pogtheawesome

Sorry for the tangest but do you mind elaborating in growing up in a munchausesn by proxy house? What was that like for you?

I know what it means, it means their parent created fake illnesses for the kids so that they could get attention and sympathy

Lifelong insomniac. Here's a few strats.

1. Only be in bed for as long as you would have slept + maybe 2 hours max. If I go to bed at 10 and plan on waking up at 6, I will wake up at 6, or 8 at the latest, even if I stayed up til 2. If you're going to get lass than 2 hours of sleep, call it a night, get up and start your day.

2. Don't do anything in your room besides sleep and get ready for bed. Obviously this is easier said than done, but get out of bed, sit at the table or a desk outside your room (I don't have an office space - mine's in the hallway). If you really can't get out of bed, sit on the other side of your bed than you normally sleep on - anything to mentally distance yourself.

3. Drink. Whatever. They always told me not to because "it disrupts your sleep quality" but poor quality sleep is better than no sleep imo. This is good for when you're at your wit's end but it shouldn't be your go-to fix. If you find yourself doing this more than once every couple weeks then it's time to find a better solution.

4. If you've been in bed for an hour and don't feel sleepy AT ALL, then it's not happening. Get up, stretch your legs, grab some water, a snack, maybe read a bit, draw, journal, whatever floats your goat, then get back in bed. If you're getting kinda sleepy at all then stay in bed.

5. use f.lux. ACTUALLY USE IT. I used to keep it installed and then turn it off every day bc "wait no I need to focus on this hw tho I can't get sleepy" and I'd only turn it on when I was done with my work. No. Get sleepy. Be sleepy while you do the work. If you get too sleepy, wake up early tomorrow and finsih. Have it come on at the same time EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you can get smart lights, do the same with those. I follow a "white light til noon, yellow light noon-7, candle light 7-morning"

6. Use an "on/off" routine. I know its tempting to leave your work out on your desk. Don't. Set up your entire workspace every morning before you "study/work/whatever" and clear off EVERYTHING at the end before you go into relaxation mode. Treat that desk like a public library desk. Take everything. That half-finished stack of paperwork you'll pick right back up tomorrow morning? Pack it up. That video-lecture you're going to finish tomorrow? Close the tab. Wrap up your charger. Put your coffee cup in the sink. Then walk out of the room, walk downstairs, walk across the house. After that, I don't care if you walk back in, sit at the same spot, set your laptop back up, and start watching netflix. You just tricked your big dumb brain into thinking you went home.

Check-ins are great but how do we get them to actually share how they're doing? I'm doing weekly check-ins with my employees and throwing in stuff like "I'm going a little stir-crazy myself" or "I picked a really bad time to sprain my ankle, now I can't even go running to blow off steam!" just to let them know they can complain and it doesn't have to be about work, but at the same time I know I'd never in a million years tell a boss or coworker "yeah, I'm actually not doing well". I feel like the only point of my asking them is so I can check off that box that says I did.

I absolutely agree with this. I had a really bad addiction to something I won't talk about and once school let out and it was summer and the stress that triggered it was gone I didn't even have to try to quit I just did because I had no desire.