Waking feeling anxious and worried, groundhog day

I think "morning people" are a curse on those of us who are owls and want a slow start to the day and dont' really get going unitl afternoon. They always act like getting up at the crack of sparrow fart is something holy and get offended when growled at with a stream of obscenties.

Thanks , that's a good point, I have got a lot going on in my head at the moment, maybe that's not helping and I could be headed for a burnout, I'll keep an eye on things...

It's definitely weird sometimes, before diagnosis I thought I was either one or the other and hasn't considered being both, so couldn't work out why I had these traits that didn't quite fit, like craving change but then getting anxious of it, making routines that I planned meticulously but staying from them after a few days.

I get the groundhog day feeling when I am not feeling rested enough in general. It's like a split second then "here we go again". This is usually a warning sign I'm doing too much or there's too much over stimulation in my days. I've learned that in my world, it's a warning sign of impending burnout.

Autisician said:

Anyone else the same and have any ways to make it easier?

Hi there 

I feel like your describing me apart from actually getting up (I find it very difficult mind but I’m responsible for making tea, getting kids up and doing the school drop before work).

Im not diagnosed but believe I’m ADHD and Autistic. I am at my lowest in the morning and this improves throughout the day, I can suffer panic attacks which tend to be worse in the morning also. 
Not sure if this is an ADHD thing but I struggle to read as in books as I very often lose where I am or can end up reading the same paragraph over and over which frustrates me. I now use audible books and love it. 
Yes I find the two contradict each other which can be confusing. 
It’s also strange that I hate the sameness of every weekday but also love the predictability of it this is also confusing. 

Some of the traits overlap , others are different, but there does seem to be some that are specific to having both, which is odd, a bit like "1+1=3" .

I think it might actually be a benefit as they offset eachother at times, , for example sometimes I'm really sociable other times not even slightly, sometimes laser focussed and unmovable, others distracted and a bit hyper. just a shame I can't chose which is when! Lol

lol being both ADHD and autistic must feel weird, I don't have ADHD but I think it's sometimes so in contrast of autism. 

Does feel like every thing I find that helps eventually becomes a problem itself too! 

I find coffee moves me up my scale away from the distraction and scattered thoughts of ADHD, but too much and it makes me hyper focus on negative thoughts and worries.

Can't seem to win!

I've found caffeine definitely helps, especially in the morning. The sofa tried to wake me most days, but even when he does I still resist getting up, I know the kids or wife will let him out so don't "have to".

one thing that led me to getting diagnosis was caffeine. I'd given it up for a couple of months and felt dreadful, autism symptoms and ADHD symptoms seemed far harder to control. Later the same year I tried to break my habit of drinking beer every Friday night (and most Saturdays) it'd become the way I spent the week,  holding back my stresses waiting to drink and escape ( I used to drink a lot more often, until years ago I made a rule of not on week days as it is as affecting my work) that sent me into a spin and eventually the resulting burnout led me to make a call for help, after many decades of masking and struggling it has become a too much. 

I'm certain the two substances have supported me and been a crutch for a long time. Alcohol especially when social occasions come along, but inevitably after a lot of drinks I regret it, then have worse anxiety for a few days after.

Weirdly , coffee helps me get to sleep at night, I find it calming.

I used to drink lots of coffee for productivity and feeling livelier but I noticed it was increasing my anxiety and I would get faster heartbeats and a sense of a hot chest. I miss the taste though. :  (

I get bounced out of bed by my dog, so stagger out of bed, let her out and get coffee, lots of coffee, my brain dosen't even begin to function with at least 1 big pot. I gradually plan my day around the the things I have to do, I try and do those first whilst I'm still partly on auto-pilot and then the things I enjoy doing when I fully awake.

Sounds like it's not just me then! I think we're also very logical people so trying something we know might not work seems counterintuitive, usually meaning I'll have decided it won't work so won't try it!

I've also got ADHD ( at diagnosis for ASD I was told I needed "officially" diagnosing , as they were commissioned to do ASD only,  but said "I was") this means I often get some confusing symptoms as a result of the 2 working "with or against" eachother.

I think my ADHD got worse as I got older and I struggle to read without being up and off doing something else when something I read triggers a thought, or I bore easily. Otherwise it might help me to sleep, TV and phone do tend to keep me awake a bit. 

For me the problem  getting up is the one that makes the family struggle with me, as I'm always the one still in bed when they're up wanting to start the day, especially on holidays. 

I can go to bed at night really wanting to get up early, but overnight I get "reset" and it all goes round again the next day.

I am the same and I think it's autistic inertia and my general lack of enthusiasm for life. I also keep distracting myself at night and if I don't do this I end up falling sleep even later than usual. 

There are the usual sleep schedule strategies but I've never tried them because unhealthy sleep is more fitting for my awful lifestyle, so there was never really any force on me to change. Like I could try replacing watching videos with reading, that might help me fall sleep faster. Or I could leave my phone somewhere far from my bed at night. And for the mornings, I could force myself to take a responsibility like making tea for everyone, then I might feel I need to get up, or sign for an exercise class or something I guess. Again though, I've been too unmotivated to do any of these so maybe you try them out and tell me what happens lol.