Waking up with a feeling of anxiety can be a frustrating and overwhelming experience, but please do not worry. You are not alone. I myself have experienced this in the past and know first hand how it feels! Morning anxiety is actually very common and it can affect your daily routine and overall quality of life. I will explore what morning anxiety is, its potential causes, and give you strategies to manage and overcome it.
What is Morning Anxiety?
Morning anxiety is a type of anxiety that occurs in the morning or upon waking up. It is a feeling of tension, worry, or fear that can be mild or severe. It can be accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, racing heart, and trembling. Morning anxiety can interfere with a person’s ability to carry out daily tasks and can lead to social, occupational, and academic impairments.
Potential Causes of Morning Anxiety
Biological factors can come into play here. Did you know that cortisol, a stress hormone is at its highest in the mornings. It’s job is to motivate you to get out of bed and help you to be more alert and focused. If however your stress levels are high, your body will be producing higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline which triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response. Our blood sugar levels are also lower in the mornings which can be a trigger for anxiety sufferers.
Strategies To Manage Morning Anxiety
- Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga can help reduce anxiety symptoms.
- Maintain a Consistent Sleep Routine: Maintaining a consistent sleep routine can help improve the quality of sleep an
d reduce morning anxiety. - Limit caffeine and alcohol as this can impact the quality of your sleep.
- Practice Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, visualisation, can help reduce anxiety symptoms.
- Practice Positive Self-Talk: Engage in positive self-talk and try to reframe negative thoughts into positive ones.
- Before you go to bed write down 3 good things that have happened that day. This will help you get into a positive mindset before you drift off to sleep.
- Make sure you engage in positive activities that make you happy. This could involve spending time with family and friends, taking up a new hobby, or reading a good book for example. All these things will give you a lovely boost of serotonin enabling you to feel happier and calmer.
Living with anxiety can feel like an endless cycle of worry. But it doesn’t have to control your life.
If you’re finding that your morning anxiety is becoming unmanageable and negatively impacting your life then the next step would be to seek professional support.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can be a valuable treatment option for anxiety. By combining hypnosis with solution-focused brief therapy techniques, it can help individuals to develop practical solutions to their problems and improve their overall well-being.
Contact me to find out more or to book an Initial Consultation where we can discuss how I can help you.