Anxiety can have a dramatic effect on each part of your day.
But morning anxiety is a different animal altogether.
Why?
Because morning anxiety sets the tone for the rest of the day, if you wake up feeling anxious, worrisome, and emotionally unstable, it increases the likelihood of feeling that way throughout the coming hours.
I’ve dealt with morning anxiety for a lengthy amount of time throughout my adult life. As soon as I’d wake up, a plethora of worries and anxious thoughts would flood my mind. At this point, I would get caught up in those thoughts and take on the emotions associated with them. Within minutes of lifting my head off the pillow, I was in anxiety-land, swimming in a sea of potential troubles, worries, and fears.
Feeling immense amounts of anxiety is no way to start a day.
SIGNS OF MORNING ANXIETY
Morning anxiety is different for everyone because there are many variables.
The first being, what type of anxiety are they struggling to manage?
Although the answers vary, sometimes drastically, there are some general themes of morning anxiety from person to person.
IT HITS YOU RIGHT AWAY
As soon as you lift your head off the pillow, the worries start to flow through like a raging
river rapid. There’s no lag time between waking up and the anxious feelings; they are the same. This seems to be the worst aspect of morning anxiety for many people – they can’t escape it.
IT DAMPENS YOUR MOOD
Most of us wish to get out of bed and start our morning off on a positive note. But morning anxiety changes the chemicals we are processing to stress chemicals, or the fight, flight, or freeze response, and can ruin any chance of feeling optimistic about the rest of your day.
IT CAUSES A CHAIN REACTION
When you are immediately hit with stress chemicals, it can cause a chain reaction within your body. You don’t feel as optimistic, motivated, or peaceful. In turn, this leads to lower levels of focus, productivity, and well-being.
MORNING ANXIETY CAN MAKE US:
- Feel on edge, nervous
- Lash out at people over smaller, insignificant events
- Emotionally unstable
- Physically exhausted
- Feel hopeless, helpless
COMMON ANXIETY DISORDERS THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO MORNING ANXIETY
Panic Disorder (PD)
People who experience spontaneous panic attacks and are too preoccupied with the fear of a recurring attack. The Numbers: Affects 6 million adults (2.7% of the U.S. population), with women being twice as likely to be affected as men.
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
Intense fear or anxiety of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation. The Numbers: Affects 15 million adults (6.8% of the U.S. population) and is equally common among men and women.
Experiencing excessive and unreasonable fears in the presence of or anticipating a specific object, place, or situation. The Numbers: Affects 19 million adults ( 8.7% of the U.S. population), with women being twice as likely to be affected than men.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Experiencing obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that cause distress or anxiety. Compulsions are behaviors that the person feels compelled to perform to ease their distress or anxiety or suppress the thoughts.
The Numbers: Affects 2.2 million adults (1.0% of the U.S. population), and is equally common among men and women.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
A serious and potentially debilitating condition that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a natural disaster, serious accident, terrorist incident, sudden death of a loved one, war, violent personal assault (such as rape), or other life-threatening events.
The Numbers: Affects 7.7 million adults (3.5% of the U.S. population), with women being more likely to be affected than men.
5 THINGS TO CHANGE AND AVOID IF YOU WANT TO REDUCE MORNING ANXIETY
1. LACK OF AWARENESS
If there is one piece of advice you gain from this article, this one may be the most essential. When you wake up, and those worries start to overflow within your mind, the last thing you want to do is go unaware. What do I mean by unaware? Instead of keeping your focus on the present moment, you get lost in those anxious thoughts. You go unconscious, unaware. You need to maintain a level of mindfulness. Otherwise, those worries can snowball in a hurry.
2. INADEQUATE SLEEP
After tracking my moods over months a few years back, I noticed that whenever I would get less sleep than I’m accustomed to or lack sound sleep, my anxiety would skyrocket the following morning. Sleep is critical for many reasons beyond managing anxiety, but lack of sleep is equivalent to pouring gasoline on the anxiety-fire. You will have a much tougher time staying present and not getting caught up in your thoughts when you don’t get adequate sleep.
3. EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS
Emotional triggers set off a memory or flashback, bringing the person back to the event of their original trauma. In other words, a trigger is some stimuli (external or internal) that recreates the emotions of past trauma. Whenever you get caught up in an emotional trigger during the morning hours, it can linger throughout the day. It’s important then to acknowledge when you feel a trigger coming on, feel the emotion, and then let it go. Do not bask in the thought or emotion too long. Doing so will cause you to get caught up in the trigger, making you more anxious.
4. UNHEALTHY FOODS
Nutrition is essential when it comes to minimizing morning anxiety. Feeding your body unhealthy foods to start your day is a recipe for anxiety. I liken it to putting defective tires on a racecar; they will slow the car down and eventually cause significant issues. Your body and physical health are directly related to your mental health and your anxiety. Make sure you are giving yourself the best chance to avoid anxiety by avoiding unhealthy foods.
5. TOO MUCH CAFFEINE
Many of us start our day off with a cup of coffee. For most people, a little coffee and caffeine will give a slight boost in energy. But if you drink too much coffee, it can lead to a spike in anxiety. Since every person and body is different, this is something you need to monitor. Be sure to keep track of how much coffee you drink and how long into the morning you drink it. Then do your best to avoid overdoing it.
IN REVIEW
Taming my morning anxiety has been one area I have made significant strides with regarding my mental health. But it didn’t come easy. Reducing my morning anxiety took daily focus and attention. You have to be purposeful if you want to manage it better.
I have learned many tips in my many years of experience dealing with morning anxiety and eventually reducing it. Remember that you are unique, so you will need your individual plan to manage morning anxiety. But the essential tips and wisdom I shared above are from years of going through it and learning from others around me.
Understanding what to avoid can be just as critical as knowing what to add to a morning routine.
You can better manage your morning anxiety, and it will get less complicated over time if you implement the right foundation.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Latest posts by Brad Coreno (see all)
- 8 Proven Tips To Improve Your Communication Skills - April 29, 2022
- 5 Proven Ways To Manage Work-Related Anxiety - April 3, 2022
- 10 Steps To Develop A Growth Mindset - March 13, 2022