Morning nervousness

[OneWayOut]

Hey guys,

I suffer from morning anxiety/nervousness. It's really hard for me to meditate in the morning and most of the time I just avoid it (even though I would want to) I go on my computer or listen to music to just run away from that feeling (which makes everything 10times worse of course)

By the time it's afternoon I start to feel tired and sometimes even get a headache. I can't focus and talking to other people is really hard at that moment. (Actually I just start to feel numb then)

I'm starting school in 2 weeks so I can't go on a residentual meditation retreat and honestly I feel something I'll have to beat in the long term.

Also next week I'm moving to my student dorm so I also decided not to take any computer, Ipod or other device with me.

Also I'm planning on going to a sangha 2 times a week, take mindfulness classes once a week and take yoga classes also.

Do you guys have any advice for me?

[Ben]

If the anxiety is impacting on your quality of life then I recommend that you speak to a trained medical professional or therapist as your first port of call to get appropriate assessment and treatment.
If your anxiety is more manageable then I suggest that you just make a strong determination to meditate every day. Setting aside a set period of time at a particular time of day will be beneficial. Perhaps even journalizing your efforts be also be helpful. If you find yourself mentally ruminating about going to meditate or trying to think up excuses not to meditate then treat it as a signal to just do it.
kind regards,

Ben

[Alobha]

Hey OneWayOut

What exactly are you afraid of?

Best wishes,
Alobha

[OneWayOut]

Hey OneWayOut

What exactly are you afraid of?

Best wishes,
Alobha

I really don't know. I try to find something specific but I think my mind isn't "clear" enough to find it yet.

I didn't have an awesome childhood which would be the root of my problem. Till age 6 everything was normal but than we moved to a new place where we were the only foreigners and that probably didn't do any good since I started too feel really anxious around people and be alone most of the time.

Latest 1.5years I travelled and moved a lot, been in this "temporary" place since a few months (feeling lonely most of the time) and I'm going to a student room in 2 weeks. On the good side I learned so much the latest year, I'm finely able to let some of my thought go and from time to time even if I feel anxious about something specific I can let that feeling be there and just do it but I have a long way to go also.

Back to my question It's like I just wake up and immediatly start to feel nervous. Look for the first thing to distract me. Meditation helps to give me that moment where I can think like a bit more clearer and the nervousness is gone but it's so hard for me to do so in the morning.

Thinking about it loneliness is a big problem right now and probably is making me feel most uncomfortable of all.

(I'm still a beginner with the meditation been meditating inconsistently for 4 months now)

[ohnofabrications]

Hi,

Try this: locate the emotional feelings in your body and attend solely to them as a dynamic object of meditation. This will effectively calm the mental side of things. Once the emotional state seems to simply be a bodily state which you are focusing on, widen out you focus to include the rest of the body... Things like air on the skin etc.

Also as general advice always have metta towards your negative emotions.

[DAWN]

Wach your breath when you will try to meditate at mornong next time

[Hanzze]

Also next week I'm moving to my student dorm so I also decided not to take any computer, Ipod or other device with me.

Also I'm planning on going to a sangha 2 times a week, take mindfulness classes once a week and take yoga classes also.

You made great decitions, I guess they are planty enought and you really do not need any in addition. Great, be patient and concentrate to fall not appart of your plans.

much mudita

[marc108]

What you're describing sounds like hypoglycemia to me. Go see a doctor and get your blood sugar checked out.

In the intern have a handful of nuts before you go to bed and have some complex carbs immediately after you wake up, like a piece of whole grain toast.

[santa100]

How about doing an early morning jog? Just make sure to get some high carb fuel before you do like a bagel with peanut butter or bowl of cereal and milk. Do it for an hour and you'll feel much better. It also prepares you both physically and mentally for any subsequent meditation sessions. At least it works for me..

[rowyourboat]

I think all of the above are great suggestions. I assume you follow the precepts and don't drink alcohol. .

The only other thing I could add is that being mindful of the mind has helped me with anxiety - I am able to see what I am anxious about and link it with the more rational part of my mind which tells me there is nothing really to worry about. I use methods from the vitakkasantana sutta to deal with it thereafter if it persists even after the initial rationalisation.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

You might want to read up on different types of conditions like, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, depression etc to see if any of it rings a bell. We must get as much support as we can without being dogmatic about going down only one particular type of 'treatment'.

Persist, you are fortunate to start working on these issues so early. Above all, maintain compassion towards yourself. You need a friendly internal environment to do this work.

With metta

Matheesha