Hanyi #16 - Falling Asleep at Night

    Have you ever begun to fall asleep, only to somehow remember something dumb you did years ago? Suddenly, all chances of falling asleep disappear. You are faced with a bombardment of thoughts as you think of how embarrassing it must have been and how everyone who saw you make your mistake will remember you for solely that one event for the rest of your life. This has happened to me more often than I would like to admit, but luckily, I have figured out methods to convince myself that those barrages of overthinking are all imaginary.
    
    I stumbled across this method once, about how instead of overthinking about all your embarrassing moments in life, try to think of embarrassing moments of others. Try to remember any events where you witnessed others making embarrassing mistakes or being placed in an awkward situation. I tried to do this, and not a single memory came to mind. I realized how these thoughts of others remembering me for solely that one embarrassing moment is completely a figment of my imagination, how that if I cannot even recall one similar event regarding others, the likelihood of others remembering some dumb mistake I made years ago was surely very low. By applying this idea whenever I cannot fall asleep at night, I have been able to evade those never-ending chains of overthinking.

    By applying this idea, my sleep at night has definitely been much more peaceful. Although those thoughts of embarrassment do rise occasionally, they have drastically decreased as I realized that no one else in the world remembers every single embarrassing thing I have done in the past. 

(Very accurate representation of me when I try to sleep at night)
(wiselivingmagazine.co.uk)

Comments

  1. Amratha RaoMay 20, 2022 at 9:45 AM

    Hey Hanyi! This has happened to me countless times and honestly is one of my worst fears sometimes. I know a lot of us worry about how our classmates or friends perceive us and really try hard to create a good image. But when these mortifying memories bubble up to the surface at night, it only makes the feeling of embarrassment worse. Acknowledging that no one else is going to remember these embarrassing moments may take a while, but I sure hope it is effective, because I would really like to get some more sleep without being haunted by my past dumb mistakes. Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Pranav SreejayanMay 22, 2022 at 10:49 PM

    Hello Hanyi! I won’t lie and say I don’t suffer from this affliction, and it is kind of reassuring to see that this is a universal experience rather than something unique to me. But on that note your reminder of not being able to remember other people’s embarrassing moments I feel is kind of questionable. There are probably moments that we tell others as interesting anecdotes that might be some peoples worst memories of themselves. The simple fact is that sometimes our embarrassment can be another person’s highlight. To be honest I take even more reassurance in this since it just means that my embarrassment can be another interesting anecdote for me to tell someone else! Anything to be interesting am I right?

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  3. Shrinithi SathiyaseelanMay 23, 2022 at 8:24 PM

    Hi Hanyi! I can completely relate, as many of us do. An embarrassing moment from a few years ago will suddenly pop into my head when I'm trying to sleep, or one embarrassing thing will happen and I will spend the rest of the day reliving and regretting the moment until I go to bed. It definitely does help to remember that people will usually forget the moments that we tend to agonize over. My parents often tell me that people don't really care. I used to think it was harsh, but now I realize what they meant. Thinking with that mindset has definitely helped me lose less sleep over these sudden thoughts.

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  4. Kirti KandeMay 24, 2022 at 9:36 AM

    Hanyi, this was a really nice and educational post. Personally, I am a deep sleeper; once I fall asleep I am asleep. On the other hand, my sister is a light sleeper and has very vivid dreams and cannot sleep because of them. So, all of these tips and tricks on how to avoid those thoughts is something that I will definitely pass on to my sister. Thank you for writing this blog post.

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  5. Tiffany ChenMay 25, 2022 at 10:30 AM

    Hi Hanyi, I do sometimes think about embarrassing things I have done in the past, but somehow not at night as I have heard a lot of people say. At night, I find myself not being able to fall asleep because I have too many thoughts running around in my head, about the events of the day and my future. However, it's interesting to know that you have found a method to help block out those thoughts at night when you are trying to get very much needed sleep.

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  6. Yunshan LiMay 25, 2022 at 2:47 PM

    Hi Hanyi! I have definitely had that experience when an embarrassing memory from years ago suddenly appears in my head as I am trying to sleep. There were also times when I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered an embarrassing thing that I did. It always feels impossible to go back to sleep after such a moment since my mind is filled with regret as I cringe over how embarrassing and awkward the memory was. I have never tried the method you mentioned to try to think of other people’s embarrassing moments, but I will definitely try it next time. However, I doubt if I can ever recall any of other people’s embarrassing moments since it seems like we all seem to remember our own embarrassing moments better. Thank you for sharing!

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  7. Katrina ChangMay 25, 2022 at 6:10 PM

    Hey Hanyi, thank you for sharing these wonderful techniques. I will definitely do this in the future and hope to improve my sleep as well. Usually to make myself fall asleep, I make up a random scenario and just think about how it would play out; for some reason, this always works and I am able to fall asleep easily. Nevertheless, it gives me comfort to know that most people don’t even remember any embarrassing things I’ve done in the past. Thank you for sharing!

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  8. Kristine DangMay 25, 2022 at 8:08 PM

    Hi Hanyi, I don’t think I have ever recalled embarrassing moments throughout my day as I tried falling asleep since I often fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow but this sometimes does happen to me at random times throughout the day when I see or hear something that is similar to what I have done in the past. The method you provide to help ease ones embarrassment is actually useful so I think I will use it in the future.

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