Treatment for diurnal mood variation/morning anxiety and depression

[BichonRain]

Has anyone been successfully treated for diurnal mood variation (morning anxiety/depression)? If so, what medicine worked for you? I have MDD, PD, and GAD and my anxiety is the worst upon awakening and during the first half of the day. I have tried several SSRIs as well as SNRIS. Now, I am on Mirtazapine, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much to help. By evening, I feel normal only for the anxiety and depression to return, again, the next morning. Please let me know if you have had any success with treating this condition. Thanks!

[MindfulMoment]

I don’t have any solutions but I also have severe anxiety in the morning. Many mornings I’ll wake out of a dream in a panic attack. I know cortisol levels are naturally higher in the morning. I’ve tried many things to try to prevent it, yoga first thing, I skip caffeine all together now, meditations before I get out of bed, cold showers first thing when I get up. Getting up and getting busy hoping to burn off the extra energy I feel. I don’t know. Evenings I always feel better until it’s time for bed and then I ruminate. But those morning panic attacks always make me dread the day. So sorry you’re experiencing it. If you find a solution let me know!

[BichonRain in reply to MindfulMoment]

I know exactly how you feel! In the evenings, I feel like my “normal” self only to have to face the dread of the morning the next day. I’ll let you know if the Mirtazapine helps or if I hear of any other solutions. Hang in there and know you’re not alone. You have a fellow “morning/daytime” anxiety buddy in me. We’ll get through this!

[MindfulMoment in reply to BichonRain]

Bodies are so weird. I always wonder what it must be like for people that just wake up and feel good and don’t have anxiety. I guess they have their own set of challenges that probably feel just as hard to them. All things are relative I suppose. Today I’m taking a new approach. I’m going to accept that I feel anxious. I’m gonna let the somatic symptoms just exist with me until they’re gone. I’m not gonna do anything different or accommodate the anxiety. And just get through the day and see how it goes. I need to go out to Walmart and school shop with my 3 kids. I’m sure I’ll feel panicky, what is it about the lights in Walmart?!?! But that’s ok. I can panic and move on. I’ve had a million panic attacks and survived them all.

[PeaceNeed]

Im experiencing the same problems. Im on mirtazapine to 45mg . Take at nite. It dont seem to be working for me either.I am older and more isolated which makes me feel worse.

[OtOFrance]

Hi, BichonRain I hope you are fine today,

I am on mirtazapine and it does help me have a better sleep. But, I'd if I have a nightmare during the night, most often close to the end of the sleep, I feel sad when I wake up, as If mirtazapine made the "nightmare come true".

It is not a big issue, it is just a weird feeling, sort of "was it a dream or reality?" Feeling.

I talked to my therapist about this and he explains that, as long as I ask this question, it's a good sign of "I am still able to make the difference".

In your case, it looks like mirtazapine make things worst ... But not that far too what I feel, maybe we use different words to explain what we feel.

You may try, first thing in the morning, to write on a paper all dreams you remember of and see if they have an impact on you "next day feeling", not sure it is clear, is it ?

Hope this helps !

Love from France!

O