Does anyone else have a sense of dread every morning, even on "good" days?

[dreadsday]

Every morning whenever I have something planned, I wake up with a sense of dread. Even when it's a good day I have been looking forward to, in fact I would say when it's a good day is when I wake up with the sense of dread the most.

Today it's a beautiful sunny Sunday and I have a nice day planned including a family meal out. Yet this morning I woke up with a sense of dread and a feeling of just wanting to stay at home. I've had this since childhood, I remember when it was my friends' birthday parties I would always tell my Mum I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay at home and I remember the sense of dread. I am always fine once I'm actually up and about doing things.

Does anyone else experience this? I think it's related to anxiety.

I don't get it all the time but often - and like you I stop and think "why?!". I think it's anxiety, yes. I also connect it back to childhood and hating school (being bullied etc) and so still somewhere associate alarms and getting up as "oh no here we go". Have it on Sunday evenings too, even though I adore my job and colleagues!!

It sounds like social anxiety.

I get it too at times.

I suffer with depression and in later years, anxiety too. It can be a symptom of either. I believe it's also related to cortisol levels which are at their peak when we wake up. I have found that forcing myself to get up and do something, however small, is helpful.