Do you wake up with anxiety?

Many people are so overstimulated that not only do they go to bed that way, but they also wake up with anxiety. Does this sound familiar? You are not alone!

Sleep was my only relief.

There was a time when I looked forward all day to sleeping at night, which was limited. It was my only relief. I was completely exhausted by the state of my mental health, and I knew my only break would come at night while I was sleeping.

Don’t get me wrong, I slept little and woke many times in the middle of the night with a racing heart. However, I was desperate for any break I could get, which came only while I was asleep. I knew I would wake up with anxiety, and the fight for my life would start all over again.

My anxiety thrived in the calm dark night.

As if the day wasn’t hard enough to survive, the night nearly destroyed me. The moment my family fell asleep, I was alone with my demons.

Fighting anxiety and panic and feeling alone while surrounded by people is one thing. Being alone with my thoughts while my family slept nearby was even worse. It was scary to feel so alone while my loved ones were right there with me.

A woman is lying on her side in bed watching her phone. Her arms are curled up under her neck. The room is dark and the glow from the screen illuminates her face. — Photo by ethan on Unsplash

My nightly routine

Alone with my thoughts while the world quietly rested, my anxiety swelled. My nightly routine consisted of mindless TV in bed for hours, trying to switch off my worried thoughts. When I finally started to feel “relaxed” enough, I would lay down and try to fall asleep. Often when my head hit my pillow, my mind percolated with all sorts of alarming thoughts. I would soon sit back up in bed and watch more TV in an attempt to clear my mind. After many failed attempts, at some point, I usually fell asleep.

The nights I managed to fall asleep from exhaustion, I woke back up after a couple of hours. Wide awake with anxiety, I played mindless games to try to tire my relentless mind enough to lie back down. After a total of a few hours of sleep and my only relief from anxiety and panic, morning came. I began each day extremely tired but so wired.

I woke up filled with anxiety and dread

Every day, I would wake up filled with anxiety and panic. Although I was not rested from sleep, I appreciated the pause because it was the only relief I could find, and I desperately craved more.

I was never prepared to deal with the suffocating anxiety I woke up filled with. I started my day with disappointment that the night was over, and dread that I had a full day of trying to survive ahead of me.

Why does this happen?

Cortisol levels are often highest in the morning as a result of the natural circadian rhythm. Otherwise known as the stress hormone, cortisol is also pumped into our bodies in excess during times of intense stress or anxiety.

The Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) is a natural body response meant to help us wake and prepare for the day ahead. When our stress hormone levels are elevated from stress and anxiety, the CAR can become more troublesome than helpful.

In simple terms, an extreme CAR (Cortisol Awakening Response) is what our bodies are experiencing when we wake up with anxiety. Although waking up with anxiety feels anything but simple, when our mental health is suffering due to it.

What can we do about waking up with anxiety?

Read about how to cope with morning anxiety here.