Knowledge, attitude, philosophy, distraction...

I find learning - being aware - of what's going on and what I'm (we're) going through helps me a lot. Are we talking about anxiety here? Anxiety can turn into depression. These can be psychological, some of which may be within our control, and they can also be chemical, which may not be within our control, and may need some assistance in overcoming from our doctors.

When I became pro-active in my own care (becoming one of my own, and others' advocates) I learned all I could about my various conditions (and I'm still learning). Along the journey, I learned about things like the stages of grief & loss (and how they can relate to chronic illness), the vicious cycle of pain, depression, insomnia (and others), the stigmas of chronic pain & illness, the politics of pain, and a potload of other stuff relating to being human.

I could ramble on about this stuff all night, but I'll try to keep it short...

Whether a person is of a spiritual persuasion or not, I think there's something to be said for the philosophy of the Serenity Prayer (or some version/modification/corollary of it.)

From a Usenet discussion a few years back:
http://tinyurl.com/2c642oa

A lot comes down to distraction - getting my mind/concentration/focus on something else, either entertaining or productive (and if/when you're worried/stressed enough, distracting entertainment can be productive!

If I can't (get back to) sleep, I don't fight it; I get up and watch a movie, get online and research something fun, interact with someone, write something (like I'm doing now) - whatever it takes.

HTH,

Doc