At The End Of The Day, Put It All Back In The Box...

 Worry is defined as~Thoughts, images and/or emotions of a negative nature in which mental attempts are made to avoid anticipated potential threats. As an emotion it is experienced as anxiety or concern about a real or imagined issue, usually personal in nature.

I have always been a worrier in my life. Ever since I was a child I've let worry consume my thoughts much more than I should. One of the biggest problems worrying has caused me is the inability to fall asleep at night. For as long as I can remember I have let irrational worries creep into mind when I'm trying to wind down, and then sleep eludes me. Now don't get me wrong this is not an every night occurrence. But there have been many times in my life that my mind is taken over by thoughts of all the things that could go wrong around me. My brothers both work very dangerous jobs and I cannot help but have thoughts of their safety creep into my head. And that is jus one of a million silly things I seem to obsess over. I am not sure why this always seems to happen to me at night...The worst part of this issue for me is the fact that 99 % of the things my brain chooses to fixate on are totally irrational fears or things that no matter how much I worry or mull them over, there is nothing that changes based on my worrying, and obsessing about the solutions to what plagues my mind jus drains me of all my mental energy.
I have learned and grown from all the experiences in my life. But I am definitely the type of person that has a hard time taking the advice of others based on their experiences. I am the type of person that needs to actually have the experience myself, whether it is good or bad, right or wrong in order to gain the wisdom and really learn the life lesson. However there is one piece of advice that I received from a very trusted and wise person. So, now the real reason for, and the title behind this post. This person gave me an amazing tool or exercise if you will to help me to put my fears and anxieties about life to rest so that I in turn can rest. As you are lying in bed trying to free your mind in order to fall asleep imagine that you have a box. It can be any kind of box, of any size, color, shape etc. (Due to my incessant worrying, my box is very large-LOL) Now separate all of your worries, insecurities, apprehensions, and anything else that torments you and makes a good night's rest illusive. Take each one of those things and simply put it in the box. I personally put EVERYTHING in the box at night. I take EVERY thought and worry that crosses my mind and put it away, in the box. This does not mean that the problems are gone or that they are not totally valid ideations. But by using this technique you are allowing your mind to be free to rest and prepare for tomorrow.
After you feel like all of your fears and such are placed in the box, imagine that you are placing the lid on it, tying it up tight with string and putting it away on a shelf. I then imagine myself in my calming place free from all the things that torment my mind (Because of course they cannot worry me at that moment due to the fact that they are held captive in the box-LOL) and I am able to relax, and rest. I often wake up feeling like a new woman ready to face another day and all the challenges, and rewards it may bring. An amazing night's rest makes it much easier to open the box and release all of the anxiety and worry and...let it go. The worry many times returns, but that is the great thing about this technique...You can use it over and over and over again.

Any time someone asks me about curbing worry or I hear that someone has be stricken with the same affinity to worry as I have I share this tactic. So those of you out there that worry and anyone else I leave you all with one of the best coping skills I've be taught...AT THE END OF THE DAY, PUT IT ALL BACK IN THE BOX!