I have tried a lot of different things to try and reduce anxiety upon waking every morning. Nothing works. Usually I wake up and experience about 5 - 10 seconds of relaxation and coziness and then my mind quickly turns to anxious thoughts. A moderate level of anxiety stays with me all day.
It's been 2-3 years since I stopped taking medication for anxiety. I started taking it because I was waking up at 4am and not able to go back to sleep. As we know, if we don't get enough sleep everything looks worse, especially at 4am. While using the medication I was able to sleep a bit later in the morning. Since I no longer have to go to work Monday to Friday I decided that it didn't matter if I woke up at 4am so I went off the meds. I continued to wake up very early for at least a year until gradually I was able to sleep til 5am, then 6am and now 7am. So that's a major improvement.
 |
| by MIKE BALDWIN |
Perhaps, over time, my morning anxiety will decrease. I look forward to waking up, if not happy, at least not anxious. It's not like my morning is filled with things that make me anxious! I make coffee, feed the cats and then sit down with the morning newspaper. I make a very healthy breakfast, work on my blogs and do a few chores around the house. I do 50 minutes of yoga and meditation. I read, work on my budget, shower and so on. My afternoons (now that volleyball is over and spring has arrived) I spend riding my bicycle and walking through the woods recording the spring wildflowers and birds that I see/hear. The closest I get to
"happiness" is when I'm cycling or walking through the woods.
I am going to make a concerted effort to think about biking and walking in the woods when I wake up and see if I can change my thought patterns. It's worth a shot.
