Question for others with GAD

[ABitDerpy]

Does anyone else feel a lot more anxious at night? I mean I can FEEL the anxiety creeping in when the sun starts going down almost like I'm being closed in by the darkness. It wasn't always like this, I actually loved the night but now, looking out the window seeing the blackness seems almost... fake if that makes any sense. Being anywhere at night in bright lights seems to make it worse. If I go outside I'm usually OK, Inside during the day with windows open is Ok. Could it be something to do with the light?

Had GAD for years (~7-9) but I was getting good at resisting, almost to the point where I felt ready to work again but now I have a deep dread of night time and sleeping because I have this pervasive "wrong" feeling about everything. Curious to see if anyone has similar experiences.

[Kirk]

Welcome to the forum. For me it varies. My anxiety is related to my health and it is sometimes
governed by symptoms. You may feel more anxious at night as you are more relaxed and your
mind is at rest and not occupied with work, family, etc. so your mind begins to wander.

[gypsylee]

Hey and welcome :)

I'm kind of the opposite.. I have GAD and social phobia, and for me the dark is like my sanctuary. When I get bad I often wait until it gets dark to go out because I feel really overwhelmed by everything when it's light. But I can understand your dislike of it as well.

Cheers,
Gypsy x

[ABitDerpy]

Hey and welcome :)

I'm kind of the opposite.. I have GAD and social phobia, and for me the dark is like my sanctuary. When I get bad I often wait until it gets dark to go out because I feel really overwhelmed by everything when it's light. But I can understand your dislike of it as well.

Cheers,
Gypsy x

Thats exactly how I felt for years. I live with my parents and grandmother, but my parents had 4 dogs (3 of which are now dead) and have 13 parrots which are very loud, louder than you can imagine. I welcomed the night because night meant dogs and birds went to bed and people stopped pestering me. I used loud music and video games to block out the anxious thoughts, which I no longer do because my computer was too old to use much longer so I tossed it. The only other one is in a small room down stairs with cats and I cant stand how claustrophobic and filthy it is so I'm pretty much without any coping mechanism at night.

I starting to wonder if it's mostly because I dont have that audible and visual stimuli that I used to. Thanks for the replies so far.

[josh0745]

I'm opposite, I have extreme anxiety in the morning. I'm still thinking it's related to a medical condition, but the doctors here aren't very good so I'm going to seek outside specialists.

Josh

[Teafrenzy]

Yes this happened to me!

My problem began in September of last year, I was at home, middle of the night I got woken up by a scratching noise. I went to check it out and got startled by a prowler.

Since then my anxiety got centered around night. I have a milder form of PTSD. I also had that sense of derealization that night didn't seem "real".

Only thing you can do is exposure therapy, go for 45 minute walks at night if you can. Or go to a coffee shop when it starts getting dark and just surf the web as you practice getting used to your environment. It takes a long time for you to notice a change, but it will diminish. Took me 3 months of exposure therapy and I still notice it somewhat.

[anxiouspigeon]

I always have anxiety attacks or panic attacks in my sleep at night. They get so bad that my pounding heart wakes me up. I know exactly what you mean, though. At night, I feel more vulnerable and depressed. I'm much less excited at night. I haven't figured out what causes it just yet, but I completely understand what you're going through.

[SkinsFan28]

Mine is at its absolute peak in the mornings. It wakes me up in the middle of the night and then I get an anxious "half sleep" for the remaining 2-3 hours.
I recently started turning on all of the lights in the morning to try and trick my mind into thinking that the sun is out since it is still dark out when I wake up (I get up early for the gym and work). This was on the recommendation of my therapist because he believes that darkness can trigger anxiety for some.