There was a season of my life that I was filled with anxiety and suffered with insomnia on a regular basis. In the wake of a miscarriage, moving and having two toddlers under 3 there was just a few things going on, and I was plagued regularly with racing thoughts at nighttime. During a time that I was working through some of the reasonings for my anxiety, I came up with this visualization method to help me compartmentalize and “declutter” the thoughts that were in my head.
I imagined myself in my home. Each room held a different issue I was struggling with. For example, if I was struggling with something with my parents or in-laws, I would mentally go to my guest room. Evaluate how “messy” the situation was. I would imagine picking up the things that were on the floor as I pick apart the situation. Then when I “tidied” as much of the situation as I could, I would mentally shut the door to the room. I would pray, Jesus please seal this door until it is the proper time to open, think about, it again.
I had a room for my children, my husband, friends, work or church situations. When I would go and check each room before I went to bed at night, I was able to sleep soundly because my brain already had time to process the things that I had worked through during the day. The exercise is as short or long as time allows. I did also do it in the middle of the night, but it is much more beneficial doing it before bed than at 3am. Most times cleaning your physical home can take a tremendous time and effort. When you take the time to declutter your mind, you will be in a much better spot to tackle life’s challenges.
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