You wake up in the morning and feel a sense of dread – for no particular reason. If only you could step outside of yourself, even for a few moments, to analyse what is going on.
Is it a fear of something that might happen that day? (… but it’s just a normal day.) Is it worry about something you messed up yesterday? (… but you didn’t mess anything up yesterday.) Is there something overwhelming that you have to achieve today? (… but, like I said, it’s just a normal day.)
That sense of dread first thing in the morning (or at any time of day) that does not seem to relate to anything – that is a symptom of high levels of anxiety. A doctor might diagnose it as “Generalised Anxiety Disorder” (GAD). But giving it a diagnostic name might help you identify what it is, but it doesn’t take away the awful feeling that you are left with.
Why We Get Anxiety Over Nothing In Particular
When there is a build-up of stress, worry, regret, justified anger and so on, the subconscious recognises that something is wrong. The “stress bucket” becomes full. The subconscious does not know what is wrong, it just senses there is something wrong.
So our subconscious starts to make us anxious. Why? Because anxiety makes us look out for things that might go wrong. When wake in the morning, our subconscious immediately makes us anxious so that we start looking out for the threats to our lives. Of course, there are no threats to our lives, but because of all the overload of stress, the depths of our brain reacts as if there is … just in case.
The anxiety, of course, simply adds to the stress and makes the situation worse. We can get stuck in a seemingly never-ending life of waking up each morning feeling the anxiety that invades our minds and bodies.
What To Do About Morning Anxiety
As with any form of anxiety, there are (in broad terms) three general routes to follow. You can try one or more of these to help:
- Medication – go to your doctor, explain the symptoms and ask for medication to help.
- Self-help – look up “self care for anxiety” on Google and find a plethora of advice (see, for example, the advice from MIND listed below).
- Therapy – find a hypnotherapist, CBT specialist, counsellor or some other type of therapist who specialise in anxiety.
Hypnotherapy for Anxiety
I specialise in helping people who are only just coping with stress and anxiety. I use hypnotherapy to help that get back to their normal selves again. I would be happy to have a chat if you would like to Contact Me. I work out of my clinic in Fleet, Hampshire and also online.
There are other hypnotherapists out there – and if you choose someone else, make sure they are properly qualified, follow good ethical practices and are fully insured. Check them out on the National Council for Hypnotherapy website or the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy website.
References
MIND advice on self-care for anxiety
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/generalised-anxiety-disorder-gad/
National Council for Hypnotherapy
https://www.hypnotherapists.org.uk/
Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy
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