselves. As with myself, things do pop up over the years that make us step back and realize that we may have gotten away from the good things that relaxed us before, but we can turn back to them whenever we want.

Good luck!
Eric