When You Wake Up Panicking At 3 Am
Weve all been there a nightmare or stressdream causes you to wake up. The next thing you know youre lying thereoverthinking your finances and everything you have to do the next day.
When this happens, what can you do to getback to sleep?
- Stop watching the clock: Counting the minutes will onlyheighten your distress. Turn your alarm clock around and dont pick up yourphone.
- Try to relax your body: Use a relaxation strategy thathelped prior to bed to relax your body and mind.
- Get out of bed: If you cant fall back to sleepafter a stressful dream, then try getting out of bed to help decrease thefrustration. Dont spend time in bed hopelessly trying to get back to sleep orinterpreting your dream. ;Once you leave your bed,find an activitythat is uninteresting or boring. When you start to get drowsy, go back to bed.
Since dreams obviously arent measurable, theres no real answer to what meaning they hold in our day-to-day life. But we do know that we generally have control over daily stress, which can trigger weird or anxiety-clad dreams. Learning to control the crazy and manage your stress is your best defense to help you sleep peacefully.
Recognising Your Stress Triggers
If you’re not sure what’s causing your stress, keep a diary and make a note of stressful episodes for two-to-four weeks. Then review it to spot the triggers.
Things you might want to write down include:
- the date, time and place of a stressful episode
- what you were doing
- a stress rating
You can use the diary to:
- work out what triggers your stress
- work out how you operate under pressure
- develop better coping mechanisms
Doctors sometimes recommend keeping a stress diary to help them diagnose stress.
What Makes You Afraid
Lots of things make us feel afraid. Being afraid of some things like fires can keep you safe. Fearing failure can make you try to do well so that you wont fail, but it can also stop you doing well if the feeling is too strong.
What youre afraid of and how you act when youre afraid of something can vary per person. Just knowing what makes you afraid and why can be the first step to sorting out problems with fear.
How can we manage and reduce stress? Our free downloadable pocket guide offers you 101 tips: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-stress.
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Practise Muscle Relaxation Techniques
Also called a body scan, this technique helps you to focus on yourself and release tension youre holding in your body.
Breathe in and tense the muscles in your face, squeezing your eyes shut. Clench your jaw and keep your face tensed for five seconds. Gradually relax your muscles over the time it takes to count to ten, then take a deep breath. You can say relax as you relax. Next, move on to your neck and shoulders, and gradually move down your body. Be careful with any injuries or pain that you have. Get more info on how to practise progressive muscle relaxation here.
Symptoms Of Fear Expressed Physically
Even though anxiety may involve a lot of “scary” thoughts, the basic signs of anxiety are often physical. Why? When you have anxiety, your body activates the fight-or-flight response, releasing adrenaline and causing a host of changes to your body that are all designed to keep you safe from harm.;
Now, if youre facing an actual predator, your anxiety may save your life. But the same fear response gets activated when youre facing a threat thats not actually going to cause you direct, physical harm. This might be a simple stressor like a looming deadline or conflict with a friend, for example.;
Because these sorts of stressors dont disappear overnight, you’re likely to experience more and more physical anxiety symptoms without much relief. This is why anxiety can be described as an overactive fear response.
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Put Relaxation And Self
A fully packed schedule would make a lot of people feel stressed. Make sure you take time out each day for at least one thing you enjoy doing whether its spending time on a hobby, watching a Netflix episode, or chatting with a friend. It can also help if you schedule the activity into your day, so that you dont feel guilty about not doing something else. Read our guide to relaxation for more ideas.
If youre feeling overwhelmed, dont be afraid to say no to things when you need to.
You Dont Trust Others
You think people are jerks, youre afraid theyll take advantage if you open up.You watch your back and always stay guarded, no way to fully relax if youre not sure whos in front of you.
Solution: try PRONOIA for a change, do it as a game, just switch beliefs from constant suspicion to unconditional trust. Do it for an hour, just to give it a try, ;its a bit disturbing but itll expose a lot of the false beliefs you can get rid of.Also, dont forget that people are too busy minding their own problems to try to hurt you, generally.
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Schedule Time For Pleasure
It’s important to devote time to sex, masturbation, or just feeling sexy. That could be simply having a long bath or shower, says Kate, or listening to a sex-positive podcast or some audio-erotica to help you feel aroused.
If you’re with a partner, try longer foreplay, intimate massage or just kiss and cuddle, suggests Annabelle, and be careful not to rush. The same goes for masturbation: set aside some time to explore your own body, and put on some sexy underwear or use massage oils if it helps you to get in the mood.
Seeking Professional Help For Stress And Anxiety
There are many ways to seek treatment for stress and anxiety. If you feel like youre unable to cope with stress and anxiety, your primary care provider may suggest that you see a mental health provider. They may use psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, to help you work through your stress and anxiety. Your therapist may also teach you applied relaxation techniques to help you manage stress.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a popular and effective method used to manage anxiety. This type of therapy teaches you to recognize anxious thoughts and behaviors and change them into more positive ones.
Exposure therapy and systematic desensitization can be effective in treating phobias. They involve gradually exposing you to anxiety-provoking stimuli to help manage your feelings of fear.
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How My Anxiety Disorder Fills Me With Feelings Of Guilt
It is a stereotype that we Brits apologise a lot. However, even in my polite island nation, I am seen to be more than just a little over apologetic, sometimes to the point of unintentionally irritating the person that I am so desperately trying not to offend .
Sorry has become something of a nervous go-to word for me. I tack it on to the end of most sentences. I will say it automatically when it is my turn to speak up in a conversation. If I think that I have spoken for too long then I will apologise in sheer panic. If I feel that I have given a short, inadequate answer then I will mumble a distressed apology to my shoes. Once a car bumped into me as the owner reversed clumsily from their driveway, knocking me clean of my feet. My first response was to splutter sorry, sorry, Im so very sorry before limping away politely.
I often wonder where it all stems from — this excessive need to apologise for so many anxiety sufferers. Of course, we are all different but for me its the gnawing feeling of being somehow in the way — a loose part, a spare tyre and a nuisance .
I have the feeling that the space that my body and my voice and my life takes up somehow requires an apology, an explanation. Over the years I have learnt to process a hefty excess of guilt from everything from my unfortunate plainness to the way in which I often stammer, helplessly, often incoherently, over my words. I can be light hearted, even flippant regarding my overly apologetic ways.
Why Youre Always So Stressed And How To Destress
So, now youve clearly been feeling stressed for no reason for too long. Thats no doubt why youve turned to the internet to see why, and what you can do about it.
I wouldnt be surprised if youve become somewhat fearful of that feeling thats likely to creep up on you out of the blue. You dont understand, and it may have already got in the way of you running your every-day-life.
Id like you to read this article in conjunction with my article on anxiety for no reason because both articles contain not-to-be-missed information if you want to beat stress.
In this article on always feeling stressed for no reason, youll discover:
- 5 important questions to get a basic insight
- 8 factors that can make you more, or less, likely to suffer from stress
- 12 unusual reasons causing stress
- 16 signs and symptoms of stress
- A quick explanation of the effect of stress on your body/mind
- 8 ways to de-stress
- 3 effective steps for beating stress for no reason
So, lets start by ruling out the following
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Tip : Practice Mindfulness
Worrying is usually focused on the futureon what might happen and what youll do about itor on the past, rehashing the things youve said or done. The centuries-old practice of mindfulness can help you break free of your worries by bringing your attention back to the present. This strategy is based on observing your worries and then letting them go, helping you identify where your thinking is causing problems and getting in touch with your emotions.
Acknowledge and observe your worries. Dont try to ignore, fight, or control them like you usually would. Instead, simply observe them as if from an outsiders perspective, without reacting or judging.
Let your worries go. Notice that when you dont try to control the anxious thoughts that pop up, they soon pass, like clouds moving across the sky. Its only when you engage your worries that you get stuck.
Stay focused on the present. Pay attention to the way your body feels, the rhythm of your breathing, your ever-changing emotions, and the thoughts that drift across your mind. If you find yourself getting stuck on a particular thought, bring your attention back to the present moment.
Basic mindfulness meditation
Click here for a free mindful breathing meditation.
Why Is It So Hard To Stop Worrying
Constant worrying can take a heavy toll. It can keep you up at night and make you tense and edgy during the day. And even though you hate feeling like a nervous wreck, it can still be so difficult to stop. For most chronic worriers, the anxious thoughts are fueled by the beliefsboth negative and positivethat you hold about worrying:
Negative beliefs about worry. You may believe that your constant worrying is harmful, that its going to drive you crazy or affect your physical health. Or you may worry that youre going to lose all control over your worryingthat it will take over and never stop. While negative beliefs, or worrying about worrying, adds to your anxiety and keeps worry going, positive beliefs about worrying can be just as damaging.
Positive beliefs about worry. You may believe that your worrying helps you avoid bad things, prevents problems, prepares you for the worst, or leads to solutions. Maybe you tell yourself that if you keep worrying about a problem long enough, youll eventually be able to figure it out? Or perhaps youre convinced that worrying is a responsible thing to do or the only way to ensure you dont overlook something? Its tough to break the worry habit if you believe that your worrying serves a positive purpose. Once you realize that worrying is the problem, not the solution, you can regain control of your worried mind.
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Find A Good Sounding Board
Its OK to ask for help, even when things are going well. Friends and loved ones may not understand why youd seek help when youre at your peak, but they will let go of assumptions if they truly want you to succeed.
In addition to learning to delegate, you can take any stress off your plate and hire an expert to talk to. Find a therapist or counselor that is a good fit, gives you tools to work through problems, and offers you the space to talk through everything. Once you sound off, they can help you find the validation you need within yourself.
Reasons Why You Could Be Stressed About Nothing
The first three points are likely causing you to feel overwhelmed at times . The latter two are the probable results and are signs that the demands on you outstrip your resources.
And, lets face it, on top of everything else that could befall you in life, youre probably now also have to cope with the fall-out from the pandemic. Covid lockdowns, quarantines and/or closures with all their financial, social consequences are, of course, super-stressful with an inevitable impact on our mental health.
Then there are the less obvious things that contribute to you feeling stressed for no reason.
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Types Of Stressors To Contribute To Your Feeling Stressed All The Time
Managing Stress In Daily Life
Stress is not an illness itself, but it can cause serious illness if it isn’t addressed. It’s important to recognise the symptoms of stress early. Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress will help you figure out ways of coping and save you from adopting unhealthy coping methods, such as drinking or smoking.
There is little you can do to prevent stress, but there are many things you can do to manage stress more effectively, such as learning how to relax, taking regular exercise and adopting good time-management techniques.
Studies have found that mindfulness courses, where participants are taught simple meditations across a series of weeks, can also help to reduce stress and improve mood.
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Staying Busy Is Your Antidepressant
Many people are either afraid or unwilling to address the true causes of their suffering and unhappiness.
This is partly because its not always clear. Depression, for instance, has many partial and interactive causes, from genetic vulnerabilities and inflammatory autoimmune responses to ruminative thinking styles and social stressors. So it can be understandably hard to completely understand all the causes and contributors to your suffering.
But for many of us, despite this complexity, there are at least some reasonably clear causes of unhappiness that we could work to improve:
- Nearly everyone with depression or anxiety would benefit from more regular exercise.
- Most people with low self-esteem and self-worth issues would benefit from working to improve their habits of negative self-talk.
- Almost anyone who struggles to regulate their emotions would benefit from better sleep habits.
- Nearly everyone with anger issues would benefit from a regular mindfulness practice.
The point is, there are usually plenty of reasonable ways to address the underlying causes of our suffering. The problem is, theyre hard:
So I get it. There are real challenges.
But its how we respond to these challenges that matter. For many people, the challenges of addressing core causes feels like too much. And so they resort to coping mechanisms and treating the symptoms:
When youre constantly busy, you but a tremendous toll on both your body and mind.
Are You Afraid To Be Happy
Why can happiness skyrocket your anxiety levels? It comes down to a fear of happiness.
Researchers use a fear of happiness scale to determine correlations between happiness levels and fear of something bad occurring. There were a few key findings.
Perfectionists can fear happiness because they may associate that time with unproductive activity. Many people, even absent anxiety, experience this type of association and tend to remember stressful or unfortunate experiences more clearly than good times. A common depression symptom involves sufferers socially withdrawing from activities that could bring happiness, but it reinforces the worry that that eventual joy could lead to a letdown.
Afraid to let yourself down? You may not know how to handle your anxiety when life circumstances change. In this mode of thinking, your brain races back and forth between the feelings of happiness and potential for growth, and the fear of change, worries of self-sabotage, and wanting to stay where you are. Talk about feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place!
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