Mental health/mood - do you feel better or worse as the day goes on?

[brokenarmabroad]

I'm feeling pretty low right now and have been for quite a while. Nothing awful and there is lots to be thankful for (good marriage and financially OK) but all three teen/tween DC are struggling significantly in different ways, work is stressful, we've lost three out of our combined four parents in recent years. All compounded by the general gloom of climate change, failing NHS etc etc. Basically your typical midlife grind.

I wake up every morning feeling pretty awful to be honest, going over everything, ruminating on past choices and regrets, and worrying about the future. If I wake in the night it's even worse. But I find as the day goes on my perspective changes and I feel more accepting of the stuff I can't change, more able to appreciate the small things in life and the small wins, and more positive in general.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else experiences this. I sometimes wonder which is the 'real' me and whether my nighttime mood is actually the 'real' objective me and that during the day I'm just deluding myself!

I also suffer from this.
I don’t sleep well and often wake up very early morning when it’s still dark. That alone lowers my mood, I think because it is dark.
I much improve once it lightens up, and by lunch time at work it’s almost a bit like a dream that I was as down as I was at 5am.

Im off most school holidays, and that I do find hard. Without the sense of routine at work I find I start the day down and stay quite down because I am not occupied in the way I usually am.

That said I am divorced, single mum, hideous ex, but lonely and pretty stressed all the time, I also have dreadful health anxiety which really tears it’s head in the dark

I much improve once it lightens up, and by lunch time at work it’s almost a bit like a dream that I was as down as I was at 5am.

That's exactly how I feel, mybloodycat. You're right that the dark mornings make it worse - when I was younger I used to love winter but I think as I get older the cold and lack of daylight affects me.

And sorry to hear things are tough for you too. One of the DC has health anxiety and I know how debilitating it can be.