Dealing with underlying &/or morning dread & anxiety, & insomnia

I suffer from an underlying general feeling of dread (and a resistance to what is) which I've been working on. I recently found this article by Beth Kendall https://www.bethkendall.com/blog/let-go-of-dread-in-morning (How to Stop Waking Up With Dread & Anxiety in the Morning) which I'm going to follow for the foreseeable future, so I just thought I'd share it here on the forum as it looks pretty good and is already helping me with any dread that I feel when I awake in the mornings. (Beth btw helps people to deal with their insomnia and so there are other free mind/body articles plus some blogs on her website regarding this, so if you're suffering from sleep issues there may be something on her website that might gel with you and possibly help you to get a better night's sleep https://www.bethkendall.com/blog-list (Blog).)

 

@BloodMoon
Thank you for this! I really like the suggestion in the article to create a thought anchor to have each morning that will fill you with good brain chemicals—opposed to the dread. I, too, am one who suffers from morning dread. It can be such a terrible feeling. I’m so sorry to hear you have it!

I have always had it the worst on Saturday mornings, until the past few months when I started something new in my life. I started a plan to make Saturday my happiest day of the week, and I succeeded! Now I wake up—just like this article said— with good feelings automatically on Saturday. My new plan is to have a delicious pampering breakfast (that often includes forbidden treats like pastry), then watch a good movie (also pampering and one of my favorite things because I don’t often watch TV) while drinking a frozen mocha coffee (I also never drink coffee, so this too is special!) So far, I have had the best time! It works. And what’s further, sometimes if I’m sad or discouraged, I think of my next Saturday ahead and I automatically feel good.

 

I'm glad you liked the article. A 'light bulb' moment for me recently was that I suddenly 'saw' that I don't just suffer with dread in the mornings (which fluctuates in intensity from morning to morning) but that I suffer an underlying general feeling of dread throughout the day. This realisation came to me after reading something @Cactusflower wrote recently, together with a discussion I had with my husband about my general attitude to life, that I don't enjoy it as much as I otherwise would because I'm what I would call 'a realist' (but some might argue a 'pessimist'!) as I see the possible negative ramifications of events and decisions and am always concerned about make the 'right' decision (even though I know that there are usually downsides and upsides to everything). And what @Cactusflower wrote was:

"Anxiety is more like a “state” of being.

Emotions flow through the body as physical sensations and dissipate in moments.

Anxiety isn’t quite like that. It usually doesn’t dissipate quite so fast because it’s part of the bodies primitive response to danger. It will highly influence your nervous system"

This made 'the penny drop' as to exactly why I suffer TMS when I have always been very aware of my anger and rage and felt it in my body. It was an 'ah ha' moment - thank you @Cactusflower!

I too like the suggestion of creating a thought anchor. I'm going to use 'anchors' throughout the day now I've come to realise that dread is the 'background' to my life.

Unlike you though, I daren't have a food treat anchor as I've had a binge/comfort eating disorder, so I'm thinking up other things.

For example... I like using those refreshing towelling wash cloths (here in England we call them flannels or in this case 'hot towels') that you're given to use at the end of a meal in restaurants or on airplane flights that have been steamed in hot water with lemon... So now when I wake up I look forward to going to the bathroom, running some hot water into the bathroom basin/sink, adding a drop or two of lemon oil, dowsing a flannel in the water, wringing it out a bit and applying it to my face and neck and then my arms.... lovelyjubbly!

 

The warm flannels with lemon sound wonderful!

I am reading another book by Claire Weekes, MD, titled Freedom From Nervous Suffering. I was surprised to find in the first chapter some great, interesting and informative explanations on the thought processes of an anxious person. (They all described me!) The entire world is distorted—and often in a negative or suspicious way. Things seem very exaggerated. And it is also very difficult to make decisions. This is all a result of the flood of adrenalin an anxious person lives with continuously. The book I’m reading is audible, so I don’t have any quotes handy. But I will try and get some. It really made me feel better to realize that with the HIGH anxiety level I’m operating with right now, much of my thinking isn’t normal. Dr. Weekes assures that as one’s Adrenalin and anxiety level drops, thinking returns to normal. I’m really looking forward to this! She also continually advises that this healing will take time.

Along with this, I had an aha moment with @HealingMe ‘s success story when she talked about talking to her mind like it’s a scared little child all throughout the day. So, now I’ve been doing that, as I never have before. (I always kind of felt stupid doing it.) But now I’ve embraced it, because I can see that it can calm down the FEAR, which is the cause of all the adrenaline. I think Dan Buglio is also big on this and I’ve also heard @Cactusflower and others talk about it.

 

I've only read 'Hope and Help for your Nerves' so I will get 'Freedom From Nervous Suffering' as it sounds like a book I need to read - thanks for mentioning.

I'm trying to doing this more now too as it was also one of the great suggestions in '101 Ways to Find Calm' by Rebekah Ballagh. For me the trouble has been about remembering to do it regularly as it's so easy to get caught up in the whirl of life and before you know it it's bedtime... However, if one only does it a bedtime I guess that's better than not at all!

 

This is my problem too! But once I started doing it, it was easier to remember. I’m motivated!

 

Once you recognize that things like Anxiety are purely functions of the human body, we are designed to have some anxiety because it can be very useful in many situations, the pressure drops to "fix" the anxiety. You no longer feel responsible to get over what seems like another hurdle to your healing.
You realize it's not a problem, anxiety can be present, the problem is when you freak out about the fact you are anxious and refuse to feel the sensations of anxiety.