Published on 12, July, 2020
I get dysregulated every single morning as soon as I wake.
The first 2hrs of the day I have to be really careful or the tiniest thing throws me into meltdown because I start dysregulated.
Factors I know are involved:
Sleeping badly (nightmares, sweats, a lot of snoring and coughing, waking at least 3x a night) -recently started melatonin
Waking up in pain (back, neck, shoulders, legs, feet, hands) due to 'chronic pain' with no identifed cause
Waking up needing but being unable to poo cos I've eaten poorly again
External sounds (eg being woken by neighbors slamming doors or their kids playing ball outside before 8am)
General life stresses that I don't know what to do to resolve/improve
Having been social the day before
I have moved into the back bedroom to reduce neighborhood sounds and I've realized I'm also better in a more confined space, the new bedroom is smaller. This has also helped me start going to bed before between 11 and midnight as opposed to 2am. I guess I didn't like my old room!
I'm trialling going downstairs making tea and going back to bed in the morning but I'm so not with it just dropping the teaspoon is enough to fly into meltdown.
2hrs later it feels like a switch is flicked in my head and I'm suddenly "reasonable" again.
Does anyone else experience dysregulation instantly on waking? Have you found solutions or things that help? Can we get into cycles and get stuck in then because it's a routine and we know how how brains like routine?
Distract me folks. What do you all think?
(Written 1hr into the dysregulation zone please be kind)
I can relate to this, more recently specifically it's like I wake up and walk into a room that's been hit by an earthquake and there's a chaos of things all over the floor. Except the room is my head and the things all over the floor are my disregulated thoughts and emotions.
I can only say what has worked for me recently, but I've created a fixed routine in the morning. Wake up, out of bed as soon as possible (gets harder in the colder months), go to the bathroom, make tea, head back to bed and do a quick 5-10min meditation. I usually do this with nature sounds playing through headphones (I.e. Rain sounds, bird songs, general calming things), and gentle lighting (candles that I like the smell of). Then I have a face wash, cold water on the face has a 'reset' effect that helps. Then I write in my journal, juet listing down the feelings I'm having in the moment, maybe some prominent thoughts. I find it helps regulate them, just to notice and jot the feelings down without trying to manipulate them.
I don't know if any of that may help you or may be worth giving a go. Different things work for different people, but the morning times are so difficult and I've found having some sort of slow build up routine has helped.
I will try and implement your ideas when I'm not stuck on absolute self hatred. What you're saying makes sense but I am on such a hair trigger I can start melting down the moment I swing my legs out of bed. Today's trigger was being so desperate for a pee I walked into the door and hurt myself. Cue "you're a stupid little #### can't you do anything right?" And leading to a full hour of self injury and sobbing telling a photo of my mother how "I'm sorry I didn't mean to do it" like I did when my parents beat me. and wishing I'd not survived the complications at birth.
Cptsd+ autism combo I think is responsible.