Last night I went to sleep at my regular time, but at 3am I woke up and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I follow the rule of thumb that says if you can’t fall back to sleep after 30 minutes it’s a good idea to get up and do something like read until you get sleepy. I always ask myself what’s going on that I can’t fall back to sleep and last night it was just a bunch of racing thoughts.
Laying in bed awake the racing thoughts felt like they were competing against one another, all the thoughts fighting to get to the finish line. Of course there’s a lot going on since I just got home from being away for four months, it’s the holiday season, and like you I still have to fit in doctor’s appointments before my medical insurance changes. (just a side note: last year on New Year’s Eve Day the line at the pharmacy was a mile long since everyone was getting refills before their prescription plans changed…be prepared)
It’s common to have racing thoughts on an ongoing basis following the diagnosis of a chronic or other life-altering illness. The big question is which thought will make it across the finish line. My hope is that you give the thoughts about health and healing a head-start so that those thoughts have an advantage on your journey to wellness.
How do you find ways to let the thoughts tire themselves out. It’s funny, until this very moment I hadn’t thought about letting the thoughts wear themselves out, but I guess everything including thoughts get tired. If nothing else, you get tired of them and once you exhaust them you don’t have to worry about them continuing in the race.
Of course this time of year adds stress and that will give some momentum to your racing thoughts so find ways to reduce your holiday stress. Make things simpler. Don’t get caught up in the hype, keep the holiday feeling realistic and authentic. You’d be surprised how people are returning to more intimate holiday experiences instead of trying to buy everything and anything just to say they got something.
Let your racing thoughts run and hope they run out of steam. As you enter the holiday season insulate yourself from these racing thoughts by reminding yourself what’s important for you during the holiday season. For me, it’s all about family and friends. It’s about trying to do things like donate food to the food bank for those who need a bit more help. If you have a spiritual practice, this is the time of year when relying on that spiritual practice can ease your mind and limit the energy resources for those racing thoughts.
If you want more information on health and healing visit the website, www.survivingstrong.com and you’ll also get a free gift if you register for the special report. My gift to you is to help you limit those racing thoughts and get rest so you can enjoy the holidays!
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 