The emergence of unpleasant restless thoughts immediately after awakening is a fairly common problem in people suffering from anxiety disorder. Not having had time to get out of bed, you start scrolling through your head various not rosy scenarios for the coming day: "What if ...", "What if it happens ...", "Here begins again ...". Familiar? Then let's understand together how you can help yourself cope with morning anxiety.
Why does anxiety come in the morning?
Before turning to specific tips for getting rid of morning anxiety, let's look at the main causes of its occurrence. The fact is that anxiety tends to accumulate and intensify as it develops. Like a snowball, your thoughts, starting from awakening, overwhelm with new and new experiences during the day and from evening snow turn into a whole avalanche of anxiety. Agree that it is much easier to stop a snowball flying at you than an avalanche from a mountain. Also, as in the snow analogy, it is easier to curb negative thoughts when they are just being born.
Try to notice the emergence of disturbing thoughts as soon as possible.
Catch these thoughts from the general stream and do not let them develop. After all, if you begin to react to them, then start a chain reaction, which generates the same snowball. Do not allow yourself to immediately begin to analyze or predict - “How bad that anxiety has reappeared”, “What if I never get rid of it”, “I will suffer like this all my life”. The thought came, you noted it for yourself and switched to something else. Set aside the alarm for later. You still have time to worry, and now devote time to other matters.
Get rid of the habit of basking in bed after waking up
Who does not like to lie in the bed for an extra couple of minutes after the alarm bell? But for people with anxiety disorder, this sweet idleness is not at all beneficial. As luck would have it, unpleasant thoughts come, you start thinking about them and wind yourself up more and more. As a result, you have less time for gathering and now you are also worried about a possible delay and a scolding from the boss. Therefore, as soon as the alarm goes off, get up and go to your morning procedures and rituals - do exercises or practice yoga, take a contrast shower or go for a run. And in order to motivate yourself to such a rapid rise, set the alarm not near the headboard, but at the other end of the room, away from the bed. Thus, you will have to immediately get up, and you will not give your consciousness a chance to begin to sculpt this notorious snowball of disturbing thoughts. However, do not confuse this behavior with the avoidance of anxiety. No, this is just a way to create an enabling environment to quietly start and spend your day.
Do not neglect exercise in the morning
Running or active charging can quickly distract you from thoughts about the global, about the meaning of life and other serious things, which can hardly be resolved into anxiety. Moderate exercise will help calm down and look at the world from a different, more positive side.
Concentrate on the “here and now” moment
When in the morning you notice that your mind attracts you to disturbing thoughts, transfer your attention to what is happening at this current moment in time. Focus, for example, on how water flows through your body if you are taking a shower, or how the brush goes over your teeth if you brush your teeth. Meditation can also be a useful morning ritual, when you calmly and relaxedly follow your breathing. All these activities will bring you much more real benefits than an empty concern for your own health, which often overcomes people who are prone to anxiety. Think about whether negative thoughts and swarming in them will somehow help you to improve your physical condition? Of course not! But running, meditation or exercise will obviously help. Then is it not better to devote the morning hours to these exercises instead of worries and anxieties?
Do not despair if you did not manage to cope with morning anxiety.
If you followed all the above tips and the anxiety receded - great. If you didn't manage to cope with anxiety in the morning, that's okay too! Do not blame yourself for it or despair - all have bad days. This is absolutely normal, this is also the case in our lives. Just try not to feed your anxiety further during the day, not to get involved in it and not to aggravate it with your thoughts and reactions. Take time, whenever possible, for relaxation techniques. It helps to cope with anxiety very well, for example, diaphragmatic breathing, the technique of which you can learn in the free course “Three antidotes for panic”.
You are sure to cope with the anxiety that begins in the morning if you work on yourself and follow the simple recommendations that this article has been devoted to. Be confident and succeed!
