09/15/2025

Navigating the Storm at Dawn

Here's how to ease anxious waking

This is the second of two posts on the underreported challenge of waking into anxiety. In Part 1: Waking Up to Tension, I described the phenomenon itself—the way the first flicker of consciousness can feel less like a sunrise and more like an ambush, with the “grid of reality” snapping in alongside dread, vigilance, and self-blame.

Now we turn to the practical side: how to prepare for this morning storm and how to respond when it hits. We can’t stop the weather system from forming, but with mindful strategies—both at bedtime and in the first minutes after waking—we can reduce its impact, soften its edges and create a little more freedom in how the day begins.

These tactics divide naturally into night-before preparations and morning-of maneuvers—both aimed at creating a little more room, and a little more choice, when the storm rolls in.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Psychology Today.