meditation and mania?

[Tanya]

I started meditating before I went to sleep because that's when I have OCD thoughts... sometimes.... so... sometimes I meditated...

but I'm noticing the more I meditate.. the more I MUST meditate to go to sleep... like I've lost all my other abilities to settle my mind.. and the worst is.. I LIKE thinking about my day, tomarrow.... etc etc etc.... and usually it doesn't get in the way of falling asleep or hadn't... NOW I have to pretty much fuss out the channel with very pointed meditation of I will stay up all night writing mental to-do lists...

its like the more I damp it.. the more I HAVE to damp it..

thoughts?

and BTw.. I don't touch caffine after 4 pm and I DON't drink as Both these things make my OCD thoughts worse at night.

[Beemer_Man_Wong]

Have you tried productivity methods like David Allen's Getting Things Done? If you can close all those open loops and get stuff on paper the mind won't focus on them so much.

[Tanya]

hmmm hadn't thought about that.

I find a lot of the mental stuff I do is useful.. like I realized a few nights back my daughter's passport was expired and we are traveling in a few weeks... wheew!

[Beemer_Man_Wong]

Yes, it can be. However, when the open loops, the things that are sitting around in your mind that you haven't attached a next action to, just sit there and build up, then they overwhelm you.

Then you can do the thinking that you want to and choose to do, or not think at all and sleep. :)

[RainInanna]

Even if you don't use a structured system like GTD would it help to just keep a notepad near the bed and start writing these things down so they're out of your system? I used to have to do that when I had a stressful job because as soon as I settled down for sleep I had space to remember things/work things out from the day.