My thoughts are taking over and I can’t sleep

By Hannah Haslett

Not being able to sleep was the very first indicator of my separation anxiety and ultimately the first step in my anxiety journey. I was always that one girl at sleepovers who wanted to go home and always called my mom to pick me up. (she’s a trooper) I remember crying on the phone with my mom and begging her to come pick me up.

It got to a point where I wasn't able to sleep because I was thinking about what I would do if someone broke into my house or if something caught on fire and my pets died.

Melatonin became my very best friend when it came to sleep. Eventually, I grew out of this but it was a very rough time in my anxiety journey for myself and my mom. 

If you’re anything like me, when I go to bed I start to think about everything that’s going on in my life. Whether it’s an assignment that’s coming up, a relationship, future goals, or laundry that you wish would wash itself. Sometimes I even just lay in bed and wonder where that one sweatshirt is because I haven’t seen it in a while. 

Around the time I was experiencing this, I started to go to therapy. One piece of advice I was given was to put away technology an hour before bed. Trust me, I know this is not ideal for teens but if you want sleep, it's worth trying. You don’t need to spend hours on TikTok before you go to bed. For those of you who like to read, I recommend sitting with a good book to wind down before bed.

Maybe you want an essential oil diffuser in your room or you need a weighted blanket, or you want to listen to relaxing music before bed, any of these techniques and whatever else you can think of can help you to relax and turn your mind off before bed.

As I’ve mentioned before, we are all different and have different anxiety experiences. Therefore, it may take some time before you figure out what works for you.