Mixed things in head when try to sleep:(

[GreyGirl]

Omg,i don't know how to start and what to do because i am tired from this.
I think this is very strange,so i must go crazy.

When i close my eyes and try to sleep,i start to see bad pics and to think not connected things,as everything is so mixed up so they look as hallucinations.
When i open my eyes,everything is ok.

I don't know what to do but i am afraid that it is first stadium of any mental illness,i am afraid that i will start to hallucinate indeedhttp://www.stuckinadoorway.org/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif
IS this normal for anxiety or?

[Jabz]

Yes. You are not crazy, you just have racing thoughts :)

Try to do something relaxing before bed, drink a cup of decaffeinated tea, read a book and try doing deep breathing exercises. If you meditate, try meditating before bed and if you don't meditate...well you should ;)

Breathing should be enough to calm you down, learn how to breathe correctly with your stomach and it should slow down your thoughts and make you feel relax at that point just close your eyes and continue to breather and you'll find falling asleep much easier.

Hope this helps.

[GreyGirl]

Thank u very much. U know,i needed to listen that i am still normal :P
I am trying to meditate but when i close my eyes,it happens the same,but i will try again to breathe corectly.
i just want to say thank u:)

[Jabz]

Thank u very much. U know,i needed to listen that i am still normal :P
I am trying to meditate but when i close my eyes,it happens the same,but i will try again to breathe corectly.
i just want to say thank u:)

Meditation is very difficult, but that is the POINT of it, once you learn how to not judge or not pay attention to your racing thoughts while you meditate, guess what happens? your racing thoughts stop !!

So keep meditating, even though it is hard, it is suppose to be hard ;), but you will get great results once you learn how to meditate and not pay attention to your thoughts.

[LJK]

Aww honey, youre not going insane at all but I know exactly what you mean. When my anxiety is at its worst it can take me hours to get to sleep for all the racing thoughts that are going round my head. It feels like Im thinking about 80 things at the same time and i dont know which ones to focus on. I get the visuals too. I find its when Im most stressed so if you dont feel extremely tired and relaxed dont go to bed as it will just set the mind racing even more. If you live with someone i found that them talking to me til i fell asleep was really helpful. If not, get a hot chocolate and take a book to bed xxx hope this helps xx

[Joe1981]

I get the same thing sometimes when i am trying to sleep.. I was convinced i was going crazy at the time but like Jabz said its just racing thoughts due to anxiety!

[pinkpiglet]

I think 'Mind chatter' is actually one of the scariest and most dreadful symptoms of anxiety, especially when experiencing it for the first time. Both my partner and I have had this and agree that simply relaxing and unwinding before bed is not really that effective against it. Mind chatter for me was one of the very first signs that something was wrong and I found it very frustrating (to say he least). You need to mention this to your GP, firstly it will reassure you and secondly they will be able to treat you for the anxiety wether it be counselling, CBT or a low dose medication.

YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY NOT GOING CRAZY!!! x

[supersezza]

http://getselfhelp.co.uk/mindfulness.htm

maybe read this? it helps me x

[trooper]

I get this, I used to find it really difficult and was quite tormented by it. I cope quite well with it now, as all the guys have already mentioned there is only really one way to combat this and its by meditation.

It doesn't have to be formal meditation, if you're mind is very busy that alone can be hard and you can feel like you're 'failing' at it which just adds to the tourment.

There is a lovely quote I remember from a buddhist monk I heard talk in Thailand.

He said when your head is full of upsetting thoughts and emotions, imagine its a log fire. Focus on the flames not the wood. The fire cannot burn without the wood.

What he meant was that if you focus on the reasons, causes, problems etc that cause your thoughts/emotions or if you try to fight them, you'll just add more wood (fuel) to the fire. If you just focus on the flames, they cannot sustain themselves and eventually run out of fuel and burn out...

If you just observe them, maybe even describe them, they tend to settle down.

Another analogy would be to imagine that they are a flowing river, you can't dam up a river easily, you get swamped and over run, it just builds up till it bursts. If you try to squeese them the water gets fierce and raging torrents appear. But you can observe the river, you can watch it flowing by, eventually it will calm and be peaceful. I like this one becuase your thoughts are always flowing, always changing. They will come whether you focus on them or not, your brain never sleeps.

If I feel anxious I like to change the bed covers so they're fresh. Take a nice bath with some relaxing stuff in it. I might light some candles and just try to feel comfortable in my environment. Little pleasures like climbing into a clean fresh, warm comfory bed after a relaxing bed. Sometimes I try to remind myself of those times when you wake up in the morning, when its cold and your bed feels like the nicest place in the world and you wish you could stay there all day. And then suddenly being in bed knowing I've got at least 7 hours there seems great.

Stick at meditation, it takes time and practice, the main objective is just to relax and be kind to yourself. :)