Looking for Tools

[SeekingCalm]

I am seeking advice from others and not just medical personal because I have been waking up, early 5AM and breaking out into a cold sweat and hyperventilating. I don't have an issue or problem I am focusing on just waking up and immediately start these symptoms. I am looking to see if anyone else has experienced this and do they have tools to combat it

[Agora1]

Hi SeekingCalm, let me tell you that you are definitely not alone with these feelings.

Anxiety shows it's presence early morning hours when the Adrenaline and Cortisol

levels are high preparing us for the day ahead.

For the anxious person, it is a very uncomfortable feeling that tends to start our day

on a negative note.

The tools that can be used to counteract these sensations must be practiced when you

are feeling okay. Using Meditation and Breathing exercises 3x a day is a start.

While we sleep at night, it is the best time for the subconscious mind to listen to

positive affirmations. Even if you drift off to sleep the mind still absorbs the words

it hears. Upon awakening, it is another good time to re-listen to meditation and

practice your breathing. This allows you mind and body to prepare for the day in a

more positive approach. Midafternoon a quick 5 min time out to just breathe and relax

can regenerate the person.

Nothing comes easy but with practice and time (usually 30 days) it works. Not saying

you can stop after that. This is a new practice that we may need to use in order to save

ourselves from these annoying early wake ups. I hope this helps some. xx

[SeekingCalm in reply to Agora1]

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the suggestion of doing the breathing exercises when I am not panicking because when I wake it is already too late. Sometimes I try to concentrate on doing cross word puzzles to break me out of my mind.

[Agora1 in reply to SeekingCalm]

SeekingCalm, precisely..It's like an athlete preparing for the big race.

A slow build up and training to allow both their bodies and mind to get

through the race w/o a thought. Overcoming Anxiety is the same way.

Train yourself to breathe properly each and every day. Use it when driving,

shopping and most importantly when lying in bed at night meditating.

This small but important tool, the breath, is the key to overcoming anxious

thoughts. With practice, you can literally stop the sensations of a panic feeling

from escalating and even happening. Find what works for you and train yourself

my friend. It will make life much easier knowing you are in control once more. xx

[Stilltrying2]

Personally what I do at night is listen to positive affirmations. I have found a few on you tube that work for me. They have some that will last 8 to 10 hours. It helps me and it is possible that it can help you too. I find that walking every day helps me get better sleep. We are all different, what works for me may not work for you, but it might be worth a try.

[SeekingCalm in reply to Stilltrying2]

Thanks for the advice on walking. It is known that exercise, usually vigorous exercise, helps with anxious feelings, but walking really makes me feel great, walks in nature even better

[Hidden]

Yes, that was happening to me for several months and my therapist gave me a few things to try. First, she told me to get right out and out of bed and go to another room and start doing something to take my mind off the anxious feelings. That didn't work. Then she told me to get up and go outside, even it it was cold and still dark outside. That sort of helped. Then I started listening to positive affirmations while going to sleep and it would still be playing when I woke up and that helped. Then my psych added a new medication and the problem went away for the most part. I've had a few days of waking up anxious but nothing like before. I hope you can find what works for you.

[SeekingCalm in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the suggestions. Others have suggested positive affirmations and that is something I will try.

[Nothing_but_books]

I've woken to panic so bad it made me sick, and colored the whole day.

Not so for quite a while now.

One day I learned what Agora1 was explaining: Our bodies begin preparing us to wake alert well before we open our eyes. That's what they're supposed to do. Waking groggy and lethargic gets you eaten by a passing dinosaur. So up-and-attum is hard-wired in there.

Once I realized that surge of wake-up energy was normal, something everyone feels, I stopped interpreting the rush as a disaster.

I still woke shaky and breathing hard, but then I thought for a minute: Oh ya. My body wants me to wake up. Sometimes I would get up. Other times I'd say, nope, not ready yet, pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep.

[Agora1 in reply to Nothing_but_books]

NBB, our body is always ready to save us from harm. Unfortunately, sometimes there

is a misconnection between our mind and body which can make everything seem like

a threat. With our experience and our tools of survival, we begin to learn how anxiety

may present itself. With practice, we can go into automatic survival mode but it's always

our choice. Today, it was "pull the covers over my head, press the meditation button

one more time and go back to La La Land".

That helped, I'm up and ready to accept the day. Good or Bad, come pain, come rain

or sun, I am ready. Breathe my friend. xx

[Nothing_but_books in reply to Agora1]

I've a ways to go to sail through come pain days. I've got a long list of ways to calm, distract, and comfort myself, but when pain is bad enough it tows a boatload of anxiety behind.

[RemySue]

I wake up early and my brain is already looking for things that are wrong and Anxiety swoops in. Depression sometimes follows. It's automatic. So I have to keep telling myself there is nothing wrong and refocus my thoughts. It's so hard-you are not alone

[SeekingCalm in reply to RemySue]

I know, I tell myself there is nothing wrong but the sweating will not stop. I will be up carrying a gym towel with me to wipe away the perspiration. Others in the chat suggested doing breathing exercises throughout the day so you will be prepared for the morning. My problem with anxiety is like an ignition switch, when it is on I feel like crap but when I am not anxious I do not think about bad thoughts and blank it out and go on with my day. Unfortunately I can't wish anxiety away.

[Hidden in reply to SeekingCalm]

The other thing that I did sometimes was get up and take a xanax. I hated to do that because I don't like relying on a pill but it did help. I also read a book that someone here recommended and it explained what's going on: Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes. I also read 50 Ways to Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Dr. Catherine M. Pittman. For me, it helps to know WHY something is happening to me and that it's "normal" and I'm not going crazy. My therapist also suggested sticking my face in a sink of cold water to shock my system. I wasn't able to do that one but I did try a cold wash cloth which helped a little. I'm finding that the best thing I can do is get right out of bed and start doing something else to get my brain to switch gears. Come to this group and read/post. Do a puzzle. Listen to music. Something. Anything. And lots of breathing exercises. It sounds too simple but it does work. I think that's why smokers are so relaxed. They are deep breathing in their smoke, holding it, and then slowly breathing it out. They are doing breathing exercises without even knowing it.

[SeekingCalm in reply to Hidden]

I read Hope and Help, enjoyed her perspective. It was written many years ago but anxiety hasn't changed! Her take away message is that you have to stop fighting anxiety and accept that it is part of your life. Her point was if you didn't have use of an arm for some reason, you wouldn't be mad and freaking out, eventually you would need to accept this is how things are now and move on with your life.

[Agora1 in reply to SeekingCalm]

SeekingCalm, Dr. Claire Weekes changed my life as well through her book

"Hope & Help for Your Nerves" Your response to "Hidden" was right on point xx

[Mskitty21]

I had this for several months but it was very much medication related. I used the DARE technique and just accepted it… like ok 🤷‍♀️ bring it on and it lessens very quickly for me and I was able to go back to sleep.

It did get to be to bothersome tho so I switched meds (which I loathe doing) and it’s gone.

Sometimes ya just gotta try a bunch of stuff til something stick and works. I feel for you tho becuz it can suck. Just know your not alone and you’re gonna figure this out 🩷

Take good care 😊

[Teaching]

I've experienced it though not frequently anymore. I feel it's anxiety and will go with time. I did nothing to stop mine.