Repetitive Anxiety Wake Up Call? I Understand!
The new day is dawning, it’s a fresh start with light and love ahead, yet you woke up feeling nervous, irritable, panicky, on edge and still very tired. WTH?
You slept well so why are you waking up like this? It’s called morning anxiety. Several clients in my private practice and in my online community struggle with anxiety in the morning so this week, that’s our focus!
Most of us at least occasionally wake up feeling tired, in a bad mood, or like you don’t want to go to work. But those who suffer with actual morning anxiety are reacting to excess stress and worry. What’s even worse is they are actually having a biological response to their stress and worry that makes their anxiety seem worse in the mornings!
In fact, the “stress hormone” cortisol is released by the adrenal glands in response to fear or stress.
Researchers have studied the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and found that cortisol is highest in the first hour of waking for people with an increased level of stress in their lives. This helps explain why you may experience an increase in anxiety in the morning”, HealthyLine.com.
Now our bodies do amazing things without us even realizing it, but come on! When we wake up with morning anxiety, it’s our body’s reaction to excess stress and worry we have from the day before thus increasing your already naturally higher cortisol! Talk about a double whammy! Not to mention that waking with the feeling of doom and gloom really doesn’t set the best intention for the rest of your day!
Are you wondering if you might be suffering from morning anxiety? Some symptoms include:
- Waking feeling tired
- Waking with a feeling of doom and gloom
- Feeling of panic
- Panic attack
- Feeling of increased heart rate
- Shortness of breath
So now that we have identified the symptoms, what can we do to REDUCE morning anxiety and get ourselves started off on the right foot for the day?
We can’t stop Cortisol levels from rising in the morning, but we can reduce cortisol levels overall. This means managing and lowering your OVERALL stress during the day and night before! You can do things like:
- Limit your caffeine and sugar intake can reduce the physiological responses that mimic anxiety.
- Use essential oils like Lavender, Stress Away, Frankincense, or Wild Orange upon waking.
- Do deep belly breaths with positive affirmations incorporated will calm the brain and body quickly and help you connect with your body.
- Write down all of the worries and negative thoughts on paper to get them out of your mind and be able to move forward. Take it one step further and take that list over to the trash can and slowly rip the piece of paper up over the trash can. Your brain already associates the trash can with things that are done.
These coping skills are great in combination with the anxiety reducing tools I share in the 5 Ways To Take Control Of Anxiety In The Moment course. Having skills that you can incorporate very easily in the moment of distress will help you take control in your moment of anxiety and reduce the physical symptoms.
So if you do have morning anxiety, try reducing your overall stress and cortisol level to help control it. Try incorporating the steps above in your morning routine! Be sure to check out the link above for more information to help you take control of anxiety in the moment!
