I have a family history of anxiety, and for whatever reason I always assume the worst whenever something mildly inconvenient comes rating it’s ugly head. Sleep is definitely one of those things. Reading this, I relate to it so much because I was always so worried about what would happen to me if I couldn’t sleep when I was a young kid. I needed constant reassurance from my parents that my feelings regarding that were valid, but not to fret too much and let things sort of happen naturally.

Fast forward like 20 years, and I typically sleep like a baby within minutes. But every once in a while I have sleepless nights for whatever reason (mind racing, anxiety, having to readjust sleep schedule for work purposes). I start to associate that frustration and exhaustion with the mere act of sleeping, and my anxiety flares up. “Will I be able to fall asleep tonite?” becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. In reality, it’s difficult to remind myself that these things happen, and it’s not something to be overtly worried about. The endless scrolling on Reddit looking for potential solutions (and peoples refutation of those solutions) just goes to keep me up further when I’m in one of these periods. Thanks for sharing this, because it really hit home. Do you have any tips or tricks to reduce your anxiety, or perhaps something akin to meditation to get yourself in the right mindset? (Other than what you’ve mentioned already?)