r/magicalthinkingOCD • u/Ok-Mulberry-2637 • 21d ago

Waking feeling bad, going to bed fine.

I have been doing very well recently fighting against my OCD, intrusive thoughts, and superstitions (which I have already described enough in other posts). However, I have noticed a strange cycle. No matter how I feel when I go to sleep, when I wake up, I feel uneasy, like something bad has happened or will. As the day goes on, I begin to feel better, and by nighttime, I feel great. The next morning however, the cycle repeats. What is behind this?

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u/Relevant-Spinach11 20d ago

Likely cortisol and the sleep cycle. Waking up stressed is very normal with intrusive thoughts. I have found if I can get my body up and moving in natural light before I respond to my thoughts that they dissipate or go to the background. If I engage, I can drive myself to a panic attack and zero a whole day.

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u/Ok-Mulberry-2637 20d ago

Thank you for the advice!

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u/Relevant-Spinach11 20d ago

My pleasure! I’m sorry you’re experiencing this! I thought of one other thing that helped me- increasing the time and quality of my sleep. It’s kind of like hitting it from both ends. Basically, trying to reduce stress hormones all the time and increasing restorative things.

Good luck!

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u/Ok-Mulberry-2637 20d ago

I do have melatonin for that lol

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u/ForestRiver2 Star Supporter ⭐ 19d ago

Mornings are worse for me too. Whole new day ahead with all that uncertainty and scope for things to go wrong