For both questions, you could try meditation. It's a difficult art to master and it could also become a new interest that gets you out of your restless funk. I know that feeling, staring at the bookshelf before bed looking for something to read but nothing there interests me at the moment. A feeling that I should be doing something practical with my time but I don't know what. I hate that. So yeah, try meditating as a way of handling poor sleep/over thinking and also as a way to de-stress between special interests.
Start by sitting somewhere, preferably dark and quiet, with your back resting against a wall. Make sure you're comfortable so you don't need to fidget once you get going. To begin with you just want to teach your brain to focus on one thing instead of many. Close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply and count the breaths backwards from ten. In, out, ten. In, out, nine. In, out, eight. Etc. If you can start to get to one without any random thoughts intruding ('What will I have for dinner tonight?' 'I have to clean this place up soon' 'I wonder why so and so hasn't texted me back yet') you'll know you're starting to get good. It's tough at first but don't give up. It's worth it in the long run. Meditation is linked to why some people are considered the happiest people on Earth. Eventually you'll be able to start counting down from higher numbers and then just focus on your breathing without counting. You'll just be sitting there breathing deep and slow with your mind alert but inactive. It's a nice feeling. Good luck.
19 Mar 2014, 4:27 pm
