Sensitive and Stressed – Waking up into Anxiety
In her article Understanding Early Morning Anxiety, Deanne Repich [left] talks about the common experience of “sleeping peacefully in your warm, cozy bed. You are at peace, finally getting a break from the cares and tasks of the day. Then, BOOM! Suddenly, the shrill sound of your alarm clock jerks you awake. It triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response, our body’s inborn self-protective mechanism.”
A result, she continues, can be that “The dreaded worries and symptoms kick in.” Among the ways she suggests to make the ”waking up” environment more pleasant is to use music or chimes instead of an alarm; using a light dimmer; having a robe and slippers at hand, and dealing with your low blood sugar after not eating for so many hours.
Those sort of stressors can probably trigger real stress more easily for those of us who are highly sensitive. Noticing responses like morning anxiety can be a call for better self-care.
Deanne Repich is founder of the National Institute of Anxiety and Stress. See more of her articles listed on the page: article authors.
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