I'm stressed out and when I try to go to sleep I can't shut off my thoughts. What should I do?

well, no need to try to repress or control thoughts directly. that's actually a bad strategy. repression never works. We don't have direct control over thoughts and things in general (even if we like to lie to ourselves that we do :D) We have a small direct control, but thoughts, emotions, things in general, are far away from the source, from us, and, like light, control drops fast with distance, it's natural law, same with sounds, and every other force. We have to control what we CAN control directly. That is, develop a practice about our Focus, our attention. It's not about shutting down a bad thing, no matter which. It's about creating a good thing, giving it focus, attention, thought, more and more. It's also not about instant winning, instant success, but a process of win-loss-win-loss-win-win-loss-winwinwin-loss...etc, increasing the success as much as we can, now as we "should" increase, each individual in his own way. What I find useful about falling asleep now, your special case here, is focusing on breathing. Breathing in, 1, Breathing out, 2, Breathing in, 1, Breathing out, 2, etc Thoughts may steal your focus, no problem, you come back to simple watching your breathing, not forcing it, and 1, 2, 1, 2, This simplicity will generate a rhythm in your brain, and rhythm is what is needed to fall asleep. (anything rhythmic will have the same effect, choose anything, but it has to be as simple as possible, and if related to breath, even better) Thinking generates chaotic patterns, as it should generate, it's normal, but this promotes awakeness. Hence not falling asleep. Trying to shut down thoughts it's also not rhythmic, because it's like you think about pushing down another thought, still thinking, still chaos there, promotes awake-ness. Rhythm brings calm, and also falling asleep, also promotes meditation, which is healing also.

As someone with both anxiety and insomnia, and who has seen a CBTi (cognitive-behavioral therapist for insomnia), one of the best things you can do when you can't sleep when you have racing thoughts is to get out of bed. The reason why this is important is that you need for your brain to subconsciously associate your bed with sleep, not worry time. So what do you do when you get out of bed? Get into another room, and do something that doesn't involve your phone or screens in any way. Read a book, draw, journal, something that is soothing. For stressed thoughts, I highly recommend journaling or light yoga. Then when you are sleepy again, go back to bed. Also, waking up at the exact same time every day (even on the weekends) can help get you into a more stead rhythm for sleep hygiene as well.

Electronics add to the stress. Its hard to calm down when we have bright lights, sounds, notifications , background noise. All this takes away from our inner peace subconsciously. Limit phone use, start by keeping it out of the bathroom and shower and your car. Learn to be alone with the self. Try looking for the nighttime mode on electronics that take the blue light out of the screen. Keep your phone across the room if you are trying to sleep. Put it on "Do not disturb mode", Read a book or journal, something that doesn't involve electronics. This might be hard.

If you can't sleep due to stress, do something that will keep you away from thinking e.g.. playing a game on your phone whilst on bed

Try a progressive muscle relaxation activity, starting with toes and up to head. You can tense up muscles and deep breathe for 20 seconds, then release for 20 seconds. Move to next muscle, and all the way up. Starting with toes, tense toes and release, then arch of foot, then release, then ankles, then release, calfs, etc. If I am deep breathing during this, I usually fall asleep before I get to my shoulders. If not, my body is completely relaxed when I'm done and I drift off.

I find that most will try to force themselves to shut down, however, I find it much more rewarding to acknowledge the thoughts that occur instead of invalidating them. Your thoughts make you human, and I believe if you give them your attention it could help. Set a time limit. Maybe five minutes to validate the thoughts in your head and make them feel welcomed. When the five minutes is up, wish them a good night. If they continue to other you, write them down.

Stress is something all of us deal with in our lives. As a student of the sciences I'm often stressed out due to projects and research work. I've found that laying in the dark and performing deep breathing exercises for a few minutes helps a lot. Additionally, cut off caffeine consumption at night and refrain from using your phones/laptops/tablets etc for at least 20 mins before sleeping.

I recommend writng a diary. It doesn't matter if it's long entry of the day or just some thoughts.. It's also good to tell about your feelings someone. (7 Cups' listener, friend or family member). A short meditation also help.

Write them down, it would almost be like asking to someone and you get to get everything off your chest and enjoy a good nights sleep!

Shut off your electronics, and breathe. Maybe try putting some relaxing sounds on, like a thunderstorm or beach noises. Close your eyes, and breathe at a calm pace.

Try this, close your eyes and just watch your thoughts, do not judge them, whatever thought appears just watch it come and go.

There are things I found to help the most with this issue. Before going to bed have a journal at your bedside and before laying down to sleep write down anything that's in your head and get it all out on paper before trying to fall asleep. OR you can try meditating, this may take practice you may not see huge results right off the bat but it does help the first time.

Talking to someone you trust such as a close friend or family member would be the best option. You can let out your frustrations and confide in them about why and how you're stressed. You should find that it is a great relief to just let it all out and perhaps receive some helpful advice from a trusted source.

Take a melatonin, if recommended. Also, breathe in for 5 seconds, out for 10. Deep breathing helps.

Go to sleep with some sort of sound. Play music or a noise machine that you can focus on until you sleep. Also try yoga or meditation before bed. And if you can share your thoughts before you sleep that might help clear your head.

Try to calm your brain down. I listen to ASMR (lol). I don't know if it works for everyone, but I respond well to it. Meditating is another common technique, which is good for your brain in general and promotes neurogenesis. Also, maybe try to drain yourself during the day. I swim for an hour and a half at least twice a week and I feel dead after that and end up napping during the day, so maybe do a form of intensive exercise before going to bed. Exercise also promotes neurogenesis and is the best form of antidepressant. It also apparently combats some neurodegenerative disorders, so don't forget to do it if you want a healthy brain haha (I'm being serious).

I really do recommend something that involves listening to something. Preferably something you find relaxing for example, a guided meditation, rain, the ocean or just music you really enjoy. Doing things causes you to focus on the music and you aren't in such a deep state of thought.

You have to control your mind that the simple solution .... i know its hard but there is many technique though but my advice u should control your mind by yourself ......but again its not that easy so first try with meditation its the ultimate technique .

Listening to music or breathing the outside are can typically help someone shut off their thoughts, but A way to kind of force manual shutdown is to focus purely on your breathing. Not exactly doing breathing exercises, but it's too difficult to think and manually breath at the same time, so there you go.

Try acknowledging you have the thoughts but then let them pass through your mind without really looking at them. For example: It's late and I'm having a million different thoughts about what I have to do tomorrow; I take a deep breath and think; it's ok to have these thoughts, just let them go through my mind (like watching cars go past almost). I find that helps or counting sheep. It won't send you to sleep immediately but allows your mind to start to settle so you can eventually rest.

I try to focus on an idea or thought that makes me feel at peace. For example, I like to think about the ocean, the calm waters, the minnows darting in and out of the tide pools. Here, in my peaceful idea, no stress can come. When I feel calmer, I can usually then fall right asleep.

You should count things in your head so that you focus on one thing only and it will put you to sleep

have you tried meditation? you can also try working out (exercising) - it makes you more tired at the end of the day

Sit up for a moment and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and try to let go of your thoughts. I often find opening a window and taking a breath of fresh air to help. Keep your eyes closed and keep taking deep breaths through your nose until you find yourself relaxing a little more. Sometimes it takes a little while longer than other times, but make sure to switch off any electrical devices, such as your laptop, and keep your phone away. Once you find yourself relaxing, your thoughts should ease, and hopefully you will feel less stressed.

have you tried writing your thoughts down, the things that are stressing you out? so you know you won't forget them, and can come back to them in the morning.

Reading a good book helps. =) In my opinion it really is nice to relax with a nice book with great story.

You could listen to some soft and soothing music and try to think of something or someone that makes you happy.

Try to picture yourself in a calming place. Gradually relax each part of your body, starting from your toes and working your way upwards. Perhaps try some quiet music or a white noise machine. If your stress is really affecting you so much though, you may want to try and talk to someone about the actual reasons behind it. There's no point treating the symptoms while leaving the root cause.

try the technique of yoga nidra...

Try taking a walk, write in a journal away from the TV or catch a yoga class. Physical activity can help to release tension and journaling can give the mind a space to empty. The mind can and will run unruly when under stress but with practice, the mind can be re-trained to be still.