Surviving Night: Anxiety and Emetophobia

Surviving Emetophobia can often be particularly difficult at night, anxiety feeling more intense than that felt during the light hours - and it's no wonder...

With darkness falling and distractions of day no more, our anxiety has the prime opportunity to show its ugly face and make sleeping extremely difficult!

What I've found is that Surviving Night becomes more the ability to cope with your evening-based-anxiety and as such I've compiled ten tips that you can try out if you're feeling anxious at night. Most have helped me in the past, particularly active ones such as walking and grocery shopping!

Ten Tips:

1. Listen to some music. Perhaps a relaxing piece or something that makes you want to get up and dance and sing.
2. Read a book. Or a magazine. See how many pages you manage to get through before you're feeling tired enough to sleep! 
3. Surf the Net! Watch funny videos on Youtube or catch up with Facebook and Twitter. Maybe even start writing a Blog, a book or write your feelings down on paper?
4. Watch a TV program or a film. This is something I found helpful a few months ago when I had a bad case of indigestion.
5. Go for a drive. Or a walk! Maybe even text a friend and if awake ask if you can pop-over?
6. Running low on groceries? Why not take a trip to that all night supermarket in town? Being around people, and concentrating on the products in store, may be the ticket you need to keep your mind off anxiety.
7. Stop looking at the clock. If you're suffering anxiety in the early hours confirming the time isn't going to help! Take your watch off, put your mobile phone upside down and put a tea-towel over Grandfather.
8. Can't stop watching the clock? Change the time! How annoying that the batteries in your mantelpiece clock have been getting low lately: it's running slow and still thinks it's 2am! Go ahead and put those Hands forward to 4... Those damn batteries! 
9. Think about Morning. It isn't that far away! With every second that clicks by you're a step closer to Sunrise and maybe even your Hour of Ease.
10. Meditate. Sitting in a silent room and concentrating on relaxing every muscle one-by-one can prove the best coping method when anxiety makes you rigid and prepares your body for Fight or Flight.

Don't forget that severity-wise every anxiety attack feels different to the last so why not try out different methods depending on how bad you feel!?

What are your mid-night coping methods?