Wake up with racing thughts

[quitter333]

I am not sure where this belongs - with anxiety or ADHD forums..

Anyways - I have had on and off problem with sleep. I got over some depression, anxiety, and overworking my mind, but sleep got so disturbed over this last half-a-year, I just can't get back to "normal".

I often wake up either middle of the night or early morning with rushing thoughts. It is a weird feeling, and not pleasant at all.

Otherwise during the day I feel very well focused, controlled, and frankly am on top of my game/ good at work and with life plans.

..

So - anyone else feel morning or wake-up rush? It is not anxiety per se, as I am not worried about anything particular, It's sometimes just a cluster of random thoughts, memories etc.

I feel, to a part these thoughts stem from over-analyzing my mind process and being worried I am getting dumber/ insane etc, because years ago I recall never analyzing or doubting my thoughts. I totally recall waking up from a weird dream, then deliberately quickly going back to sleep, just to have a similar semi-lucid dream. Nowadays even the thought of dreaming some weird imaginary shit makes me overanalyze thought process.

I suspect the problem lies in this acquired habit of self-analysis (now I am starting to think self analysis may be the root of most anxieties), but not sure. Anyone else?

[Hidden]

Yes. I often wake up with my heart pounding and racing thoughts and feel like my biggest nightmares have come true. I think it's because I get up at five and have so much to do getting my child ready for school, cook breakfast, pack lunch, take her to school, drive to work and then work on surgery all day. Its all stressful for me. I'm okay when I get to work but feel overwhelmed before I get up. Don't know how to fix it. Sometimes if I get up really early like four and just watch TV and have me time I can clear my thoughts but then I am tired all day. Life is not gonna slow down for many years and I feel the pressure of that. Wish I could help but I can relate.

[Hidden]

Yes I wake up with them thoughts, it drives me mad, I had a suspected diagnosis' of ADHD a while back, am think it's possibly anxiety, because it only happens when my anxiety is bad, I want to punch myself when I wake up with my mind racing because I know it's going to be a bad day

[quitter333 in reply to Hidden]

hmm interesting. Personally I just "let my brain be" and trusted it wont go crazy while my conscioisness rests, so these random thoughts dont bother me at all with what they are about (honestly mostly it is just random things I have heard. I have really good memory, my job is to remember details).at least those are not voices or hallucinations.

So that solved me having a bad fay if I woke up feeling weird. I stopped caring and I didn't go worse.

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interrstingly - the more word/inner monologues I got, the lesser my visual imagination went. Just 2 years ago I imagined most things visually. now more audio/verbally. its all correlated somehow.

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Reading books helps me somewhat as it requires imagination + is focused activity.

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Another thing that actually works wondeefully - my father suggested to concentrate on your breathing. just listen and thing about fresh air going in your lungs, air going out, how steady breathing is etc. - doing this before sleep and if accidental wakeup happens at night - it actually helps you relax mind really well.

[Hidden in reply to quitter333]

Maybe I only recognise these thoughts when my anxiety is high then, and the thoughts are always negative, maybe I don't recognise them when they are just about all the things I need to do, like this morning I woke and my mind was on how badly the docs have treated me, which in turn has made me feel anxious again. I need to study if I still get these thoughts when I'm not high anxiety state, if the thoughts are positive as in what I need to do that day and in what order. That's the problem I only ever studied how I feel when I'm low, I never studied how I feel when not low, I just know I'm super motivated and often asked by people, don't you get tired ?

This is something I need to watch for once this dreaded anxiety has died down

[quitter333 in reply to Hidden]

I have studied psychology for years now.

In part - knowing about mental processes actually makes your mental processes act up more, if you are prone to it. The "over-analization" issue. I have already suggested some members on this forum to just ditch reading about anxiety and depression, stopping usage of instagram, fb and even this forum for prolonged time and see what happens then.

Personally the problem with my thoughts are that they are simply random, based on memories, and I would otherwise get anxiety from thinking them, if I was worried about being mentally ill. I am pretty chill with the thought that I may have slight ADHD, OCD, anxiety or Bipolarism, as neither of those really badgers me in my professional life.

I FEEL the thoughts and feelings stem from overworked brain either slipping in or out of Limbo (i.e. your brain gets half-asleep, and you havent dozed off yet, but brain already makes your thoughts loose as if you are dreaming). I usually take A LONG LONG time to get to sleep, like 1-1,5 hours after I have laid down.

[Hidden in reply to quitter333]

Yes, I have no social media, I usually can handle my anxiety without paying much thought to it. It's usually triggered, sometimes I can control it, other times I can't.

I think with me the mind constantly races, whether it's good thoughts or bad thoughts, I'm only recognising the bad ones because they bother me

[quitter333 in reply to Hidden]

I am aiming to achieve a state where I am absolutely comfortable with whatever thoughts I have. Some sort of laser-focus.

As a kid you never ever really think about "HOW" you think. As an adult imo self-doubt and other issues creep in, and it is just a waste of brain procedural power (much like computer RAM) to always have a background "thought check" on.

Some sort of stoic philosophy for now seems the best approach - they see world as it is, and what you cannot control, you have absolutely no point in worrying about.

[Hidden in reply to quitter333]

That's true, I have managed to block a lot of thoughts out over the years, just every so often they come back to haunt me, there are some thoughts that I will never be comfortable with, no med or therapy would be able to fix them, although I am getting back to grips with don't worry about what you can't control again

[Lulululu4]

I very much agree and you know most of my problems but I do realize that if I have a random thought and I’ll hang on the thought and over analyze it, sometimes it’ll be in the back of my head like I can’t ignore it ... just like you I’m scared of going crazy or just plain out turning stupid ... but what keeps me going it remembering if I can ignore it at school or friends (distraction) then my mind is perfectly normal and I’m just over analyzing with an ACTIVE mind... it’s hard because you can’t always distract yourself especially if you’re trying to sleep but just stay strong <3 I hope you attain a relaxed mental state soon because you’ve really helped me and you deserve true happiness

[quitter333 in reply to Lulululu4]

yeah, you ate righys.

but trying to distract self probably is not a solution.

I want these thoughts, they are mine.

i strongly feel it all comes from daily activities - last 3 years i have worked with spoken amd writtem text WAAY more than with imagination. Literally got to start imaginimg movies again

[Hollick]

Quitter, it is anxiety, I'm sorry, lets agree to disagree. You say its 'not anxiety per se' in an earlier sentence, but at the end of your post, you sum up by saying, you think 'self analysis may be the root of most anxieties'? I very much experience the same type pattern/symptoms in the morning, - called morning anxiety, and it can start in the early early morning hours 3 -4, disruptive to sleep...the closer its get to dawn, the worse it gets for me. The worst is the heart palpitations (not always) as I desperately try to go back to sleep, Anxiety is a monster..I could be wrong about your situation, it may vary from one to another, sure it does in varying degrees. Thank you for sharing, I hope we both get relief, find some solace. Take care.

[quitter333 in reply to Hollick]

I had quite terrible anxiety few months ago, when I stupidly quit smoking, some drug, coffee, and immediately got problems at work, with money in lovelife. I think it went from mild withdrawal to full blown shock for the brain. I never had felt anxiety that much - i.e. so much that I not only acknowledge it, but literally feel like going insane.

While I did very rigorous self controlling activities to get rid of mental problems, I seems my brain just got "scarred" in some sort of quasi-PTSD, if you know what I mean.

Rushing thoughts in the morning are not about something worriesome. I am doing quite great recently, have pleasant feelings and enthusiasm throughout the day, especially when I get sh*t done.

It's hard to explain what is exactly wrong in mornings. I think there may be some anxiety because I start thinking - why am I having these thoughts at all etc. i.e. self-analysis turns on.

Today for example I woke up, had a a weird dream, fell back to sleep. Didnt get bothered.

[Lazy_dog_lover]

No, my stuff happens as I am trying to go to sleep. Evaluate and maybe change your routine before bed. I have found that the last hour or so controls my thoughts and dreams. Research sleep hygiene, especially if you tend to use technology in that last hour.

[HeathersWellness]

I'm sorry to hear this. Although I've not experienced this type of anxiety before, I've heard it can be pretty unsettling as can having disturbing dreams or nightmares.

It's good that you are still able to function well during the day but I'd still encourage you to seek some help because long-term sleep issues may start to affect your productivity, health and overall quality of your life.

If you ever want to speak with a professional counselor, I know of a crisis center that offers a free help line. The folks there are very supportive and are excellent listeners. They can provide you with resources in your area as well as online. You can call during regular business hours. If you don't get a live person on the line, just leave a message and someone will call you right back, 855-382-5433.

Praying your mind is calmer and less anxious tonight and you're able to get better rest. Be encouraged, I'm trusting and believing you'll get through this.

[quitter333 in reply to HeathersWellness]

Thank you for your kind words. I will not dial phone numbers from internet, there are a lot of scams going on, sorry if you are being sincere.

And while I still have some aleep problems I quit meddling with my telephone in bed, and I get enough sleep, even if I wake up mid night. Soc media and telephone is what stinks up our thinking

[Hollick]

Yup, on the soc media part, not sure what you mean by telephone? Suggestion, if you feel that way, don't go on it as much - social media that is...