If you have been lucky enough not to have suffered from anxiety disorders, you may not understand what it means to be in such a situation of psychological distress.
But If you are anxious, in the morning you can experience symptoms like
- Worries and negative thinking
- Nervousness, fear, or dread
- Tense muscles or restlessness in the body
- Trouble going back to sleep
- Panic
It’s not easy, nevertheless let’s try to understand what causes morning anxiety and look for some solutions.
- Did you get a bad night’s sleep? A poor sleep is the result of thoughts and concerns that you had before going to bed. They keep you awake at night and cause a disturbed night. Does it sound familiar to you?
Try with the making space technique or same grounding techniques, like these ones:
- Keep your eyes open, look around the room, notice your surroundings, notice all the details.
- Listen to soothing music.
- Put your feet firmly on the ground.
- Focus on someone’s voice or a neutral conversation.
2. Did you get too much caffeine? Be aware that caffeine is not only in coffee. You may find it in diet coke, chocolate, ice cream, some herbal teas and some painkillers. A small amount of caffeine per day is healthy but not if you want to relax. Pay attention to what you drink or eat before going to sleep. It would be better not drinking coffee after 3 p.m.
3. Are you worrying excessively? I have the tendency to do that, I also think about things that happened in the past (therefore I cannot change) and start to worry about. Try to help yourself with these tips:
- Are your worries rational?
- Weigh up the pros and cons of your concerns.
- Remember that most of your worries never come true.
- Are you thinking in terms of the worst possible situations?
- Are you thinking about anything you may have done wrongly to someone (but you don’t really know)?
Detach from your worries, visualise them in front of you, and look at them as if you were watching a film.
4. Set intentions for the day ahead. The morning is the best part of the day to create intentions. It helps you to sort thoughts out. Think about what you would need to be done and when. Prioritise the tasks that are more important. By doing so, you can start working on your plan for the day. If you see that you have too much on your plate, it is time to get organized and prioritize. Write down on paper (on paper it works better) all the things you would need to do. Start with the little things you know you will not have trouble with. Cross them off, by actually putting a cross on them. You will feel much better!
5. Start a journal. Writing down your worries and feelings is therapeutic. You can ask yourself questions like:
- What issues am I experiencing now?
- Is it anything related to my work/partner/…?
- What cannot get out of my mind and comes back regularly?
- What is making me happy in the present moment?
Do you think these tips are useful? Do you know other ways to keep anxiety under control?
For more on anxiety, have a look at my blog crisbiecoach. And don’t forget to sign up for Wise&Shine so you don’t miss out any new posts!
Thanks Cristiana-these are great suggestions! Another thing that helps me sometimes is doing yoga first thing in the morning.
Yoga is definitely a good way to start a day anxiety- free. But I like too much sleeping in the morning and I sleep until the very last moment 😅
Haha I totally get that! I never did yoga in the morning until after I quit my job and even now I’m hit or miss 😁😁
I leave it for my retirement when I will even go to the beach to practice yoga 🧘♂️ thank you for your comment Todd!
Thank Cristina.
I agree with your advices & thoughts on the topic.
To me dancing (as dance and movement coach I often use sound as a relaxation tool)
I find intentional movement with music and shaking
meditation specially releasing.
That’s interesting Parisa, I like dancing but I have never thought at it as a relaxation tool because after I feel exhausted, but maybe it’s because of the age 😅
Exactly!!! That is why it is functional.
Instead of being in the mental sphere, you shake that energy and release it. Bodily release though moving that anxious Energy.
Oh what a new perspective you offer, thank you! (On a side note, my name is Cristiana and not Cristina 😉)
Soo sorry for misspelling your name. Will try to remember it.
Yes as a dance and movement therapists, it is an essential part of my movement coaching sessions.
Excellent tips, I’m partial to journaling myself and have recommended it to patients almost every day. I also applaud my fellow commenters, exercise in any form at least three or four days per week has been shown to have a positive effect on mind and body.
I agree that journaling has a positive effect on both body and mind. Thank you for your comment!
They are good suggestions. I start each day with three pages of journaling that I got from “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. It’s where I set out my intentions for the day and can write what’s bothering or worrying me. Writing it down often gets it out of my brain.
Journaling is really good, I do it at the end of the day, to thank for three (or more) things that happened to me during the day. Thank you for your comment!
I also try to do “Three Blessings” at the end of the day. Remind me of three thinks I’m thankful for and why they happened. I read about that in “Flourish” by Dr. Seligman. 😊
I have not read that book by Seligman, it must be an interesting reading. Thank you for sharing!
It’s worth reading!
Excellent suggestions. For me, getting outside for a walk and enjoying nature is the best tonic.
I also walk a lot in the nature and it helps me a lot. Thank you for your comment. Michelle!
Thank you for this list, friend.
I had a severe bout of anxiety about ten years ago, and scoured the internet for any and all tips in order to cope. These steps—along with the reminder that so many others experience anxiety—is very helpful indeed. 🕊
Happy to hear that you find these steps useful and above all that your anxiety is over. Thank you for your comment!
Great suggestions Cristiana. Journalling and meditation are big for me. As is talking through my problems with my wife. Another one I would add is getting outside or lifting some weights. My problems often feel much smaller after some exercise.
Lifting weights is a great idea David! Thank you for commenting!
These are great tips, and I love the reader contributions. Truly, working within a community is very helpful!
Indeed reader contributions are great Tamara, thank you for commenting!
My pleasure! Hope your weekend is awesome!
These are great suggestions Cristiana. I don’t tend to have morning anxiety but perhaps that is because I start the day with meditation and writing which matches your making space technique and journaling. Thanks for more systemic recommendations. Great post!
I think that indeed starting your mornings with meditation and writing helps you avoiding morning anxiety. Thank you for your comment Wynne!
This is a very informative post. Thank you for the tips. Keep going.
Thank you!
You’re welcome. You can visit my blog too if you have extra time. I hope you will like and follow it.
I enjoyed this post. The tips you provided are definitely great tips. I’ve been experiencing anxiety lately. Usually journaling and working out helps.. but lately it’s still been a battle . I’m going try these. Thanks for the tips ❤️
I hope you will find your way to fight anxiety. Thank you for commenting!!