Hi everyone! Please read before watching so you have some context:

I have generalized anxiety disorder and chronic insomnia, both of which have impacted my sleep greatly. My video is a symbolic representation of what it feels like inside my mind when I’m trying to fall asleep – it’s a way for viewers to feel what I feel every night. The first half of the video depicts the racing, overlapping and anxiety ridden thoughts that course through my head for hours on end, preventing me from sleeping; this is what happens when I don’t use my self-care strategies to modulate sleep. The second half of the video shows that the strategies I’ve implemented help me fall asleep and improve the quality of my sleep by erasing the chaos that’s normally present in my mind. What’s left is a settled and calm mental space that affords me the opportunity to fall asleep. The strategies I’ve been implementing to modify my sleeping patterns are as follows: Using my bed solely for sleeping, only getting into bed when I’m tired, getting out of bed if I cannot fall asleep in 20-minutes, no visible clocks, complete darkness, drinking calming tea, and using a weighted-blanket.