When Your Mind Spirals at 3AM: How to Come Back to Yourself

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Dear Rising Soul,

It is 3 a.m., and we are awake again, the heart already pounding before the mind has even named what it fears.

And as we get caught in the spiral, we begin to lose our grip on what is real and what is not. The body follows the mind into the believed threat. The imagined danger starts to feel like truth. And before we know it, we are standing at the edge of ourselves, looking down at crashing waves the mind has made seem too big, too powerful, too overwhelming to survive.

By then, fear has convinced us that we are incapable of handling situations we have already walked through before. Situations we have faced, endured, and somehow come out the other side of enough times to know we are more capable than the mind is allowing us to believe.

This feeling can seem like life or death. As if, at any moment, the ground beneath you could fall away and you would be free-falling into some unnamable doom.

That is how the mind can torment us. Not because it is our enemy, but because it is trying to protect us with the only tools it has.

It runs on old programming. Old fear. Old memories stored in the body that once taught us we were not safe.

But more often than not, this is the lie of the mind. Because when the mind is afraid, it can operate like a small child in the dark. It does not always know what is truly there. It only knows what it imagines could be.

I can recall two times in my life when my mind convinced me I was going to be homeless.

For me, having a roof over my head brings a deep sense of security. Maybe it is safety or the illusion of safety. Either way, home has always represented ground beneath my feet. A place where my nervous system can exhale.

The first time was when we put our dream home on the market, and it sold before the day was done. The possession date the new owners wanted was soon, and everything began moving faster than my body could keep up with. Before I knew it, I was living in a hotel while we worked out the details of moving to a new province, finding a place to rent, and eventually finding a new home.

At first, I feared I would never find another home I loved as much as that one. Then the fear grew and became all-consuming, and I worried I would not find another home at all.

The second time was similar. We had given up our home and could not find another one, and I feared we would end up in hotels again. As the days closed in and we still did not have a place to go, my body was on high alert. Pins and needles, as my mind fought to gather evidence of my doom. My actual reality faded, and fear became the thing that felt most real. Images of being on the street flashed through my mind over and over. 

Fear told me I would not be okay. That safety was on the line, and I needed to find it at all costs.

My mind convinced me I was at rock bottom.

But the truth is, I was in transition.

Our minds can become a battlefield, causing us unnecessary suffering and stealing our joy and sense of peace. But we are not powerless beneath the mind’s noise. It is not as in control as it wants us to believe. We can begin to loosen fear’s hold when we learn to listen to the rumbling of the mind without obeying it. Not to become the fear, but to witness it. To see what it is protecting. To recognize the old story it is trying to tell.

And from there, we can begin to challenge the mind. We can ask it for evidence. We can ask, Is it true that I will not be okay? Or is this an old fear trying to predict a new moment?

Because the situations that rooted the fear in the past cannot fully predict our present or our future. No situation ever returns in the exact same way. Every new season comes with new circumstances, new awareness, and new opportunities to choose differently.

The way we handled something two years ago is not always the way we would handle it now. We have lived and learned since then, gaining insight, wisdom, and strength. Maybe even a deeper understanding of what we truly need.

I want to leave you with a practice I use when my mind starts to spiral. I give my head a small shake and say a firm no. Not to shame the fear or fight the mind, but to interrupt the story before it carries me too far away from myself.

Then I tell my mind, Thank you for trying to protect me, but I’ve got this. The adult Naomi is more than capable of handling the situation in front of her.

And maybe that is something we all need to remind ourselves of when fear gets loud enough to block out the guidance of our intuition and soul. We are not the same person we were when the fear first took root. Life has moved through us since then, teaching us, shaping us, strengthening parts of us we may not even recognize yet.

So when the mind tries to convince you that you cannot handle what is ahead, come back to the evidence of your own life. Remember what you have already faced. Remember the moments that felt impossible while you were inside them, and how somehow, little by little, you found your way through.

Anchor. Hold. Trust.

With much love,

Naomi

P.S. If this letter met you in the middle of a restless night, you may also like my guided meditation, The 3 AM Mind — created for the moments when fear gets loud in the dark.

Return to Self | The 3 AM Mind · Guided Sleep Meditation for When You Can’t Sleep

Dear Rising Soul: The Courage To Begin Again

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Dear Rising Soul,

Are you waiting for clarity before making a move, afraid you’ll choose wrong?
We’ve all been there, standing still, rooted in fear, waiting for the “right” answer. But if we never try, how will we ever know?

Sometimes the best thing we can do is throw a dart and hope it sticks. And if it doesn’t, we throw another. Each one teaches us something, how to trust ourselves, how to begin again, how to survive the not-knowing.

Like raising children, life doesn’t come with a handbook. We’re here to learn, grow, and take chances. If we never throw that dart, we may miss the beautiful things waiting for us just beyond hesitation. It’s not about hitting the bullseye every time. It’s about the trying, the movement, the courage to act.

Life has offered me this lesson more than once, but one time stands out clearly in my memory. My Facebook page became a visible extension of my heart work, a space where I spread love and understanding through my soul’s musings with the world. In 2021, I started a page that quickly grew to 42,000 followers. It felt amazing to see that my words and desire to spread compassion were resonating. But along with the love came something else: bullying and hate. I didn’t understand how something created from a place of kindness could become so toxic.

Each morning, I would rise early to write my daily Soul Musings. Before I even sat down, fear would whisper, warning me not to post. My heart would counter, saying, If there’s but one person you can help today, it’s worth whatever comes. I’d whisper a quiet prayer for protection and hit publish. Then the fear would rush back in as the notifications began, bringing love, gratitude, and connection, and woven between them, cruelty. I cried more times than I can count, asking, Why? I’m only trying to remind people they matter.

Then, in 2023, hackers took my page. Despite countless emails to Facebook, nothing was done. My page, my heart’s work, was taken over and turned into something unrecognizable. For a time, I felt both anger and relief. Relief that I no longer had to face the daily storm of hate. Eventually, I accepted that maybe that chapter had closed, and I was done with social media.

Then, in September 2025, Facebook deleted the hacked page, freeing the name I had once built with so much love. I suddenly had a choice: stay in my resolve that I was finished, or start again from the bottom. Something fierce rose in me. I wasn’t the same person anymore. The years in between had brought pain, growth, and strength. I had walked through fire and come out more sure of who I was. Why should I fear what someone behind a screen thought of me? Their pain and lack of peace weren’t mine to carry.

So I decided to begin again. To build from a stronger foundation. The spirit of the lion within me, the same spirit we all carry, rose up. Like the phoenix from the ashes, I rose. In those years between, I remembered who I was. I healed. I rose.

What I’ve learned is that the point was never about numbers or approval. It was about showing up, even when my hands shook. It was about finding the courage to try again when life whispered, Start over.

We all face those moments when fear, loss, or exhaustion make us wonder if it’s worth it. But every time we throw another dart, we remind life that we’re still here, still willing, still growing.

So wherever you are today, pick up your own dart. Let the spark inside you rise. Try again, not because you know it will work, but because your soul deserves the chance to see what might.

Trust. Believe. Rise.

With love,
Naomi 🤍

Dear Rising Soul: Standing in Your Truth

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Dear Rising Soul,

Have you noticed that the moment you choose yourself, people often don’t understand? They might say, “You’ve changed,” or, “You’ve become hard.”

The truth is, when you start standing in your power, those who once relied on your compliance can feel unsettled. You are no longer a fictional character in their story, one they wrote to keep themselves comfortable. You’re the hero now, creating a story of your own making.

By now, you’ve lived enough life to know that others will characterize you at the level of their own wounds. It doesn’t matter who they believe you to be; your power lies in how you see yourself.

For too long, we’ve allowed the noise of others — their expectations, opinions, and projections — to seep into our inner world. But there comes a time when your soul says, enough. You step off their merry-go-round and choose your own path, one of peace, joy, and authenticity over approval.

Some will pull away because they can no longer control the version of you that stayed small to keep them comfortable. They may feel powerless because they can’t understand why you no longer show up the way you used to.

This choice to stand in your power can feel isolating and even frightening, but if we don’t defend our right to live wholly, freely, and authentically, who will?

Rising in your truth is not rebellion.
It’s you remembering your value.

Your happiness and well-being are not for sale.

Remember. Rise. Stand.

With love,
Naomi 🤍