Anxiety in early morning/worry

H

hiboshi91

New member
Hi All, I am new to this board. I am 61 yrs old, female, active adult. Every morning before getting out of bed, I wake with extreme worry and anxiety and dread for the day ahead. Tried xanax before but I dont like what it does to me. Does this happen to anyone else? Really want to solve this. If I force myself up, which I do, it seems to get better as the day progresses, probably because I am busy and my mind must move on. The anxiety/worry is terrible, though, and sometimes seems quite painful.....
 
I have experienced this also, especially when life is stressful but have not had it in awhile.

What helped me is going to bed earlier (by 10:30 now) and waking up by 7:00 AM (with an alarm). What is your normal sleeping pattern?

I think morning anxiety is related to long periods of REM sleep, which occur more and more often the closer you are to waking up. The later you "sleep in," the more REM sleep occurs and the more likely you are to dream. Possibly also the more likely you are to have anxiety?

The other thing that helps me is a combination of cognitive behavioral "therapy," positive affirmations, and living "in the moment." I am not in therapy, but what I do is use cbt workbooks to change my thinking patterns into more positive thinking. I try to recognize when I have negative or anxious thoughts throughout the day and immediately turn them into something positive. I try to savor and enjoy little moments throughout the day.

This seems to have calmed my mind.

When you have morning anxiety, what exactly are you afraid of? What thoughts are coming? If it is usually the same fear each morning, perhaps you can work through the specific fear. (What are you afraid might happen that day?)

I know it is really difficult.
 
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