Control of my own mind

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I need help to stop my imagination from getting scary, because I actually want to get to sleep tonight. I keep having scary pictures popping into my mind. How can I stop this from occuring? Anything that will get my mind off of it will suffice.

Can you sleep with the t v on?

Try to redirect your thoughts on to something you enjoy thinking about and find relaxing. Don't try to stop the scary images because if you do that will make them worse. Its akin to telling a room full of people not to think about pink elephants. You can pretty much guarantee that that will be all they will be able to think about. Instead let the images sit there without responding to them in any way but gently redirect your thoughts onto something else instead, eventually they should start to fade whilst the more pleasant images take over.

It's how I got rid of the unwanted thoughts and images I was experiencing when I had a brief episode of OCD many years ago and it worked for that so I am hoping the same technique will work for your problem as well.

I don't have room for unwanted clutter in my brain so the OCD just had to go!

That happened to me, really badly, and they said it was OCD. I opted for medication because I needed relief.

I often have the same problem, and sometimes it helps to first find some way to get myself just as tired as possible beforehand.

Clonidine is a complete harmless and inexpensive medication I take for hypertension, and I sometimes take an extra one at bedtime because it can cause drowsiness ... and I do know some doctors prescribe it for that specific purpose.

Reading in bed makes me tired. Have you tried reading before sleeping?

Maybe the sound of water or rain on repeat would help? I've used that to help sleep before.

A fan helps me. I turn it on and creates white noise that helps me tune out the little sounds that keep me awake.

Can you distract yourself by absorbing yourself into a fantasy world of some kind? I used to have one that was a biker gang based love story complete with entire character histories and everything. It was a very personal inner world I used to escape into at times, yet oddly if anyone ever asked me to write a short story...my mind would go blank!

Alternatively do you have a favourite hobby you can think about. I sometimes drift off to sleep thinking about my Sequin art (my present main interest).

Or I put my favourite movie on.

Oh and I also found that I sleep better with my mattress on the floor in the front room than I do in the bedroom so I have moved into the front room for a while instead.

I find that white noise really helps me keep my mind clear. Fans, rain, ocean. Also staying distracted by a familiar song or musical piece. I used to go to sleep to Enigma's 1990 a.d. Forty minutes of easy familiar sound.

Also because I am a frequent insomniac, when I can't sleep, I take OTC melatonin when I notice I'm not drowsy enough.