How to help DS7 with his thoughts and "full up head"

[Halffullvase]

Hi all hope someone can help

DS7 sometimes can't sleep because he has so many thoughts in his head and they are moving so fast that he isn't able to catch one so we can talk about it.

He says it happens all the time, day and night, and he struggles but doesn't know how to deal with it. It's causing him some anxiety. Any ideas?

For some background, he is doing very well in school... Academically he is excelling in all core subjects and he has a close knit group of friends.

Home life... He lives with me and my DH and our DSS and spends some time with his father (EOW and one overnight stay in the week). Home life with us is very loving, structured and calm, I am not so sure about at his father's, last year we had social service involved because he told me his dad was hitting him and calling him names etc, which he says has now stopped and the case is now closed.

Any thoughts in how I can help him?

Also to add, he is a very well rounded, seemingly happy, well behaved, bright and funny little boy. His teachers say so too, and so did the social services. They do not have any worries about his mental wellbeing. I would still like to be able to help him with his full up head though.

You can buy things called worry monsters, basically he can write down things he's thoughts etc and you zip them up in the monster overnight. Would something like that be useful?

Sillyshell thank you, I will definitely look into this

My mum got me worry dolls, they're tiny. You talk to them and put them under your pillow when you go to sleep, and they take the worries away.

That's a lovely idea too

I have bought a worry monster, hopefully that will help

Journal writing might help him too, even a simple sentences or a post it note pile or pinboard can help. I say this as someone who had a strikingly similar problem as a child. If the dolls don't help first. Basically, a "mechanism" of some kind to feel in control and let you externalise the busy or worrying thoughts.

Thank you, another lovely idea.