Stress can sometimes be useful to us – it helps us to achieve our goals and meet deadlines.
But when stress turns into anxiety, and you’re waking up feeling overwhelmed and worried about the day ahead, it could mean that you are suffering from a form of morning anxiety.
Do you wake up in the morning and have any of these symptoms?:
- A racing mind
- Feeling anxious
- You’re irritable and stressed
- Feeling insecure
- Worrying about what might go wrong during the day
Morning Anxiety
“Morning anxiety” isn’t a medical term but if this is happening to you, and it’s been happening for 6 months or more, there is a possibility that you are suffering from GAD (general anxiety disorder).
Living with an anxiety disorder can feel very overwhelming but it doesn’t have to take over your life. There are treatments and techniques that can help you to manage and cope with stressful mornings, returning you to feeling calm and relaxed. These include talking therapies such as Psychotherapy or Hypnotherapy.
Lifestyle Changes help to reduce anxiety
Think about changing your lifestyle. This could include eating more healthily, drinking more water, reducing your alcohol consumption and stopping smoking. Like drinking alcohol when you’re stressed, taking a drag on a cigarette may worsen anxiety over time. Absorbing these changes into your daily routine can play a big part in reducing anxiety levels and the longer you practice them the more normal they will feel in your life.
There are some useful techniques you can use on waking that will also be helpful: Do some deep breathing exercises – this will help enough oxygen to get to your brain so you are less likely to feel overwhelmed.
Incorporate some mindfulness every morning to help challenge negative thoughts. You might also want to consider taking up meditation which can help to focus the mind on a particular object or positive thought which trains attention and awareness and ultimately helps you to achieve a clearer and more emotionally stable state of mind.
Exercise also helps reduce stress
Taking part in regular exercise can increase our self-esteem and reduce anxiety and stress. Even taking a brisk walk for 10 minutes will increase your mental alertness and bring you a more positive outlook.
We have been specializing in helping people who are suffering from anxiety disorders for many years now and we have helped hundreds of clients who needed help to recover. Please give us a call to find out more about reducing morning anxiety.
Clem & Margaret Turner Therapy Practice
07958 689377 – 07960 788093
Retford, Nottinghamshire
