Examine Your Habits And Stressors
Becoming aware of your morning anxiety helps you confront it rather than sweeping it under the rug.
You might try taking note of what prompts or exacerbates, or worsens, your anxious feelings.
Do you hit the snooze button on your alarm every morning? Do you pick up your phone to check your email, the news, or social media while half asleep to avoid getting out of bed?
These seemingly small habits can contribute to anxiety on a bigger scale than you might realize.
Try to replace habits that increase your anxiety in the morning with ones that may help ease your feelings. For example, if checking your phone first thing in the morning increases your anxiety, try meditation or deep breathing exercises instead.
Also try to avoid hitting the snooze button on your alarm when you wake up. While it may provide temporary relief, it can prolong the challenge of getting out of bed.
Prepare For The Next Day
Getting yourself organised for the following day can help put your mind at ease, Bijlani says.
“Many people struggle to get to sleep because they are anxious about the following day. You can try to reduce this anxiety by making sure that you have everything prepared. For example, you could have a to-do list or even get your clothes ready.”
All Of Us Should Write A Living Will
I hope writing a Living Will become routine, much the same as making a will about property and finances
What should happen to you if you become so seriously incapacitated that youre incapable of telling your doctors about the kind of treatment youre willing to have?
For instance, whether you want them to try to resuscitate you if you suffer a cardiac arrest an important question for patients with severe dementia, for instance, who might otherwise die peacefully and naturally.
What should medical staff do if you suffer brain damage and end up in a persistent vegetative state do you want to be kept alive on a machine?
This is the kind of scenario covered by a Living Will or what we doctors know as an Advance Decision .
Essentially this is a statement issuing instructions about what medical treatments you dont want to have if at some stage you become so disabled you cannot discuss your care freely and openly with your doctors.
Writing a Living Will is about thinking ahead. I hope they become routine, much the same as making a will about property and finances.
The subject is very much in the news following reports last week about Janet Tracey, a lung cancer patient admitted to hospital with serious injuries following a car accident.
Her family later discovered a do not resuscitate order had been placed in her medical records without her permission.
But the teaching and study of medical ethics is woefully inadequate in many places.
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Dont Let Anxiety Impact Your Recovery
Stress and anxiety are normal parts of life. However, chronic worry can have a detrimental effect on your physical, emotional and mental well-being, especially if you struggle with addiction. If you need help, 7 Summit Pathways is here for you.
We understand that issues like anxiety or depression often serve as catalysts for addiction. Our team of interdisciplinary specialists addresses not only the addiction but also any underlying conditions that may have triggered your substance use.
Dont let anxiety or addiction leave you feeling hopeless. Contact 7 Summit Pathways or schedule an appointment with a caring member of our team to learn more.
I Also Take The Occasional Lorazepam A Sedative But My Doctor Withholds Them Most Of The Time I Am 82
Pauline Andrews, London.
‘Diurnal variation of mood’: Feeling depressed in the morning and improving as the day wears on
When I first started in general practice I was shocked to hear patients say they would rather have cancer than depression.
They felt that cancer would be something more tangible and others would understand their suffering.
As it is there is still this unfortunate attitude that people who are depressed should be able to pull themselves together and get on with life something that you will appreciate is just not possible.
Depression is not the same as feeling sad, a reaction to the pressures, tragedies, and painful dramas of life. It causes disruption to the whole body.
The skin and hair can become lank, dull, and difficult to manage the intestines stop working properly leading to bloating, constipation, halitosis, loss of appetite and nausea the immune system also doesnt work as well, so youre prone to infections many also have problems sleeping.
The symptom you describe feeling depressed in the morning, and improving as the day wears on is a classic one: we call it diurnal variation of mood.
Along with early morning waking, lack of energy, and poor memory and concentration, it is a characteristic of depression and this symptom forms part of the diagnosis.
Sometimes its just a question of trial and error.
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Practice Mindfulness Meditate Or Pray
Meditation, mindfulness and prayer all have similar goals get your mind off future worries and focus on the present. Try to put yourself in a mindful state when you first wake up. Objectively observe your feelings, thoughts and bodily state while trying not to react to them. Take some deep breaths, turning your focus away from what you cant control and turning it toward what you can.
What Are The Symptoms Of Sleep Anxiety
When you cant sleep due to anxiety, you may experience behavioral changes, including:
- Feelings of being overwhelmed.
- Tense muscles.
- Trembling.
Some people also have nocturnal panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden, intense burst of extreme fear. Nocturnal panic attacks only happen at night, and often wake you from sleep.
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Try Your Best To Have Enough Sleep
Having enough steady sleep is medicine on its own. Research shows that adequate sleep helps to increase the concentration level of a human being.
Sleeping is a way of getting rest after a day of work. During the day the mind is fully occupied by the things that we sense with our 5 senses. Thats why everyone needs to take a break at night, close the eyes and sleep.
After waking up, the mind will be fresh again to think more. I think you should try this at home, take a good undisrupted sleep and thank me later. Scientists recommend anyone to sleep for at least 8 hours a day.
Taking enough sleep increases the chances of thinking well hence reducing morning anxiety.
Leanne 36 Marketing Executive And Blogger
“I was diagnosed with depression when I was 19 and suffered with my mental health in my twenties, even overdosing after a difficult break-up.
My anxiety manifests itself as a feeling in my tummy that just wont go away. It isnt hunger, or being poorly. Its like a deep pit in my stomach. I also feel like my chest is tight and get short of breath. Sleeping is always an issue as my brain goes into relentless mode. Even the smallest of things can tip me over the edge and make me feel powerless. My menstrual cycle also drains me and makes my outlook on life change quite dramatically for a few days each month. Money is probably my biggest stress: I never feel like I have enough and, in turn, tell myself that my XX kids don’t have enough either.
My anxiety is worst on Mondays. I reflect on the weekend and make myself feel guilty for eating or drinking the ‘wrong’ things, not being more productive, and not exercising as much as I ‘should’ have. It’s when I feel most overwhelmed by everything I need to do throughout the week for my blog, part-time job and family. As soon as I get out of bed, I feel like I’m on a treadmill without a ‘stop’ button.
“As soon as I get out of bed, I feel like I’m on a treadmill without a ‘stop’ button”
I have three sons, age 14, 12, and four. My eldest son is autistic and if I know he has something going on at school or in his social life that will affect him, it’ll get to me in the mornings and I’ll worry about it all day.
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Why Morning Anxiety Has Become Such A Common Problem
It’s tearing me apartâand I know I’m not alone
Shut Up, Brain is a column by Jill Gutowitz in which she looks at everything from pop culture phenomena to the quirks of interpersonal relationships through the lens of someone who lives with anxiety.
I can prepare for nighttime anxiety. I have all day to ready myself, anticipating that familiar feeling creeping in on me as the sky darkens. I can mold my plans around it. The same cannot be said for morning anxietyâthere is something so shocking, so cruel, and so unfair about waking up to that feeling, about going from a dream state to a nightmare in the literal blink of an eye.
Anxiety comes in swings it transmutes, taking on new shapes when it’s run its course in a previous form. Recently, my anxiety did just that, and swung from night shivers to morning sweats. Morning anxiety has breathed new lifeâvery, very bad lifeâinto the meaning of the phrase “I woke up like this.” It’s completely overhauled my mental health, and finding a solution has been painstaking. At times, it’s felt insurmountable, because when anxiety is the very first thing I feel in the morning, it’s hard to find the motivation to get up at all.
And I promise you, that thing is not scrolling through social media, fishing for fan edits of Rachel Weisz and Kathryn Hahn flirtingâI’ve tried it. That certainly brings me into my body in other waysâjust not productive ones.
Symptoms Of Morning Anxiety
Most people experience several of the following symptoms when feeling anxious:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Feeling weak, faint, or dizzy
- Tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers
- Nervousness, sense of terror, of impending doom or death
- Feeling sweaty or having chills
- Chest pains
- Feeling a loss of control
- Fatigue
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What Causes Generalised Anxiety Disorder
The exact cause of GAD is not fully understood, although it’s likely that a combination of several factors plays a role.
Research has suggested that these may include:
- overactivity in areas of the brain involved in emotions and behaviour
- an imbalance of the brain chemicals serotonin and noradrenaline, which are involved in the control and regulation of mood
- the genes you inherit from your parents you’re estimated to be 5 times more likely to develop GAD if you have a close relative with the condition
- having a history of stressful or traumatic experiences, such as domestic violence, child abuse or bullying
- having a painful long-term health condition, such as arthritis
- having a history of drug or alcohol misuse
But many people develop GAD for no apparent reason.
Follow A Morning Routine
Morning anxiety can make it difficult to get up and out. Having a solid routine for the first two hours of the day allows you to get your day started and interrupt the negative thoughts swirling in your head, Mendez says.
A routine may also help you feel more in control, which can reduce feelings of anxiety. In addition, “repetition is soothing,” says Holland-Kornegay.
Your routine should incorporate the steps that can reduce morning anxiety. For example:
- Wake up and make breakfast. Ease into your morning with a calming, nutritious start. Try oatmeal with fruit and nuts, which contains plenty of magnesium.
- Exercise or practice mindfulness. Go for a 10-minute walk, or meditate for 5 minutes. You can even practice walking meditation to do both at once.
- Shower. Take a relaxing, steamy cleanse after your exercise or meditation. You can also listen to classical music or your favorite calming tune.
- Get ready. Prepare to work from home or commute with plenty of time to spare, so you’re not in a rush or stressed about time constraints.
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Morning Anxiety : Symptoms And Causes
I am not a morning person. If you are reading this, chances are, you aren’t one either. Sometimes, I have been woken up in the early hours to instant panic. There isn’t a reason for the fear but as soon as my eyelids open I am absolutely terrified. Its a horrible feeling. When my day begins this way one of two things are bound to happen.
Either I accept the anxiety and try to ignore it, or I feel sorry for myself, pout, and sometimes cry, and it consumes and ruins my entire day.
My anxiety is always worse in the mornings. Always. Sometimes I find myself dreading to go to sleep at night for fear of what the morning will bring. I have learned not to plan important events or parties until the afternoon or evenings because I know I will be in a better mood at that time.
Set An Intention Early
Many of us go from one activity to the next throughout our day without really considering how we are feeling, let alone how we would like to feel. For example, do you ever come home after a long day of work and think to yourself, I really want to relax and enjoy this evening?
Most likely you are far too busy or preoccupied to stop and ponder how you want your evening to be. However, by setting an intention early, you are more likely to get the results you want.
If you remind yourself each day that you are determined to have a peaceful evening, you are more likely to actually experience it that way.
Remembering to set an intention is easier when you mark a certain point in your day for it. For example, while driving home from work, you may be going over in your mind all the stress that you went through that day.
At a certain point during your drive home, such as when you drive over a certain bridge or pass a particular landmark, you can set the intention to let go of work stress from that point forward and enjoy the rest of your evening. Another option can be to set an alarm that reminds you to set your intention for a nice evening.
Regardless of what type of prompt works for you, get in the habit of setting your personal objective of how you want to feel each evening.
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Allow Yourself To Feel It
This might sound counterintuitive, but its not healthy to push away and ignore your feelings of anxiety. Instead, take a few minutes to acknowledge and feel what youre really feeling. But you cant allow yourself to wallow in it either set a timer for 5-10 minutes, and once the time is up, go on to the next thing you have to do.
How To Cope With Morning Anxiety
Waking up with anxiety really sucks, especially when it feels like theres so much to be worried about. But there are ways to cope, practice self-care, and protect your mental health.
For people of color especially, its important to look for resources specifically for us, Ertel says. We live in a world and a culture that wasnt created for us, and its easy for therapists to have all the right intentions but not have the understanding. You don’t necessarily have to find a therapist, she adds. There are tons of podcasts that are specifically for mental health in the Black community, such as Between Sessions,Celeste the Therapist, and Naming It. Seeking resources like that whether in your community or on the internet can be really helpful because it helps you connect to something that is relatable, Ertel says.
Most of us use our phones as alarm clocks, which means that the minute we wake up, were confronting an inbox of unread emails and a barrage of depressing Twitter alerts. That can be a recipe for morning stress and anxiety. As an alternative, stash your phone in another room at night and rely on a manual or digital alarm clock instead, suggests Rosmarin. This isn’t about burying your head in the sand: The emails and headlines will still be there but youll give yourself a little time to center yourself and practice self-care before addressing them.
Jenny McCoy is a freelance journalist in Boulder, Colorado.
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Reasons Why You’re Waking Up With Anxiety
If you live with anxiety, the all-encompassing feelings of dread can hit you at any time. But its particularly upsetting when you wake up with anxiety. You might be so overwhelmed that getting up and facing your day seems impossible. But staying in bed never helped anyone and can often be counterproductive if the reason that youre stressed has to do with the things you need to complete during the day. But even if you dont have anxiety, you may be familiar with the feeling of nervousness first thing in the morning. So why do you wake up with anxiety?
There are plenty of reasons you could be stressed in the morning and many of them may be self-evident to you if you have a big work or school assignment or an important interview. Yet, if youre waking up with anxiety on a fairly regular basis, it might be part of a larger problem that youll want to examine.
While there are tried and true tips to help make your mornings better that you can follow, you have the added weight of anxiety to overcome as well. In that scenario, these tips for how to motivate yourself on a day you dont like yourself might be particularly helpful. Because no matter why youre waking up with anxiety, one thing to remember is that staying in bed has rarely ever helped the situation and here are nine reasons why waking up might feel so daunting to you.