Waking up with feelings of dread

[robp]

Has anyone ever woken up in the middle of the night with feelings of dread? To the point that you just can't stay still
It hasn't been a good night sleeping, waking up every now and then. And now this waking up with feelings of dread

thanks

[gypsylee]

Hi Rob,

Once I'm asleep I tend to stay asleep (unless my anxiety is extra bad or I have some hormonal thing going on) but I nearly always wake up with dread in the morning. I could have absolutely nothing to do that day - not even need to leave the house - but for the first half hour to an hour I have that good old "sense of impending doom". The exception to this is when my alarm wakes me up and I'm too tired to feel anxious, but then it takes me an hour or so to actually wake up.

It helps to realise that your body is producing cortisol (and adrenaline?) to wake you up, and I guess some of us are more sensitive to it than others. If you're waking up during the night and it's not because you need to use the bathroom or because you're sick, it probably means your nervous system is out of whack and needs help (things like supplements, breathing, exercise, rest).

Take it easy..
Gypsy x

[robp]

Thanks gypsylee

When I used to see a nutritionist, she mentioned about the cortisol and waking during the night. I'll have to give her suggestion a shot to see if it helps

thanks

[gcltr777]

It's extremely interesting to go back and read of the mental 'disorders' of the past. All through time, people have dealt with anxiety/depression. Only until recently have been able to put a name and cause to it. *in the past Drs called anxiety "good practice for the heart"* A very 'simple' and hereditary 'malfunction' of the adrenal system of the brain, we (humans) have dealt with this since our creation. Most people of the past (and present) do what they 'need to' in order to fight those feelings. Smoking, drinking, drugs, pushing to work or stay busy constantly...etc., we do everything we can to help those feelings go away. But, they don't go away and we're left with living with them day to day.

I've lived with this for 20+ years. Anytime I have something that is bothering me or running through my mind, my brain doesn't know how to properly handle it. I wake up with horrible thoughts daily. But as the day goes by, they usually get better. Not always. I was blessed to have a good set of dr's that understood (as much as they could) my situation. I remember one Dr explained it very well. He used an analogy of a water spigot ("water" being adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine, etc). At night, that spigot shuts down. In the morning, it gets turned on FULL BLAST for me. Whereas others have theirs turned on very gradually. When I'm stressed, that spigot doesn't work right. It stays 'open' during most the night (which hurts sleep and comfort), and since it's been 'on' most the night, my body/mind is 'worn out'. Add to that having to face the 'stressor'... the cycle continues.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to do exactly what people of the past did to 'get by'. I just choose to do what will cause the least amount of damage to my body/mind in the long run. (no illegal drugs, alcohol does not help long term at all).

It's all just 'patterns' of the brain. I try to remind myself that even though I do have horrible thoughts A LOT, there are people with brain 'malfunctions' that don't even allow them to move... so they are trapped in their own body. 24hrs a day 7 days a week. The 'dread' can usually be logically talked through. There are people who have things much, much worse.

[Kirk]

I have had similar feelings when I wake up in the middle of the night either to go to the bathroom or let my dog out. My mind sometimes wanders to not a good place and the thoughts can interfere with my sleep at times.

[The Intolerable Kid]

I've had the same problem, still do sometimes. While there's no clear cut solution that I've found; I go to the can, and let my dog out like Kirk. Usually I can go back to sleep at that point, but not always.

[josh0745]

Some nights I used meditation to help me drift off to sleep. I usually had a much more consistent sleep to where I wouldn't wake until morning. I have the "full blast" hormonal response when I wake up in the morning. I typically try to blast out some hard exercise to use up the hormones and have the ability to start my day with a level head. GL

Josh

[aml0017]

I am a bad sleeper period, I wake up in the middle of the night all the time, so anxiety per se doesn't always wake me up. However, if I had been anxious during the day, or stressing about any particular thing then the moment I wake up it all comes flooding back and the cortisol and adrenaline go pumping in, hence the feeling of doom. It sucks I know. I find having a snack before bedtime sometimes helps as blood sugar will fall during the night and in the mornings which I think may contribute to the icky morning feeling. I usually have a spoon of peanut butter and a couple crackers about half hour before I go to bed, not enough to be heavy on the stomach.

[Teafrenzy]

Mornings have always been bad for me. But now I find that after I wake up, I need to go back to sleep again. I will sleep in until Noon or 1 pm. I can no longer do that because I found a new job.

[hellofriend22]

Have you been tested for sleep apnea? I used to have these feeling and anxiety was bad when waking up even though I wasn't really sleepy or tired during the day I had sleep apnea and treatment helped

[Barong Baj Baj]

For me its the morning. Waking up and feeling cold and clamy, and this looming dread. ugh it sucks. But i haven't had it for a while so you can definitely beat the demon back

[willheal]

I have very mixed mornings. Lately it's been good, but prior to that I would sometimes wake up like bombs were going off or something. Jumping out of bed, heart racing.

I used to wake up in the middle of the night stuck in this dreamlike trance and I couldn't break free. It was hell, all I could do was ride it out. It ranged from annoying to just sheer terror.

When sleep is affected it bleeds into everything else, but it's harder to fix your sleep when you're stressed out. Bleh

[robp]

Have you been tested for sleep apnea? I used to have these feeling and anxiety was bad when waking up even though I wasn't really sleepy or tired during the day I had sleep apnea and treatment helped

That is a distinct possibility as I do have the body type and am overweight. I have decided to take steps and lose the weight which I know will help. The more I thought about it, I found that when I first woke up I would find myself gasping....so it is possible my airway was being cutoff. And then of course triggering some anxiety. Since I have been working on losing the weight I am more aware of it and it seems to have subsided. It just goes to show that exercise provides more than what is commonly known. And I suggest to anyone that has anxiety issues to try it, it has helped me out a lot. Plus, I've been sleeping better :)

[gypsylee]

I've already commented on this but I'm bumping it up because it's one of the worst aspects of my anxiety disorder. It used to be even worse when I drank - I would wake up and it felt as if there was someone pointing a gun at my head, I'd be that anxious. But even sober I often wake up with feelings of absolute dread and it takes about an hour before I feel ok. Some days it doesn't subside and I have that "impending doom" feeling all day, ugh.

[Ponder]

Of late with family court looming re my grandson - I find nights the worse. In fact the dread is building and last longer with each passing the day. Making sure I keep to some kind of routine even by forcing myself to just walk to the end of the street and back and make something small to eat. Doing things like that I find helps.

Glad some of you guys are doing better these days and wishing others who are currently struggling all the best.

[Dahila]

Mornings are cruel. I m the same as Gypsy, 1-2 hours before I am able to function :)

[smoogs]

Hi Robp, I think this is quite normal. I usually wake up in the morning and I'm hit with the dread.

You should listen to The Model Health Show: Episode 045. It talks about tips to destress and one of them is creating a bedtime routine. I find this really helps with the morning dread/panic. Basically, what you do is: 1. turn off all devices around 60-90 minutes before going to bed, 2. create a relaxing routine to repeat in the exact same order every night.

My routine is: brush my teeth and floss, read a fiction book (non-fiction stimulates the brain too much and keeps us awake), and then 10 minutes of meditation with the app called Headspace. This routine has drastically improved my anxiety!

I hope that helps. :)

[Stellanova]

I get it in the AM bad before I'm out if bed

[wpark2419]

I have suffered from anxiety for 2 years now and I frequently wake up in the morning with the horrible dread feeling. Sometimes I feel it all day and it's so horrible. So sorry it happens to you too but it helps some knowing I'm not crazy and that it happens to others too. I also wake up with my neck and upper shoulders being hot and sweaty even though it's very cool in my room.

[Stellanova]

I wrote on this yesterday but last night had some major nightmares and woke up with awful anxiety

[Twichard]

Hi Robp I also suffer from feelings of dread when I awaken in the night it happens regularly through the night every night but I have a very ill son and I think that it's playing on My mind that something terrible I's going to happen to him over the last 20 years of his life we have had him taken into hospital in very bad positions from being none responsive and in status epilepticus (constant seizures)the feeling of dread that were going to lose our son I's awful and probably the biggest factor I've not slept probably since his birth my situation is not the same as you're One but I can relate to how much this affects people like you and I hope that you feel better soon