Anxiety When Waking Up

@OCDVIC I hope you’re doing okay. We’re all gonna fight are problems and be okay! ❤️

@Anonymous Thank you so much! Anxiety is the worst feeling in the world in my world at least!

@Ben84 Thank you! I appreciate that. I drink caffeine and I really drink a lot of alcohol. I need help with quitting or cutting way back. I’m also interested in maybe some anxiety medication. I’m tired of feeling so terrible.

@Ben84 What are some good alternatives?

@Perfect Imperfectionist I'm down to decaf now if I want coffee. You can mix regular coffee with decaf and gradually reduce the amount of caffeine to avoid withdrawal. Also, there's mushroom coffee which has caffeine, but might make you less jittery. You could also try tea and gradually shift to herbal. There's some other caffeinated drinks that might have less caffeine than coffee that you could look into. I've never been much of a drinker so it's not hard to pass on for me. Perhaps find other drinks you might enjoy that avoid lots of sugar. I've enjoyed the Poppi brand so far.

@Ben84 Thank you so much! That is a lot of time you spent sending me that! Much appreciated for sure. I need to do something to get a grip on my mental health. I’m so tired of suffering for what feels like my entire life. I have anxiety now after eating and doing some house work.

@anonymusss I feel like mine has to do with OCD and drinking and being hungover in the mornings. When I don’t drink I tend to feel better. Sadly I am an alcoholic and enjoy drinking.

Im the same way with meds but I've started taking them and i think im starting to feel the good results and yes eating is a big one for me.

@OCDVIC So you understand where I’m coming from if even a little! Thank you for your kind words! I hope you have peace with your issues as well!

For me it's been a gradual process in regard to eating. There's not a lot of fruits and vegetables I like, but I've worked on eating more of the ones I do. I've also gradually reduced the amount of sugar and sodium I consume. If you had told me I would ever eat sunflower seeds without salt, I wouldn't have believed it. Now there are sugary and salty things that I actually don't feel good eating because it seems to have too much

Something like ERP can be difficult, if not dangerous, to do on your own. Perhaps check out ACT therapy. Books by Steven Hayes (the founder) might be beneficial. Some of the first episodes of the OCD Stories podcast (sponsored by NOCD) has him on as a guest. It might at least give you some tools to cope.

@Ben84 Maybe someday I’ll be able to get the help I really need!