View Full Version : Anyone else suffer more in the mornings?
Hi there,
I am currently battling with the DAP again (that's what i call the combination of Depression, Anxiety and Panic) and I am trying to do it this time without meds after briefly starting them yet again (see my diary under the Cipralex/medication section for more info).
Anyway, what I am finding consistently now and every other time that DAP has attacked me is that the mornings are always, always the worst part of the day.
At the moment it is 7pm here in the UK and I feel OK (not exactly dancing on the ceiling but you know what I mean) but this morning like every morning was pretty horrible. I find that anxiety just pins me to the bed some days and makes me want to hide under the duvet and not get out. Wether it is a work day or a non-work day it is the same - I wake up and almost immediately feel the stomach fluttering madly. That then becomes that gnawing feeling and then in comes the first depressive thought - 'hey you, I'm anxiety and I'm here again today, its going to be a bad day'.:weep:
If I was to do a graph of my day it would not be scientifically the same every day but it would be fairly similar and would see the anxiety at is peak first thing and stay strong until about 10-11 and then gradually start to subside (while remaining strong) over the next few hours.
But why is that? Why is anxiety or my whole DAP thing more prevalent in the mornings than later in the day?
And if I can be 'OK' at 7pm why can't I be at 7am? Which is real???
I am sure there will be others who say it is the reverse for them (anxiety is a cruel thing isn't it - it won't be pinned down) but does anyone else relate to the above or have any tips to fight the morning misery?
Thanks for reading
Sam (the raven)
MidnightCalm
13-06-10, 19:19
Mines somewhat different, mine usually peaks around 7pm and I have to go for like an hour walk, I'm not that bad at the moment but I am going for my walk soon haha.
Maybe we need to try and get our bodies out of the routine of being anxious at that time, it's obviously programmed in by now, I just don't know how we do it.
Hi Sam
I am exactely the same mornings I always seem to be at my worst, I dread waking up cause, I dread what kind of day Im going to have, and have the same as you butterflies in the stomach and feeling sick. Just wished I could be normal like anyone else x
Hi Sam. I seem to be worse in the mornings. As soon as I wake up I get the stomach flipping over and over. The more I try and relax the worse it gets. It gets easier when I'm up and moving. By the evening iI seem to be a bit calmer.
Hi The Raven,
Im exactly like you, mornings are just awful, i used to literally wretch down the toilet, sometimes not even making it. I been suffering with anxiety/depression for 12 years now, on and off. This time its been going on since Jan 09, and im now on my 3rd AD as the others didnt work.. Im now on 150mg of venlafaxine and praying that they work. Like you, in the evening im quite calm, thats because the day is over, we have no one to see and no where to go and all we have to do is go to bed.
Its like living in a nightmare.
Your not alone, take care
Holidaychick
BubbleBonce
13-06-10, 19:43
I think it's actually a 'chemical' thing the fact that mornings are worse. It's a well known fact and happens in I think both anxiety and depression. Couldn't explain to you exactly why though. It happens to me. I only really get going sat around 4pm and am at my best at bed time. :blush:
Hi The Raven,
Mornings are always my worst time....it is really effecting me alot at the moment. It is so hard to deal with...as soon as you wake up its there. Mine sometimes goes after a couple of hours but some days lingers throughout most of the day....evenings are always good though and I feel "normal" and wonder how I could of felt like I did earlier that day?? So strange. Then you go off to bed and boom its morning again and the cycle starts all over again!!
I have suffered anxiety/depression for 12 years now and have had periods of good but mostly not so good....different meds have not helped either!!
So you know you are not alone.
Jo.xx
me too! Mornings are awful my anxiety is really bad. By the evening I am ok, tired but reasonably calm. It is always there though but high in the morning.
same here ! the anticipation of the day ahead, wish it was excited butterflies instead x
jothenurse
13-06-10, 20:24
MIne is always worse in the morning, too. Usually later in the afternoon and into the evening sometimes I feel "normal." And then I think, I can work through this. Then I wake up in the morning and I have a lot of anxiety and I'm shakey.
Yep same here too! No idea why it works out like this but when I'm in the midst of a bad period the morning is always terrible. Does anyone else have a really bad stomach in the morning? I don't fancy eating until a lot later in the day ( I'm talking 7ish )
sarah jayne
13-06-10, 21:20
the times worst for me are early in the morning and late evening
Hi,
yes i cant eat first thing, sometimes can force brown toast with bananas on, my eating is up and down. x
Mine is worse in the morning too.
I would say that I am worse in the am as as well.I have read Dr Clare Weekes books and she has a paragraph in there somewhere about this dreaded morning attack.Our brains will rest hopefully throughout the night but I read somewhere once that when the brain is waking up it gets a rush of some chemical(can't remember the name)and this can trigger a jittery,nervy sensation,also if anxiety is the enemy which it is for us lot then the thought of fighting our moods,feelings and everything else all over again will probably contribute to the teeth chattering.I know what it is now when this happens to me and I have resigned myself to the fact and tried not to fight it too much.Clare Weekes says that we have to float through it,and accept and I have tried this so grab a book and read on,her advice is great.
AnniePlacebo
14-06-10, 01:35
anxiety kills me in the morning.
I just don't want to have to go through a whole new day
feeling like this all day all over again.
Howdy all
The reason it is worst of a moring is because you are more focused on the day ahead .
The mornings work the same as a general fear of say leaving the house
You wake and say things like .
Oh not another day like this . Oh it hasnt gone yet . How am i going to cope with today . This sucks . I hate this etc etc
This starts your day off bad and puts your mind into a stressfull state which in turn starts the panics and anxiety to build .
As the day goes on you start to see that you can cope and that you are handling things and its not as bad as you made it out to be . Then as the day wears on you also get were you start to relax knowing that you will get some rest from things because you will be alseep were you dont have to think about things
Cheers kev
Wow we all feel the same way from morning till night . You alll described my day.The question is, what is it about sleeping at night that starts our day as it does. Is it the transition of melatonin to seratonin chemicals on our brain that causes this? For those who may not know melatonin is our nighttime rest chemical which converts to seratonin our daytime wakeup chemical. they say that people with our condition are depleted of seratonin hence the reason for SSRI's. The key is for one of us to find a neuroligist that studies anxiety and depression ans maybe this person could enlighten us. There has got to be answer to this question and if so there has got to be something we can do about it. I have been wondering if I should start taking Gaba, this is a natural seritoninbuildre for the brain. HAs anyone researched this or considered taking it?
Ron
Hi Raven,
Even though my meds are working pretty well I still get a touch of anxiety or depression worse in the mornings when I wake up. When I was getting the anxiety quite badly it would grab me as soon as I woke up and not let me settle down for a bit more sleep, and like you by the afternoon or evening I'd be feeling less stressed.
My friend told me he used to feel most anxious at night when he could sit and think, but on the whole I think most people feel it worst in the morning. It got to the point where I would wake up each morning and just think 'oh no, another day to get through' so as Stace mentioned, part of it, if not all of it is based around the anticipation of another day.
It's the same boat and some people are at one end, we're at the other. Better days people :)
daydreamer
14-06-10, 09:27
last winter I felt worse in the evenings when it got dark earlier.
Mornings are the WORST for me - my stomach right now has that knawing feeling - like I am going to be sick. My mind feel numb and I want to cry - at least I made it to work. I guess I try to take it a few minutes at a time. Part of me knows I will be fine by this evening - so I hang in there. I jsut haven't found the right combination of medication and therapy to "fix" it - and I don't know that I ever will - I just hope I can find something to make it more bearable.
Hi Sam
I find that mornings tend to be the hardest time for me too. Maybe it's because I'm thinking about the day ahead, am I going to feel ok (especially if i need to go into town) etc.. I am trying to think positively to help break the cycle, but it can be hard going! By the time afternoon comes, I'm usually feeling better. Also, I find I feel worse when I'm on my own. If it's the weekend and the kids are at home, or after school finishes, my mind is so busy elsewhere that I don't have time to think about how I'm feeling!!
I've started keeping a journal about how things are and I'm finding getting it down on paper is helping me a bit.
Take care. You are not alone.:)
i wake up so bad in the mornings that sometimes i just dont get out of bed,which is stupid cos if i get up and do something i forget a bit but ifind myself pinned to the comfort of the bed (curtains drawn) even phone off sometimes "just leave me alone" its such a pity to lose a day
Thank you for all your comments and I am sorry (but not surprised) to see I am not alone with this.
It is so frustrating though. Last night I was in bed watching a DVD feeling pretty good - especially as I didn't have to get up too early today. And then I woke up and within a millisecond my old 'friend' was back with me again, toying with me. She/he/IT stayed 'full on' until at least lunch. No amount of rationalisation would calm it down.
I just keep holding onto the fact that one day we will ALL get through this. The problem is we all want that 'one day' to be today.
Ah well, as they say, tomorrow is another day....
Thanks again - and would love to hear more comments/advice on the whole morning battle...
Regards
Sam
Hi Sam,yep mornings are generally worse for me too,though not every time.I think its simply the fact that we have a whole day ahead of us?With me,there is a strong element of social anxiety,so perhaps it is the daytime where I am far more likely to come into contact with other people than in the evening (definitely true in the winter months).But I certainly feel safer in the evenings.
Fishy
Mornings are worst for me too. I wonder if its because by the time it gets to the evening Ive got used to the anxiety and its not having as much of an effect on me. Or maybe its because I know I got through another day and its soon time for sleep that blessed release.
Hello Sam,
I too have always found that mornings are awful. My stomach churns the minute I wake up and the awful "fear" of the day ahead starts. By the evening I nearly always feel much better. It seems to be very common with anxiety sufferers. I have to say that these days it's not always as bad as it used to be. I used to literally shake for ages too. Getting up and having a shower and eating as soon as you possibly can all help. Although you feel like lying there and not moving it's the worst thing you can do. The mind just has more time then to mull over your anxious thoughts and your body produces more and more symptoms.
If you go to the bottom of the page where it says "tags" and click on the "morning" one, you will find loads of threads about this subject. There are lots of people who feel exactly the same and if you search through I think you will also find some good tips on how to help with the feelings.
Take care.
Judy.
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