Early morning anxiety

Posted , 4 users are following.

Every night now I dread going to bed. I'll wake up at around 4:00 am with horrible anxiety. My thoughts are racing and I'm constantly worried. I toss and turn and find it difficult to get back asleep again, and even if I do I'll soon wake up just as nervous as before. My heart races and I can't quiet my mind. I have anxiety disorder and depression and I'm on meds, Xanax and Effexor. Any help would be appreciated.

2 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • Posted

    Have you tried any counselling in order to find out why this anxiey has arisen in the first place and what coping strategies could be adopted. Medittattion, yoga, mindfullness, relaxattion techniques can be beneficial .

    Take care

     

  • Posted

    Don - do u take a Zanex before bed? Are u in the Zanex EX or regular? I have the same thing and I wake up most of the time around 2am with the exact same thing and I take a half of a Zanex and it takes 20 min to fall back asleep but then I get the sleep in. Just a thought. Then if it's close to the time I need to get up I just have to get out of bed - laying in bed makes It so much worse for me.

    • Posted

      Your right, laying in bed makes it worse, but I need to get back asleep. I have regular and Xanax XR. I'll take the regular if I'm feeling anxious during the day. But it makes me a bit drowsy so I don't take it often. I rely mostly on the XR. I'm apprehensive about taking it during the night because of waking up groggy in the morning. Do you have that problem? It's good to talk with someone who is going through the same thing and understands. I wish I could turn off my troubling thoughts. Thank you.

    • Posted

      I take the Xanax in the middle of the day. I don't want to feel drowsy going to work. I'm already tired because of lack of sleep.

    • Posted

      Don

      Catch 22.

      Xanax does cause drowsiness and also insomnia plus other ide effects.

      Take care

      .

    • Posted

      Don for me it totally depends on when I wake up- I know a 1/2 of a Zanex is only going to give me 3-4 hours so if I wake up at 2 and I know it's ok to take a half because my alarm isn't going off until 6 anyway. Now if I wake up at 4 I might just turn on the tv and suffer until the alarm goes off. My anxiety is SO MUCH worse if I don't sleep well so I literally keep the bottle of Zanex in my bedroom so I just take a half and lay in the dark and it pretty quickly knocks me back out. Try 1/2 just one night and see if it helps. If u are off work on the weekends maybe try it on Friday so u know how it makes u feel the next day?

  • Posted

    Don

    Many people with Anxiety feel the same way or very similar. In my case I can feel I have had a productive day that has given me a measure of encouragement and satisfaction. When I go to bed I will awake and feel low and I question the day I have just had. Next morning I will feel extremly jaded and that will last for several days. 

    We are who we are and life can be very contradicting where we loose our confidence regarding things that have gone well. We will then become our own worse nightmare because we have lived through uncertain times or periods  where people have been so unpleasent and knocked our fragile confidence.

    We all take medications they can become a prop where we are looking for a more positive outlook to our lives, sad to say they seem not to work to our satisfaction and we become more weary of our negative thoughts, these thoughts become worse and then we just go around and round in increasing circles  and that starts to affect more of our life choices and those who pass us in the darkness of our life thoughts an cause further negativity. We have to cut that circle and try and live our lives in a more positive way, the more we can do that the easier it is to change life choices and move onto a more fulfilling pathway.

    BOB

  • Posted

    Hi again Don

    ​CBT can help as it brings you back to the present time andteaches you  coping mechanisms ..

    Some therapists combine various techniques such as the Person/Patient  Centred Approach /Humanitarian  Approach .Different approaches can suit different people and the therapaist will listen and talk to you a nddecide with you on the appropriate approach.

    There is lots of online help available too and self referrals depending on the area you live in.

    SImple measures such as god sleep hyjiene, hot milk  can help tremendously too.

    ​Take care . x

     

    • Posted

      Thank you Jane. I heard a lot of good things about CBT and it works well for anxiety sufferers. I really would like to try therepy, I'm getting tired of relying on meds. But my insurance won't cover enough sessions. That's the problem. I need to change my thought pattern, to many negative thoughts. It's like a snowball effect, one anxious thought leads to another. And it gets so tiresome living life this way.

      Thank you, Don 😊

    • Posted

      Don I understand. There are several free online cbt videos etc .

      Hope that helps. I think people respond to different things and nowadays a combination of therapies is neeeded.

      Benzos R very difficult to wean off.

      Take care.

       

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