Numerous mental health professionals advocate holding an object to treat insomnia like a small stone, a pillow, or some other worry item. This is said to give your body a physical anchor. The mild sensory input—weight, texture, temperature—draws attention away from racing thoughts and helps you focus on something neutral and steady. This is a grounding technique, often used in anxiety management or mindfulness practices.
Do you hold a small folding knife to help sleep, not out of fear or for protection, but for the mindfulness benefits like triggering a calming response from the brain?
If so, what knife do you keep in hand? If not, is it worth trying or just psycho-babble? For me, a smooth pocket worn Case swayback or medium stockman 6318 is like a glass of warm milk!!
I thought I was the only loon that did that!!!!
In 2022, I was in the VA hospital for a few days having my right knee replaced. They doped me up pretty good and when I came home I had anxiety attacks when I would try to go to bed at night. I had a bad reaction to the hydrocodone they had me on. I'd be tired, but when I laid down I'd be hit by this anxiety that if I didn't get the hell out of that bed immediately something terrible was going to happen. A real sense of immediate dread. It would take me until 2am to get to bed, and often with the help of bourbon and Benadryl in good doses. Not a good thing.
The shrink at the VA hospital told me to hold an object that had good memories. Okay. I'd take a small SAK or other small pocket knife with a lanyard and attach it to a dog tag chain and hang it around my neck before going to bed. Laying there I'd think of fishing trips, or camping trips and any other good memories. It worked like a charm. I'd drift off to sleep thinking of all times that little knife was used someplace. It seems very weird to me, but it did work!
To this day I go to bed with the SAK classic and Fenix flashlight clipped to the pocket of my T-shirt with a S-biner. If I feel weird, I touch or hold the SAK and go off to sleep.
