Emotions and Rest

I’ve just been listening back to the Emotions and Rest Call and it really resonated with me and I would like help to expand on it a little more. In my pre-menstrum days in particuar I am often being woken up in the nightime with various anxieties racing around in my head. This could be something simple like “Oh no I forgot to do…this is now going to happen…” or “worrying about war/climate change” and/or something else…
My mind starts to race with thoughts and they can get all mixed up and then my heart will start to race. I’ll then start to panic that I won’t get back to sleep and then if i don’t sleep well this… is going to happen/not happen the next day.
I enjoyed the Vagal Brake exercise in the Call but I am wondering how I can use this in the middle of the night? Should I let the thought come and then try and take a long breath out for example to apply the break to try and slow this thought down? And then when the next thought comes just keep visualizing myself slowing down (i like the bike and brake analagy).

 

 

Answer:

A great place to ask your questions about the nervous system exercises is the facebook group. What do you think would help you to calm your thoughts before you notice the reaction in your body? You used the word race to describe these thoughts like they are fast and out of control.

What would you want it to look like when you wake up in the middle of the night? What often happens is you will start to expect this pattern to happen and inadvertently create it. Open up to the possibility that you could interrupt it and shift what happens.

Make a list of common worries you wake up with. For each ask the question “yes…and?” keep asking yourself that until you get to the worst case scenario or realize it’s not the end of the world. When you wake up you can also do this exercise in the moment. What you’re doing is directing your brain instead of lettig it race ahead. You are looking at what you’re worried about and coming to a resolution by actually answering your brain’s questions.

Try it and see what comes up.