How do you feel when you wake up?

Hi.  I've often wondered about how the mood or state we feel when we first open our eyes in the morning impacts the rest of the day.  I have oscillated between feeling anxious, blue, cog foggy, allergic, tired, alert... over the past year.  Some days I just plain feel like crap .  Most of this past week I've been waking up feeling pretty alert despite it being earlier than I'd like (5AM) whereas this morning I slept until 6AM but felt very cog foggy and in a bit of a daze despite remembering a vivid dream.  I  think remembering the dream is a positive sign despite the subsequent cog fog.  When I was in full blown taper, I used to have more insomnia, waking up at 2AM and not being able to sleep til 4AM, then of course I was very tired at 6:30 or 7AM when the alarm would go off.  I wonder how the rest of you are mostly feeling when you wake up?  And do you remember your dreams?

 

1) Anxious?

 

2) Alert?

 

3)Cog foggy?

 

4)Blue?

 

5)something else?

 

Thanks,

 

Vertigo

Hi Vertigo,

Mornings are generally the worst time for me.  I usually wake up feeling anxious and cog foggy.  As my taper goes on the drugged feeling is wearing off.  The morning anxiety is the worst.  I do remember my dreams.  I have slept pretty well throughout my taper except for the end of it.  Now insomnia is more of a problem.  I fall asleep for about 3 hours and then my sleep is broken for the rest of the night. This is an ever changing trip.  It used to be that I could count on evenings being better but now even that is a mixed bad as I get lower.

Well, my first thought is, "man, I'm tired." I get very broken sleep and usually wake around 5:00 and there's pretty much no going back to sleep after that. I am having very vivid dreams. I didn't realize I wasn't dreaming before until I started having the dreams now. I hear that is a good sign when your dreams come back. Heh, I'll take any sign no matter how small  

 

Jean

Mornings have always been best for me...and I remember every dream..I dream a ton !! 

Mornings are my worst time. I wake up stiff as a board with tension and my heart is beating fast. I feel out of it and panicky. I feel awful for several hours and finally start feeling a bit better by 6pm or so.

It keeps changing on me. For some period of time my mornings were really awful, waking with anxiety, sense of doom. Then for  a while I was ok in the morning waking up almost like normal.

 

Then the anxiety came back but the sense of doom is no longer there. Have been getting heart palps in the mornings now when I first get out of bed to go to the bathroom, they subside when I lie down again and when I get up for real they are gone.

 

I have been dreaming a lot and remembering most of my dreams pretty well. I wasn't dreaming too much for a while, but have been dreaming a lot for quite some time now.

 

I know it will keep changing as I go further down the scale.

I typically wake up exhausted, achy, cog-foggy and a bit dizzy (even while still laying down).  It's how I used to feel when I would take an OTC or prescription sleep remedy.  The only thing I take for sleep now is magnesium and melatonin, which helps some, but not much (it's still taking me literally hours to fall asleep and I wake often during the night).

 

I've come to hate mornings so much that the only anxiety I feel is the worry over opening my eyes in the morning.  It's typically within the first hour or so when my body tells me if the symptoms will get better or worse. 

Hey Vertigo,

 

I feel horrific most mornings. Anxious, unmotivated, in pain, overwhelmed.

 

I do remember my dreams pretty frequently. And in them, I am anxious, unmotivated and overwhelmed. I am almost never in pain, however. I don't think a person (at least I don't) feels pain in their dreams unless the pain is really severe. e.g. I've dreamed of being at the dentist when I've had severe toothaches.

 

Interesting topic. And I will tell you I can clearly and vividly recollect a time (even though it was nearly 30 years ago) that I felt the best I've ever felt in my life. I wasn't drinking, had quit smoking, wasn't taking any pills whatsoever and was exercising regularly. And one thing I noticed was that at that time I just marveled over the fact that I would go to bed feeling pretty good and wake up in the exact same mood. I just loved it. For me, waking up in a good mood is a barometer of overall health and well-being — both physical and psychological.

 

Peace out,

 

Albie

 

P.S. Thanks for the very interesting movie recommendations!!!

Waking up is the like torture starts. I  have vivid dreams and I long to continue dreaming and sleeping , but is not always possible since I start a cycle of anxiety plagued by thoughts and worries. Is not pleasant , I have to admit that most of these thoughts are pertinent to my particular personal situation , so I can't totally blame it on the benzos, but I think they have amplified them ... Mornings are very problematic , but I agree with one of the posters above that also how we feel will determine the progress of the day .

Tino

Hello V.

 

Mornings are the worse. I typically feel pretty good going to bed but I as soon as my eyes open I am in a state of anxiety.  My anxiety seems to subside a few hours after I wake, but once my eyes open there is no way to go back to sleep, so I just get up and try to make the best of it.

 

Dreams for me are non-existant. I don’t recall dreaming for sometime, but I see when they do return this will be sign of healing. Looking forward to dreaming again.

 

ibmom

 

Sometimes I feel good when I wake up, but start getting overstimulated when I walk outside and around. Sometimes I wake up with the doom/anxiety and severely out of whack mentally feeling too. It keeps rotating.

Hi Vertigo,

 

You are not alone when waking up feeling lousy in the morning.  Mornings are very tough for me too. I feel gloomy and overwhelmed. I have such vivid nightmares when I do fall asleep that the dream wakes me up. I have to be extremely careful about what I watch on television before going off to bed. Everything effects my sleep.  I often woke up having a full blown panic attack. My heart would beat so hard/fast that I felt sure I was going to have a heart attack. Mornings are starting to get better. When I first discontinued Xanax in July, I would not be able to do anything in the morning except get out of bed to move to the couch. I would stay on the couch until about 1pm... now I get out of the house by 9am to start work... a big improvement, but I still have a ways to go.

 

I wish you all the best!!

 

Angela

Hello Vertigo,

 

Well, I definitely feel pretty bad in the morning.  In fact, when I first get out of bed it is very difficult to walk due to the pain in my legs.  In bed, there is so much pain in my back that it makes it difficult to turn...but at least I am getting SOME sleep now.  I rarely dream, but when I do I have noticed it is almost always about having to get somewhere and either I can't figure out where I am supposed to go, or there are some obstacles to keep me from getting there.  So, they are not pleasant dreams.

 

I would say my best time of day starts in the late afternoon (in terms of my spirits).  But I always dread going to bed because I know how hard it is going to be.  It feels, to me, when I wake up...like I have been involved in a fight.

 

Yuck...sorry.  As I have written this, I know it is a real "downer" of a report.  But this is how it is for me right now.  Hopefully a better future is ahead.

 

You always start such interesting topics!

 

~Leena

 

You always start such interesting topics!

 

~Leena

 

Yes, he does Leena 

 

Jean

Well, looks like I fit right in with most everyone who posted.....I hate to go to bed at night because I know my morning are going to bring me pure misery.  I wake up about 3 times a night and then around 5 I am awake for the rest of the day.  I start shaking immediately after my eyes open and some days I just cry and cry.  Some morning (and sometimes in the middle of the night) I am awakened by an adrenaline surge that

goes right through my chest and stomach and my feet burn like crazy.  The surge and the burning stop, but then I am so upset that I was shocked awake, that I have to try to calm myself down.  Sometimes I can go back to sleep - sometimes not.  But the more I lay there, the more

upset and sad I get for this terrible predicament I am in.  I get up and go to the sofa and stay there most of the morning.  What an existence!

I too feel better towards evening - why is that?  I can barely motivate myself to do anything but go on the computer or try to read. 

I wish you all a speedy recovery whether you are tapering or healing.........who knew that this would be so horrible?

mornings are the aboslute worse for me, Im on my insomnia kick part of the w/d i think. Someone in the welcome thread told me to try and eat soem protein in the morning like some nuts. Ive tried it a couple times this weekend although it wasnt the morning it was the time I happend to get up. But it seemed to help so far.

Hey Dagaz. Yes, I have read in several books that morning protein is essential to start out the day and to start your metabolism going so you won't be as hungry at lunch time or during class before lunch.  I also read that almonds and walnuts are the nuts to eat if trying to lose some weight as opposed to the cashews and macadamia nuts which maybe are more fat/carbs...  I think everything in moderation is ok. I love macs but try to limit them .  I also think pumkin seeds are not bad, soy nuts are good too....

 

How much ativan did you c/t last week?  How are you doing?

 

Vertigo (no more)

3mg's for 2months, First four days were nightmarish...thought I was going to revert back to how my first experience was on this stuff. Then its been gradually improving everday And feel ok just suffering from insomnia a little.

 

Having done this before helps alot, Im able to push myself a lot harder even though I feel horrible because I know iam not dying or anything. and keeping up with my exercise routine has helped exponentialy as well as being able to talk to you all     It will be a real test for me this week as my school semester will be in full swing and my work load will increase, but Iam pretty confident i will be able to handle it. I havent been to school in like 7 yeras so its kinda tough, expecially the math! lol.  SO only time will tell and thank you for asking  

Wow Dagaz.  You must be one of the lucky ones.  That's a pretty sizeable amount to c/t and not have too many s/x.  You must be the fountain of youth!  Glad it's going better for you now.  Just don't be surprised if you have a setback here and there.  One thing you have going for you is you were not on it for years and you seem to be in good health and probably drink a lot of water which is helpful to detox too.

 

Best wishes,

 

Vertigo (no more)

UGHHHHH.................MORNINGS!!!!!!!!  Can't we eliminate this part of the day?!!!!!!!!!!!

 

MORNINGS    ME!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Love you Buddie,

 

SUNNY DAYS AHEAD  

 

Ha I wish sunny, I hate going to sleep and I hate waking up but what can you do   

 

I wish I was the fountain of youth V, then mabye I wouldnt have this darn receding hairline at the age of 24 haha . Good news is Ive been told I have a nicely shaped cranium so the shaved head looked is definitely an option for me   Yes, and I almost expecting set backs as to be ready for them, but its important I dont dwell and dread what may lie tommorow when I feel ok today!

I feel like someone took a huge dump on me.

Just peachy.

I hate mornings.

Oh.

Let's not go into nightmares.

Sometimes I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon

I feel like I just drank 100 beers but I know I didn't.  I just get to experience the hangover, but never had the fun the night before.  :'(

The cannon seems more and more accurate these days