Waking up frozen/depressed.

[Hopefulphoenix]

Hey.
I wonder if anybody else struggles, or has struggled alot with waking in the morning?
No matter it seems how ok er mood im in when I go to bed, I invariably wake up feeling scared.
I keep doing the same thing over and over.. I wake up and let myself slumber and say nice comforting things to calm myself down. But the moment I sleep again I awaken with the same feeling.
I eventually, after maybe 30 minutes get acceptance that the game is up.. I have to face another day. Then I get up and put on kettle etc.
Today I feel I am hit by a truck just coz I slept until I woke up naturally.. I also had nightmares, which seem to come in the mornings too.
Any strategies??

 

[Rani G2]

wonder if anybody else struggles, or has struggled alot with waking in the morning?

Yes, I do.. especially when I must go to work, but also on holidays/weekends. For me, I don’t know if it’s the same to you, it’s as if I open my eyes, to find myself back in the battlefield. Threatful.

Any strategies??

Only Yoga has had a positive effect on me, it’s not all roses/butterflies in the morning, but I feel neutral when I wake up. Cold/warm showers? Have you tried it @Hopefulphoenix ? It boosts the blood circulation!
Anyways.. I still struggle a bit.

 

[Innordinate]

Waking up is really hard for me, but for various reasons, which all require different sort of strategies to overcome or before I can function on any level in the morning.

The most upsetting and I think as closely related to what you're describing is the waking up not really as present me. Takes a long time to figure out how old/who i am and that I'm in a safe place, but some tricks I find helpful is any kind of grounding technique or mindfulness skill.
Could be just focusing on a picture, noticing the color of my room, or the feel of carpet on my feet, or blankets or using something more shocking like an icecube to help bring myself back to the present.

I've had some really bad mornings where I'm not sure if I'm waking up straight into a flashback or not, I don't even know if that's possible or if it's just remnants from a nightmare. I find it happens more/often if I sleep in my bed, so I sleep mostly on my couch now and watch kids cartoons before falling asleep. It's not ideal, and I still wake up really dissociated a few times but not nearly as often. And if it means waking up feeling safe and okay I'll keep doing it until I can figure out something better.

hope this helps.

 

[Mach123]

I'm not a morning person and I gave up years ago trying to be what they want. (Get up and go get them) So now I get up at about 5:30 no matter what day of the week it is. I hated it always and never could force myself. Now that I don't "have to," it's easy. I don't expect much from me till later in the day. I just can't function till the sun is over the yardarm. I know this about me and I try to be patient.