I absolutely hate ruminating at night, it's different then in the day time like I can combat the thoughts easier during the day. But at night it's like a whole different ball game as if I have no defense. And this triggers my anxiety, I'm so tired and sleepy I wanna sleep but I can't get these thoughts to just stop. Any advice is welcome and needed.
Look up Wim Hof breathing guided session on YouTube :) When you’re done meditate. Focus on your breath and the present moment and nothing else. Gently guide your mind back to focusing on your breath if your mind strays
Thank you I'm always open to different sleeping techniques.
Hi it was also my problem. Day I could do well, with ACT therapy even better, but at night it was hard... because at day I can refocus attention elsewhere, but at night it was only black room/emptiness in mind or intrusive thoughts... at worst I used sleep medication, but then sleep suplement... but nowdays I do not need it, because I learned new techniques and therapies...MCT therapy has attention training in it and anti rumination skills... i read about it and applyed it...it really helped...knowing I can change attention to whatever I want I learned to think about normal stuff at night and when OCD came to refocus to normal thinking...also I had problem with intrusive images, I noticed that when I think in words images dont came, only when I start fantacize about normal things these pop up...than also tried focus ony breath...and also do not feeding OCD especially before sleep...that was a mistake for me...I ruminated on OCD before sleep...we are also stop rumination, we have power to do this... ... and when worst of worst came I changed intrusive images to somthing positive - but I think it is compulsion, so I do not recommend it...but at worst I also changed images to something to ridicle, some joke...even few time to visualized frenquency...but these last I think can be still compulsions
and I also tried to think of nothing, only experience conciousness and awareness as in meditation...or meditate on emptiness-nothingness
I realize how simplistic this sounds but it works for me. It’s also tedious and hard to get used to but if you stick to it, it eventually seems to help shut my brain down. It’s a variation of “counting sheep”. The problem with counting sheep (or alligators or wombats or whatever) is that we are too familiar with the numbers system from every day usage. Soooo, the trick I found to exhaust (and try to empty) my brain is this: Count backwards from 1000. Its just mentally engaging enough that it helps pull your focus away from intrusive thoughts. They may try to creep back in but counting backwards is just unfamiliar enough for me that I have to focus a little more mental bandwidth, which tends to stop the thoughts and also tire me out…. Silly, perhaps but it has worked for me when I am really struggling to get some rest. Oh, and optimize your sleeping space for yourself, if you haven’t. I discovered after 40 years that sleeping on my side with a long pillow on either side of my body gives me optimal “rest position”. These are things you can tweak but all help. Good luck!
Thanks You so much for sharing and I'm willing to try the things you suggest.
May I ask what mct is?
I have work at 4am tomorrow and normally am asleep by 9 or 10 at the latest to be up by 2:30. But the thoughts are so bad I’m afraid of even closing my eyes and lately I’ve been going to bed at 6pm to fall asleep by midnight. I’m so over this. Any tips for falling asleep without getting bad thoughts. I keep picturing imperfect things or reliving every event that triggered me throughout the day. Last night I literally tried falling asleep without closing my eyes (which is impossible) then had to work today running on 3 hours of heavily interrupted sleep. I’m so exhausted and just over this.
I was so tired today until I turned off the lights and got into bed. Everytime im in bed I start ruminating and panicking and it just doesn’t stop. Sometimes I won’t be able to calm down until it’s 4 am. I’m just so frustrated
Hi I haven’t slept in a week because I’m so afraid of my thoughts and not being able to control them or work through them by ruminating. I’ve slept a few hours here and there but I wake up with this really scary fear response/adrenaline rush because i feel like I know I was thinking something really disturbing in my sleep but I wasn’t conscious enough to remember it and the adrenaline is so intense that I feel like if I can’t remember what the dreams were I don’t know what I will do. Sometimes I run to the shower and turn on the water and just rock back and forth on the floor because I’m so afraid of my thoughts. I have such a hard time letting myself relax enough to fall asleep because I can feel myself losing control over my thoughts in my half asleep state and it feels like I’m tripping or something. Does anyone else feel like this? How do you get yourself to fall asleep? Any advice? Thank you
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