Worry

It's 11:30 pm and my 8yr old son is having a difficult time falling asleep. This isn't a first. His mind just won't turn off. "I can't stop thinking" he says. I feel his misery. I, too, have trouble turning off my mind when all the lights are out and it's just the quietness all around. Why is it that that seems to be a wake up call for all your worries to dive from their sleeping places into the forefront of your mind? My son is a worrier, even at eight yrs of age. And he's been this way for some time. He worries about things like school and homework, and just as common I think, things like fire and robbers. But possibly more uncommon, he can also worry about starving children around the world, and people who don't have homes. Very sensitive indeed. So how do I help him put those worries aside? What tools can I give him? What can I say to calm his stress and anxieties? I try to comfort him best I can, I try to say sweet, calming words that will ease his mind. But still he tosses and turns. Part of my heart sinks as I listen from the bottom of the stairs to him trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep, then hear pages turn in a book as he tries to make his eyelids too heavy to battle the wheels in his head that are turning. My heart sinks because I deal with anxiety. I am a worrier and tend to let it get the best of me in so many situations. It's been a struggle for a long time. What wires us this way, at such a young age? Is there a way to rewire? So my heart aches because I know this is going to be a challenge my son will battle his whole life. And I wish I could do a better job in helping him manage his worry. And so now...I worry.