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Gundo · 03-02-2016, 12:34 AM

3:28am.....that has been my witching hour for YEARS! Wake up full of stress and anxiety, fall back asleep for 30-45mins and then wake up.

Recently I have started to go to regular councilling for anxiety and stress related issues. My Psycoligist helped me by explaining why my brain wakes up at 110mph and keeping me awake and "snowballing".

She then gave me a mind excercise that seemed so simple I dismissed it at the time. Then one night I tried it, and it worked. And it worked well.

It's a needless mental excercise that requires thinking and keeps my brain working until I wind down and fall asleep. All I do is close my eyes and picture myself in a grocery store, then I start with the letter "A". I then picture myself looking for 1-2 things that start with that letter and move through the alphabet A-Z. Sometimes I only think of 1 item for each letter or if my mind is really going I make myself think of 2-3 items for each letter.

Sounds stupid I know, but I swear it works wonders. The other simple thing is I put a note pad on my nightstand to write down pressing matters that pop into myhead so I won't forget about them by morning.

But as someone who has suffered from stress and anxiety related insomnia for the better part of my adult life, speak to your doctor about it or perhaps try going to councilling to see if that may also help. I did and it has changed my life in the past 5 months.

03-02-2016, 12:34 AM	#210
Gundo First Line Centre Join Date: Oct 2005 Exp:	3:28am.....that has been my witching hour for YEARS! Wake up full of stress and anxiety, fall back asleep for 30-45mins and then wake up. Recently I have started to go to regular councilling for anxiety and stress related issues. My Psycoligist helped me by explaining why my brain wakes up at 110mph and keeping me awake and "snowballing". She then gave me a mind excercise that seemed so simple I dismissed it at the time. Then one night I tried it, and it worked. And it worked well. It's a needless mental excercise that requires thinking and keeps my brain working until I wind down and fall asleep. All I do is close my eyes and picture myself in a grocery store, then I start with the letter "A". I then picture myself looking for 1-2 things that start with that letter and move through the alphabet A-Z. Sometimes I only think of 1 item for each letter or if my mind is really going I make myself think of 2-3 items for each letter. Sounds stupid I know, but I swear it works wonders. The other simple thing is I put a note pad on my nightstand to write down pressing matters that pop into myhead so I won't forget about them by morning. But as someone who has suffered from stress and anxiety related insomnia for the better part of my adult life, speak to your doctor about it or perhaps try going to councilling to see if that may also help. I did and it has changed my life in the past 5 months. Last edited by Gundo; 03-02-2016 at 12:37 AM.