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Waking Up at Night Worrying? Can't Sleep? Feel Anxious?
You’re not alone. Millions of people all over the world, have anxiety, which can keep us up at night.
We all know the drill, you’ve got too much on your plate, you’re trying to squeeze in so many activities that you’re not taking enough down-time for yourself.
Often, our anxiety is a message from our mind-body that we have something below the surface that requires our attention, some hidden subconscious program that is ready to be healed.
Anxiety can also be caused by what we’re thinking about. Experts agree we think about 65,000 or more thoughts per day. You may be thinking… “really?” That many? Don’t worry, you won’t miss anything, because we will typically think about the same exact things tomorrow. It’s exhausting. The problem is, these thoughts are in the background of our awareness and they cause the stress and worry which creates anxiety. There may seemingly be no resolution to the thoughts and they keep repeating like a merry-go-round that just won’t stop.
Unfortunately, not getting enough sleep from this “Merry-Go-Round” of thinking, can increase the frequency of anxiety and magnify it. It is truly a vicious cycle.
“Relax,” and I mean Relaxation, real, true, deep relaxation can help you feel better. In fact, it’s been proven that learning to quiet the mind, basically, meditation is a quick way to relieve and release anxiety. The challenge is, because of our hectic schedules, we actually feel like we should be doing more, not less.
Clients often grumble when I share with them, the importance of taking time out and quieting the mind. It seems counter-intuitive, but the truth is, taking that needed 10-15 or even 30 minutes time out, is essential to living a happy, healthy productive life.
There have been umpteen studies about the effects of stress on our health and our life, yet it still seems like such a struggle to get the point across that taking a mental time-out is absolutely critical if you want to live, (and I mean live) be happy, be healthy, fit and able to handle the busy-ness of life. If you don’t take this crucial step each day, your ability to handle stress goes down, you actually accomplish less and create anxiety which leads to insomnia.
Yes, I did say, if you want to live, you need to meditate. You’re probably wondering what I mean by that. Studies show that stress lowers life expectancy, can to lead to such things as obesity, heart disease, and myriad of other nervous system problems.
The secret to living long, healthy, happy and sleeping well, is, you guessed it: Meditation.
I can’t tell you how many people will balk at this and say, “that’s all great, but I just don’t have the time.” This always gives me a chuckle, because if you don’t take the time now, to take care of yourself and quiet all the mind-chatter, you will have the time when you’re sick and tired.
Meditation doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s as simple as sitting quietly, closing your eyes, taking 8-10 deep breaths, focusing on your breath and tuning into your body. If you want to take it to the next level, say something empowering to yourself such as:
“I’m beautiful and loveable no matter how I’m feeling.”
Or, “I get more done in less time.” Then, breathe, focus your mind’s eye on the tip of your nose or nostrils and follow your breath in and out for 8-10 times. If your mind tries to wander, just observe it doing so and gently bring your awareness back to your breath and follow it in and out another 8-10 times until the wandering is gone or less.
This is a powerful way to use affirmations, and stop all the mind recordings that are going off randomly, playing in the background. By giving your nervous system this much needed break from the pressure of all your thinking, you may find that you actually accomplish more in less time and sleep peacefully through the night.
Give it a try. If you find you still feel stressed or are having trouble sleeping, hypnosis can help. We can train you to quiet your mind and get the most out of that restful time. Don't wait to get started, your life may depend on it!!