Many nights, after falling asleep normally, I wake up full of anxiety – my heart and thoughts racing. The six pictures above are my own very personal night terrors. Seeing my most anxiety ridden thoughts in this painting is funny for me. They are just words and images yet the meanings behind them are so overwhelming for me at night (and often during the day too!). All of this eases when the morning comes and I am grateful for that.  I always stay in bed when the anxiety hits, but I often wonder if I should just get up. I also wonder if this will ever pass.

The passage of time is the number one thing I worry about. My life seems to be slipping away so quickly. It is so morbid but I can’t help myself from stressing about it. I also think obsessively about how fast my kids are growing up. I would love to freeze time and hold on to what we have now forever. I know I can’t. It’s just hard to accept. 

I hope you love this painting as much as I do. I could write an essay on the things that keep me up at night but I thought capturing my feelings in a piece of art would make me less sad. 

Do you wake up at night like me?

What keeps you up?

How do you get back to sleep???

Artwork by Niki Kingsmill