Quick question

[TBE_1989]

I don't know what's wrong with me lately. Every morning I wake up, I feel like crying. For the past two weeks, I've been waking up really really depressed. I stay like this until about mid-afternoon, then start to feel a little bit better. By nighttime, 9pm or so, I'm really relaxed and happy!

 

This is a continual pattern that's been happening for the past few weeks, and I don't know why.

 

Maybe I'm just stressed, I've a lot of work to get done in a short space of time, and I had recent contact with the ex and now there's no contact and I feel weird, etc - I do have some things on my mind...but what's with the serious depression in the mornings and the happiness in the evenings?! I don't understand, I'm more intrigued than worried about it...if anyone has any ideas?

[Supa_gurl]

I haven't a clue to tell you the truth...Maybe with all the stress in your life right now it just takes those natural endorphins a little while to kick in?

[alli]

Depression can vary with times of the day. I get it worse in the evening but it's actually much more common to feel depressed in the morning & feel better in the evening. It's called diurnal variation. Who knows why...

[.piper.]

TBE,

 

I have the exact same problem, so much so that I could have written your post word for word.

 

I am currently on an anti-anxiety drug and going to therapy sessions. It all started about a month ago for no particular reason. A lot of things were going on in my life the past 2 years and I think it all just caught up with me.

 

I definitely feel worse in the morning but everyday I wake up and feel a little less anxious. Of course some days are worse than others.

 

You definitely have some anxiety or even some depression. It may pass and you might not require any medication it wouldnt hurt to go talk to someone about it.

[NowandZen]

TBE:

 

What I am hearing is that you do not feel on solid ground ATM. Is this true? Different people have different levels of comfort, and how much change they can deal with at once.

 

Try doing something that you feel completely comfortable with, that is not affected by the current changes in your life. See if that helps you to deal with life better afterwards.

[TBE_1989]

TBE:

 

What I am hearing is that you do not feel on solid ground ATM. Is this true? Different people have different levels of comfort, and how much change they can deal with at once.

 

Try doing something that you feel completely comfortable with, that is not affected by the current changes in your life. See if that helps you to deal with life better afterwards.

 

Totally true.

 

So much in my life has changed. I've lost friends, gained friends, started college and left a whole world behind while at the same time entering a new world, lost my ex, had to quit some of my hobbies...the last year has really been a rollercoaster and I guess with the additional stress of assignments recently and my ex contacting me it's all been a bit much.

 

I'm also being driven crazy by my parents. Nothing major, typical teen stuff, but it's annoying. So it's like small but significant anxieties are coming at me from every area of life. I'll try switch off from them, but it's hard.

[karvala]

I don't know what's wrong with me lately. Every morning I wake up, I feel like crying. For the past two weeks, I've been waking up really really depressed. I stay like this until about mid-afternoon, then start to feel a little bit better. By nighttime, 9pm or so, I'm really relaxed and happy!

 

This is a continual pattern that's been happening for the past few weeks, and I don't know why.

 

Maybe I'm just stressed, I've a lot of work to get done in a short space of time, and I had recent contact with the ex and now there's no contact and I feel weird, etc - I do have some things on my mind...but what's with the serious depression in the mornings and the happiness in the evenings?! I don't understand, I'm more intrigued than worried about it...if anyone has any ideas?

 

I was having a research discussion with some colleagues on this topic recently it happens, and we may do some more experiments in this area soon. It's a perfectly normal and widespread phenomenon, and essentially there are (at least) three potential explanations.

 

One is synaptic potentiation during wake, which makes you feel better (because all things being equal, more neural activity for an individual who is initially below average for whatever reason seems to make people feel better; this is one mechanism for anti-depressants), followed by synaptic downscaling during sleep, which results in you feeling depressed when you get up.

 

The second is a daily cycle in serotonin levels (a neurotransmitter implicated in many instances of depression), which is at it's lowest early in the morning (5am or so on average) and it's highest around 9pm on average, although that tends to dip during the late afternoon as well, so it doesn't fit your subjective description quite as well.

 

The third is the fact that REM sleep (think dreams) is associated with more negative thoughts and feelings (and is a state of high emotional arousal physiologically) than you generally have during the daytime (and especially so if you're pondering troublesome things such as a recent ex), which has a depressive effect on the hormones related to mood by the time you wake up and return to consciousness.

 

There are doubtless more possible reasons as well, but regardless, it's very common and perfectly normal, so nothing is wrong with you.

[nurse1986]

What kind of things do you do during the day? It could be that you are feeling bad during the day because you know that it is day out and you are at home while everyone else is out? Maybe there is more stuff during the day that you would like to engage in, but hold yourself back?

 

Than, at night, you are more relaxed and happy, because it is normally around the time people are winding down and getting ready for bed and you don't feel so bad about being in the house? That's just my thought. I've gone thru this before.

[paranoiac543]

I was gonna say maybe this is happening because you had a really sad dream before you woke up (but can't remember it)..but i like everyone elses answers more..lol