I think I just need to vent, but I'm in the fourth week of the program, and I feel more anxious than ever before. I keep waiting for the other foot to drop.It's been hard getting out of bed each day. I have a hard time with anticipitory anxiety and worry. I know I need to control it, but my mind races, and then I feel overwelmed and lonely. This time of the year has always been hard for me, I get very sentimental, and I get feeling an emptiness, that time is going by so quickly, and then I go back again to having scary thoughts and feeling so alone. I also have really realized that I have social anxiety, and the older I get, that I have less close friends. I have a hard time letting people know about how anxious I am, and I have to put on a front. Sorry this is s long, but I just need to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

your not alone.i try and pray and pray and read good things..i ask myself where is this worry going to get you?...i say life is short stop worrying and live...i know its hard and i stuggle with it every day....but i trust that sometime it will finally click...i just hope i could sleep without relying pshychologically on xanax....never give up

happy2b,
I'm sorry you're going through a rough time, cobra is right though, life is short and that is a motivation for me at times to try to take the bull by the horns. Easier said than done! haha It's a rare ocassion if I wake not feeling nervous. The times I wake up feeling calm, I think, huh something's off! It sounds like you may have a bit of depression attached to your anxiety, the 2 go hand in hand in many cases. Are you currently taking any medications? It could help to take a benzo in the morning over this time to calm your nerves and get you feeling better about getting up and going. The anxiety cycle can be brutal and cause those scary thoughts you may be having now. If it's any consolation, how you're feeling and thinking is not abnormal. It's sounds like you have an analytical mind, thinking a lot, which can be such an asset or an enemy depending on the situation. This is where the switching those negative thoughts to positives come in handy. Maybe writing down your thoughts and fears could help you get them out and see what the pattern is and work on changing them.
I dont know anything of your personal history, but I'm 30 and I keep thinking, you know, is this really how i want to live my life? No matter our age or how much time we may have left, I hope I can live each day really living life because no ones knows how long/short it may be. I try to remember that, it's hard, but can be a good motivator to get me really in the frame of mind to work harder on my recovery and finding that peace of mind we all crave!
Good luck with things,
Jocelyn

I am relieved to read that others are experiencing waking up in a state of worry/anxiety. I have come to worry about worrying about it when I wake up every day! I was thinking maybe it has to do with bio-rhythms or sleep cycle chemical releases going on in the brain...? I fall asleep OK most nights (or take a partial Xanex if it's racing thoughts), sleep thru the night just fine...then, as I'm emerging from sleep, my mind immediately goes to worrying. If I just lie there and try to distract myself or use relaxation self-talk, it doesn't seem to work, so I make myself just get up and occupy myself with something to read, or start getting ready for the day. Interestingly, when I get up the worrying goes away - I have no explanation why that is, but my goal is to wake up someday without that to greet me first thing in the day. I talked to someone else who said that things that seem really important at 3:00AM lose any impact during the day. Again, is it sleep cycles being off-balance, brain chemicals combined with self-talk...? So I'm trying to focus my efforts on the self-talk, having moderate success so far.

I wake up with anxiety, worry, and racing thoughts as the first thing on my mind almost every morning. I can totally relate to having trouble getting out of bed because of it. But then it does seem to fade once I get up and get moving. But there are days when it does not fade. I am just thankful for the days it does. I'm going to work on the postive dialogue as well to calm myself down. We all just need to be patient that it will go away. I just try to think of Lucinda and how much she had to struggle with all of this. Then I look at her now and she is fine. We will all be that way too. Just be patient.

Hi there Happy2b,
You are not alone in your struggles. Please try to find comfort in that. Anxiety has a way of tricking you into thinking that you are all alone, but you are NOT.

I also struggle with morning anxiety, racing thoughts, etc. I used to wake up in the middle of the night, in full panic mode. It's such a horrible feeling.

There's a relaxation CD that comes with the program (or so I've heard, I'm still waiting to receive the program). Listen to that CD in the morning...make it the first thing that you do when you wake up.

Are you using the program to its fullest? Are you journaling, etc? If you are, maybe you just need to take a break for a couple of days. It's very difficult to break old habits and your mind may be trying to fight off the work that you're doing. I know from experience that when I try to fight the scary thoughts and panic, they have a tendency to get worse before things get better.

Take good care of yourself and know that you are not alone.

Hugs,
Lisa

it seems that this time of year gets a few of us. I wake up feeling like screge(spelled it wrong).
i feel better when i reply in the forums, so i hope all of you are doing well and happy new year.

happy2b
you need a plan for waking up in the morning. If you woke up every morning, got out of bed, then tripped over the same chair every time, after about a week of that you would come up with a plan. A: move the chair B: walk around the chair C: stay in bed and avoid the situation altogether.

unfortunately, some people do stay in bed to avoid the anxiety. But I think a better plan is to write some dialog and have some activities that show anixety you are not taking this lying down. pun intended. If you;re tired of waking up anxious, change your thoughts and actions. Get up a little earlier than ususal. Get the upper hand on your anxiety.

Tammy

quote:

you need a plan for waking up in the morning. If you woke up every morning, got out of bed, then tripped over the same chair every time, after about a week of that you would come up with a plan. A: move the chair B: walk around the chair C: stay in bed and avoid the situation altogether.

Great symbolic way to state that. I always like when people use that way to explain things. I also agree

Mike