Night time is when my anxiety attacks seem to peak. My brain is just sitting and thinking about anything and everything in the world, especially things that I am able to avoid thinking about throughout my day. These thoughts are usually the worst case scenario and the hyperbolic worries that are really emotionally damaging. “What if?”. When these two words come up, I know that it’s time to find a distraction.
Distractions have become one of the best ways to relieve myself of anxiety from the restless thoughts that need to be avoided.
My thoughts are my own worst nightmare. They can be more damaging to me than any other outside source. I need to distract myself some nights in order to keep my thoughts busy so that I can drift off into peaceful sleep.
One of the ways I can do this is by counting backwards down from 100. This keeps my brain busy while also letting me start to zone out and fall asleep. The counting distractions work best when I’m met with thoughts involving things that I cannot control that scare me.
If I find myself asking the two worded question and thinking of different crazy things that have a one in a million chance of so and so happening, I tell myself to breathe, and start my counting. This method works best for me, but I’ve heard of others using the alphabet, and some friends even challenge themselves with foreign language alphabets or even simple math problems like going through the times table for a number like 7 (7×1=7, 7×2=14 etc).
When my thoughts are on harder subjects such as things involving my time or lifespan, the counting method is less calming. The best distraction I’ve found to combat these thoughts is to go through my next day in slow-mo. I can sometimes find myself stressing about not having enough time before I graduate to get everything done that I would like. These thoughts are troubling because there is nothing that you can do at midnight to solve any problems about time.
So instead, I take a moment and ask myself “what are you doing tomorrow?”. Then I start with waking up in the morning and think about every small detail and every menial task until my brain gets tired and I finally fall asleep. I wake up; I brush my teeth and wash my face; I get dressed; I go downstairs and make myself breakfast, etc. Taking things one step at a time helps to slow my brain down when I start to feel myself thinking “what will you think when you’re 30?”. I’m 19 years old, and I need to focus on the now. Thinking long term is good when making decisions, but at 2 am if I’m being kept up by thoughts about my future, bringing myself back to the present can take all that anxiety away and help me get the rest I need to tackle the next day.
If you’ve got your own way to distract your brain, let me hear it! I’m always looking for new ways to keep my thoughts quiet so that I can get a good night’s sleep. A game of Sudoku, a rerun of your favorite movie on television, whatever it may be, your distractions can help you get through the rough nights when your busy brain is the only one to blame.
-Anna Taddei, Anxiety In Teens Contributor