don't wait until night
When life gets tough and you have a lot going on, your brain needs time and space to process things.
It will do so given a moment of quiet and inactivity — a moment of stillness. (You don't even have to be an overthinker like me.)
You can postpone it for quite a while, if you want to, by having a constant stream of activity, noise, and distractions.
But you can't stop it.
Because eventually that moment of stillness comes, whether you want it or not.
When you try to sleep.
And that is not the right time for it — to go through all the difficult, scary, and painful thoughts. But your brain doesn't care. It's just doing what brains do.
What it was supposed to do earlier.
But you were too busy.
Had your headphones on all day.
Or had that show, book, or game you got lost in.
Sure, you can do those things in doses. Heck, sometimes, you might need a lot of them. That's OK.
Just be aware of the costs.
If you don't allow your brain moments of stillness during the day, don't be surprised when it doesn't give you the quiet at night.
Your first moment of stillness should not be when you're trying to sleep.