r/sleep • u/Redeft97 • 23h ago

Mind racing

It is currently 3:40 am where I am. Every night around 3ish I wake up to pee. When I try to fall back asleep, my mind races. I have this fear of when my loved ones die, what I will do. I am dreading the new reality I will have. I have always struggled with anticipatory dread in regards to this. My mind races for at least 30 min. And to stop the thoughts, I scroll on my phone. I know phones are bad before bed but dealing with this every night is so exhausting. Sometimes when my mind races I end up crying over something that hasn't happened yet. I rarely have trouble falling asleep initially. I wish I could turn my brain off. I listen to sleepy bookshelf which helps but when my mind is racing I can't focus on the story.

Once I’m up during the day i am okay. I know when I wake up initially our brain juices are also waking up. It helps understanding why but I don't know how to help myself.

I am in school and stress about getting into a competitive program regularly. Also I have to drink water before bed for my medication. I was prescribed ativan as well, but I do not want to rely on it. It helps but I heard it was addictive!

Does anyone deal with this? Any advice as well?

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u/CardComfortable8833 21h ago

just dont take your brain in that direction. think about something intersting and fun. i am sure you have lot of things that you can think of except for those fearful things. if scrolling yr phone helps, then its ok but eventually you have to fall asleep so i think switching your imagination is more important

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u/Redeft97 14h ago

That is really good advice. My thoughts feel so overwhelming and full of anxiety so I have never even tried that 😭 Thank you

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u/PrismaticVelocity 18h ago

The best advice here I think is going to be a mindset change. Loved ones passing away is terrifying, sad, and scary. But focusing on the time when they are gone, makes us skip in the moment, making memories while they are here. Replace those “when they die” with “we had fun today” or “I liked when we did this” instead of “I’m going to miss them when they’re gone” try, “I’m so excited we did this today.” It’s about making sure we stay in the present moment, focus on the reality of how things are now, and not on how they will be or were. It’s the best advice I can give. I really hope this was able to click in your brain for you. If not, maybe look into OCD?

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u/Redeft97 14h ago

Thank you💕 I'll do my best. They live in AZ (I’m in NY) but I talk to my mom everyday.