Sometimes I feel like I wake up and I have anxiety but it’s not even about my obsessive thinking, it’s like my body is waiting for me to start having my regular obsessive thoughts and it’s making my body stressed. I feel like I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it almost feels like this dwelling anxiety makes my body try and find something to overthink about. It’s very stressful does anybody have any advice or can relate?

FinFin

Date posted: 4y

My anxiety peaks early in the morning too. I found it best just to get out of bed, and start your day. Get into a routine of making your breakfest, maybe go for a walk, listen to a podcast. Just try and get yourself going. I can't lay in bed anymore awake.

pamela97

Date posted: 4y

that is how an anxiety disorder works! your brain kind of becomes addicted to the chemicals and processes involved in creating anxiety. when you're constantly feeling this way, your brain eventually begins to anticipate it for you. so then you get a bodily feeling of anxiety because your brain is getting prepared to send off those signals, as that's your "new normal," and often feeling this anxiety feeling and not knowing why can lead us to become more anxious and try to find a reason! thus creating a vicious cycle. we have to recognize that our body is only creating this anxiety because we continue to feed into the cycle. when we instead sit with the feeling and realize there is actually nothing to be anxious about at the moment, the anxiety slowly starts to lessen.

pamela97

Date posted: 4y

@anonymous, learning how to sit with the anxiety (yes, including long term all day anxiety) without doing a compulsion to counteract it, is part of the treatment for OCD. this is what you're going to be advised to do in therapy. of course, getting through this part is difficult because certain things that are recommended for general anxiety, like challenging your thoughts, are not recommended for OCD. the basis of your response should be along the lines of acceptance. "maybe my thought is true, or maybe it's not." it may take a long time before you're able to sit with the anxiety with ease. (i'm still not completely there) but we take it one step at a time, no matter how small. my tips for coping with anxiety include progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, and grounding techniques. keep in mind we are trying not to respond directly to our thoughts, but only to the anxiety that the thoughts are causing. if you feel your anxiety is so severe that you're unable to function, then you probably need medication to help. at least temporarily, so you can successfully go through with treatment, but many people find they need medication for their entire lives.

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond