I have a very disabling illness. (I won't go into what it is, as that would distract from my question, which is not specific to this illness.) For over a year I've been mainly housebound. For the last few days I've managed to walk part-way down my street once a day. That may not sound like much, but I'm delighted, excited, and hopeful that this is the start of greater progress. I aim to gradually build up my walking.
However, for the past few days I've also been sleeping very badly. As I try to go to sleep, I feel worried that if I don't sleep enough, my health will regress and I'll be too unwell to continue my walking regime. This worry of course makes it difficult to sleep!
I'm thinking that the same issue, in principle, must come up a lot in sport, e.g. if a marathon runner is in the lead, they could worry about losing the lead, and that could make them tense up, which could slow them down. If you're a sports psychologist/coach, how do you advise people to address this?
By the way, I've tried having camomile tea before bed, listening to relaxation CDs etc., but that's not what I'm asking about here - I'm interested in what to do with one's mind in this situation.
Super grateful for any tips! :)