Overactive imagination stopping me from sleeping.

as people above have said, you should probably talk to someone about it.you could also try having a film or quiet music on when you get in bed to sleep (but pick a film youve seen a lot as itll be less likely to distract you than one youve not seen much). im similar in that if its too quiet when i try to sleep my brain starts to work and it wont shut off, but having music on or a film distracts my brain and allows me to sleep.i also used to listen to audiobooks as it was quite relaxing when i was trying to sleep.

I went through a phase of this a while ago. I kept a book of children's stories by Ted Hughes by my bed. They were about the animals that God created. Simplistic and innocent, worked a treat.

Well I'll actually take this thread seriously as I know what you mean to certain extent.
I don't generally imagine ghosts/zombies because I have not watched any horror/scary films in about 3 years. I used to have a similar problem though.
I need to have some kind of noise, but not something that could distract me too much. I like to have the window open so I can hear traffic noise, and the curtains open a little so there's still some light in the room. I can't sleep well at all without that. I went to stay with a friend who lives in the country for a few days this summer. Night time was dead silent and pitch dark. I barely slept.
Anyway, my imagination generally just keeps going all night keeping me awake... I try that thing of writing things down before sleep, but writing just drives me to imagine even more lol.

Yeah I don't actually know how to get rid of this... sorry. Just trying to reassure you that you're not the only one and not crazy. Well, unless we're both crazy.

****, i'm actually mental aren't i?

Yeah you might be joking but i am considering this. It doesn't affect me in the day or when i have a light on or the tv or something. Its when i stay at my bfs house and there is nothing in his room to distract me that it becomes a problem.

ITE DER

ye you probably are but so am i and various other people in this thread (my response is almost halfway down the page if you're in the mood for some scrollin')

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=26114048&highlight=

EDIT: i'm scared as i'm typing this lmao, hurrah!

It's not the monsters you should be worrying about but the aliens...

Poor guy...

He is asleep by then

You could try something along the lines of occasionally flicking the light on when you're in the middle of imagining ghosts, zombies and the like. Once you take a good look round the room in the light, it'll help you remind yourself that they neither exist, nor are they in your room.

Another thing to do would be to read/watch something to distract your thoughts before you go to bed - something not involving anything lurking in the room, serial killers, ghosts or anything of that nature, but some form of light entertainment (comedy etc), so your mind's dwelling on that rather than what apparations could be in the room.

Alternately, try drinking something like NightNurse to get yourself to sleep quickly, thus avoiding the lying awake and imagining stage, until you move past it.