Why is it that when I wake in the middle of the night, my thoughts are stressful and repetitive?!
Question: Why is it that when I wake in the middle of the night, my thoughts are stressful and repetitive.?
If I awaken during the middle of the night, my thoughts upon waking is very peculiar. They are very stressful to me (almost to the point of being unbearable), which is odd, because during the day those same thoughts would be minor and not at all something to stress about.
For an example, what movie I'm going to watch is usually not a stressful thought. But if I wake in the middle of the night, the thought of "what am I going to watch" (even if I don't intend on watching a movie soon!) is extremely stressful and very repetitive. I think it over and over again, even if I realize how irrational it is to be stressed about it. Sooner or later, I fall asleep again.
Even a single word can be stressful to me (which is hard to explain), and that single word will be played over and over again in my head. This will also happen with the thought of a person, object, phrase, etc. Recently, I was stressed out about a word that wasn't even in existence!
When I wake up in the morning and think about it, I realize how funny it is.
But I'm curious why that happens. Does it happen to anyone else.?
Any ideas on what can be causing this or what this is.?Health Question & Answer
For an example, what movie I'm going to watch is usually not a stressful thought. But if I wake in the middle of the night, the thought of "what am I going to watch" (even if I don't intend on watching a movie soon!) is extremely stressful and very repetitive. I think it over and over again, even if I realize how irrational it is to be stressed about it. Sooner or later, I fall asleep again.
Even a single word can be stressful to me (which is hard to explain), and that single word will be played over and over again in my head. This will also happen with the thought of a person, object, phrase, etc. Recently, I was stressed out about a word that wasn't even in existence!
When I wake up in the morning and think about it, I realize how funny it is.
But I'm curious why that happens. Does it happen to anyone else.?
Any ideas on what can be causing this or what this is.?Health Question & Answer
Answers:
Those thoughts and word-repetitions will go away once you pick up a book and read for a while until you nod off. The mind unreels when it realizes that it has no more chores to do for the day. It hasn't really got anything to do with stimulus deprivation; it can happen in the middle of the day before or during a nap (in fact in my case those are the worst times). The brain is not in commission and starts throwing this junk at you. It disports on all sorts of rubbish and you're the poor schmuck at the receiving end of it.
This is also a time when you get extremely vivid mental images: there's a very technical explanation for this which I once read and almost completely forgot (William James).
If these little onslaughts of words and worries are stressful, all you need to do is reel your brain in a little with material that requires concentration. Don't browse a magazine; magazines (like the Internet) are too fragmented. All the examples you talk about are fragments. To phase them out you need a continuous thread of information or mental imagery that are part of some larger context. The reason the words and worries about movies (that you don't intend on watching anytime soon - a typical symptom of a contextless fragment) are so stressful is because they come at you without the cushion of a broader sense into which they all fit. That's why they're so strong.
I can read myself to sleep on the couch but once I climb in next to my snoring girlfriend I'd instantly start futzing over these things. Why was I so 'at peace' while reading just minutes before.? So much so I actually struggled to keep awake ... If you're too lazy to read pick one fragment and try putting it in a context of some sort. You'll immediately feel this strange relief. Try making sense of them even in a completely farfetched narrative. So long as they have a part to play.Health Question & Answer
This is also a time when you get extremely vivid mental images: there's a very technical explanation for this which I once read and almost completely forgot (William James).
If these little onslaughts of words and worries are stressful, all you need to do is reel your brain in a little with material that requires concentration. Don't browse a magazine; magazines (like the Internet) are too fragmented. All the examples you talk about are fragments. To phase them out you need a continuous thread of information or mental imagery that are part of some larger context. The reason the words and worries about movies (that you don't intend on watching anytime soon - a typical symptom of a contextless fragment) are so stressful is because they come at you without the cushion of a broader sense into which they all fit. That's why they're so strong.
I can read myself to sleep on the couch but once I climb in next to my snoring girlfriend I'd instantly start futzing over these things. Why was I so 'at peace' while reading just minutes before.? So much so I actually struggled to keep awake ... If you're too lazy to read pick one fragment and try putting it in a context of some sort. You'll immediately feel this strange relief. Try making sense of them even in a completely farfetched narrative. So long as they have a part to play.Health Question & Answer
It happens to me, too, part of why I had to stop working nights. I think for me, it's party lack of sunlight, and that it's SO QUIET at night. You are alone with your thoughts, not as much noise or visual stimulation. If I feel like that during the day, I can laugh it off or call a friend. I can't do that at night. And then, after I get up in the morning, in the light of day, I think, What on earth was I stressing about.?!.?!.? I don't have as much to distract me from my obsessive and negative thoughts at night.Health Question & Answer