🧡 What I tell myself at 2am
Certainty isn’t available in the middle of the night
Hey friend 🧡
It’s 2am again. I’m wide awake, staring at the ceiling. My brain is doing what it does best at this time of night - replaying every decision I’ve ever made and every challenging conversation I’ve ever had, projecting futures decades ahead and demanding certainty I can’t possibly give it.
If you’ve ever had one of those nights, then you’ll know the feeling: your body is exhausted, but your mind has other ideas. The more you want to sleep, the more your thoughts circle round and round like a carousel you can’t get off.
I’ll be honest - I sometimes forget that I know how to stop it. Sometimes I toss and turn until the morning light appears, and I spend the next day groggy and irritable. But sometimes, when I catch myself in the spiral, I remember something simple:
Certainty isn’t available at 2am.
That can loosen the spiral’s grip just enough. It reminds me that my brain is just trying to protect me, scanning for problems to solve.
But at this time of night, there are no solutions. There’s only rest.
Sometimes I picture my mind like a toddler tugging at my sleeve - insistent, noisy, full of questions. And I have to say gently:
Not now. It’s bedtime.
Why it helps
The trick isn’t to switch your brain off (I’ve not managed that yet!) The trick is to remind yourself: I don’t have to figure this out right now. The decision, the worry, the future - it will all still be there in the morning, when I’m rested enough to feel more clarity.
Most of the time? Morning light makes it look a little smaller.
🛠 This week’s small step
If you find yourself awake at night, try this:
Whisper to yourself, “This isn’t the time for answers. This is the time for rest.”
Take a slow breath in and out.
Try imagining placing the thought on a shelf until the morning.
It doesn’t always send me straight back to sleep, but it does help me step out of the spiral and give myself permission to rest.
🧡 As always: If you’re struggling, please don’t struggle alone.
Know that asking for help is a sign of strength not of weakness. Contact someone you can trust like your Doctor, a friend or a relative, or text SHOUT to 85258 (UK) to start a conversation with a crisis support volunteer.
Best wishes,
Louise x