One day, I decided to overcome my overthinking anyhow because I was unable to sleep at night. I stayed awake till 3 am, 4 am for years.
I spend daylight well. Meeting people, working, studying, and sometimes playing. After having dinner, I feel sleepy. But when I go to bed, all sleeplessness goes away. My eyes become fresher than in the daytime. I don’t know where my sleepy mood disappears after 11 PM.
My brain summons dark clouds. It starts to think, think, and only think. I try to stop images from covering my mind, but I can’t. I feel like I am watching a 3D movie with no ending, no lessons, or a conclusion. OMG, I want to turn off this movie, but can’t.
Due to overthinking at night, I sleep at 3am, sometimes 4am. Sometimes my mind thinks from midnight to morning.
You can imagine how my day would feel. Yes, I feel mentally tired all day, but anyway, I complete all my duties, not by choice but by compulsion.
At night, I think about the past. My past mistakes. I think about the present. What did I do all day? Did I do anything wrong? Did I speak badly to anyone? I think about the future. I don’t plan for the future, I think.
Street dogs are barking at night as if something bad is about to happen. But I don’t care what happens because my mind already has thousands of things to solve. I am not afraid of ghosts because there is already a ghost in my head who forces me to think rapidly.
Whatever I think, I think negatively. So I decided to stop overthinking midnight. Enough is enough. I want sunlight in my mind, which will help me to sleep peacefully at night.
This way, I have overcome overthinking at night.
There are two things you have to do every day.
The first one is fulfilling compulsory responsibilities, for example, taking care of your near and dear ones, going to school or university, cleaning, cooking…All these things.
In reality, you do these compulsory activities not because you get inner happiness doing them, but because it is your duty to survive.
The second is something that gives you satisfaction and pleasure. These works are mostly not included in your schedule, but are at the core of your heart. These works are connected to your soul, hobby, and goal.
I think for a while;
Every night I overanalyze thoughts. Why? What is the exact issue with me? I complete all my responsibilities. All are happy with me, but I still have negative thoughts till midnight, which has turned me mentally ill.
Later, I realized that, yes, I do everything, but not for myself. Not for my soul, my destination, and future. I am living without purpose.
This realization helped me understand the reason why I overthink every night.
“I heard somewhere that real happiness comes when you have a goal in life, and you invest a portion of your time in it. When you realize daily you are heading a step toward your goal, your happiness increases.”
At first, I underestimated it.
But when I am unable to stop my overthinking at night for months, I consider this opinion.
Do you know what I did?
I had a goal of being fluent in English. I didn’t join any language centre. Surprisingly, although it is my goal, I have never spent time on it. Like watching English movies, reading stories, using YouTube, and dedicated self-practice.
Then I decided to work on my goal: to become a good English speaker. I joined an institution. Watched English Stories on the internet. Before going to bed, I read 2-6 pages of English stories.
For a few days, I felt uneasy doing that. Zero interest. But I followed the 21-day rule. I made a schedule which I will follow, whether I am interested or not.
Slowly, it became my habit, and I enjoyed doing that.
Then what happened, do you know?
Magic happened. I realized that I have overcome the issue of overthinking at night as my eyes started to turn sleepy early. No negative thoughts, no extra stress.
How this happened, I don’t know, but let me share a bit more.
After making that my daily habit, my English skills improved gradually. It gave me a sense of satisfaction every time.
When I lie on the bed, I think, ‘Yes, I did something today for myself.’ ‘Something is improving in me.’
Instead of thinking about past memories at night, those beautiful characters of the stories start to appear. All my regretful and guilty thoughts disappeared, and I started to think positively, about my progress, my upcoming days, when I will be ace in speaking.
Then I find one secret about when we sleep early and when we wake up till midnight.
Do you know what I learned?
I learned that happy people fall asleep faster, and those who are unhappy with their past, present, and future can’t fall asleep early at night.
And happiness comes when you work on your plan to make a bright future. Every day you improve yourself. When you are responsible for yourself.
But don’t assume you will overcome the issue of overthinking at night within a week or a month.
Although trying this technique, I was unable to fall asleep on time for many months. But I used another technique considering my goal. For example, I read a book with a loud voice for 15-20 minutes continuously, write those negative thoughts on paper and try to close my eyes again.
Nowadays, I sleep at 10 O’clock. I fall asleep immediately at night, no overthinking, no negative thoughts. It has become my permanent routine.
Do you also want to stop overthinking at night?
Do the same as I have done, but differently.
After finishing all your daily responsibilities, spend some time on your future plan. Like learning skills, maintaining physical fitness, sports, hobbies, whatever you are interested in. Forcefully spend some time.
If you find it difficult, do it forcefully until it becomes your daily routine.
While in bed, think about what you did today, and feel that improvement. Focus on today’s memory.
Finally, I want to say you are unable to stop dwelling on past memories at night because you are living a monotonous life, carrying past trauma in your head. You are doing nothing different that forces your mind to think differently. If you see yourself progressing every day, the sense of satisfaction will give you a peaceful sleep.
Also, my suggestion is to avoid using a bright screen at night before going to bed or while lying in bed.