Reviewing the day

This technique is particularly good to help you distress if you have had a busy day and have lots on your mind.

Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. Allow your mind to become still and quiet for a couple of minutes. When your mind is blank, cast your thoughts back to the beginning of your day, when you first woke up. Then run through the events of your day from start to finish. Imagine all the things that happen sequentially and run it like a video in your mind. If there was anything unresolved, accept that a solution will come to you when the time is right. Make everything clear and bright as you visualise. Take as long as you need to do this.

Now imagine the events of your day from a higher perspective. You are one of billions of people on this planet, and you are doing the very best you can with the knowledge you have. Review the events of your day from this bigger, philosophical picture. Look at the good and bad events of your day as opportunities for you to learn. Accept that every experience you have is valuable and that life is a series of ups and downs, in the same way that nature and the seasons ebb and flow. Imagine yourself on your journey riding the highs and lows of life, and enjoying the journey as a whole, becoming wiser from every small experience.

Then, when you are finish, imagine you are letting it all go, so that you feel detached from the events of your day. Imagine the day as a whole drifting away so that your mind becomes still and quiet.

You may even continue your deep breathing as you let go of everything – this will help you to relax deeply and go to sleep more easily. Imagine you are breathing away any cares or worries.

This technique can help you unwind and sleep more deeply, as you are letting go of the mental stresses that keep you awake.