[hamster-bamster]

Whether it is from drug sedation or from unwillingness to face the day, I have a hard time getting up in the morning and taking a shower. When I do take a shower, I usually put my hair up in a pony tail and direct the flow of water away from it - washing my hair is even harder than taking a shower. I stay in bed for 1-2 hours upon awakening. Are there any strategies to face the day in a better way? I cannot help doing what I am doing but I start hating myself for it, and that is not good.

This may seem like a simple strategy, but it works for me: I keep my alarm clock in a different room. This way, when it goes off in the morning, I have no choice but to get up and walk to the other room to turn it off. This always works for me.

[tam16]

I am having some of the same issues. Mornings are really hard for me, but I have to be at work on time and looking professional. I started taking showers at night and that seems to help. Besides, I find that my hair looks better the next day! Also, I get up, take my meds and a couple of sips of a pre-made protein shake (Bolthouse Farms Chocolate Protein Drink). That gives me a little more energy to get myself going and get out of the house. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

[hamster-bamster]

Thank you Melissa. I did not explain myself properly. I may wake up naturally but I would still linger in bed. Not sleeping but in bed, and hating myself. I guess part of the problem, now that I am trying to solve it, is that I have choices in the morning and having choices brings on thoughts and that is overwhelming to me. I will write down tonight what I will do tomorrow morning, from brushing my teeth to the first thing to be done on the computer, and stick to it. Maybe that will help.

[Yoda]

Hello hamster-bamster (cute name )

I have the same problem. It seems that no matter whether I have had five or ten hours sleep I have difficulty forcing myself to get out of my comfy bed. A few days ago my son actually came into my bedroom to check my pulse because he hadn't seen me awake for awhile.

For me I think sometimes it is avoidant; I don't want to do something so I sleep instead. But sometimes even good stuff like going out to lunch with my mom isn't sufficient motivation. On Christmas day my son and I were invited to lunch with my ex-H's family and I got up and told my son to call his dad to pick him up but then I had a cup of coffee and decided to go.

So for me coffee is what helps most. When my son was in high school sometimes he would miss the morning bus and he would bring me a cup of coffee when he awakened me to ask me to drive him there. I thought he was just being polite but he once said that he didn't want to be in a car with me driving unless I had some coffee in me. Smart kid.

Something else that helps me is if I shower the night before and have clothes ready to put on. Like you I hate wet hair so sometimes I wash my body at the sink with a washcloth and then use a dry shampoo on my hair. Suave makes a dry shampoo that is inexpensive or in a pinch you can sprinkle baby powder on your hair and brush it through for a quick fix.

Last week when I saw my Pdoc I told him I was having difficulty making myself get out of bed on the few days when I needed to. He suggested I take melatonin before I go to bed. I don't think he understands that I don't usually have difficulty falling asleep (as long as I have my meds) but the problem is getting up. Like you I may lay in bed for several hours rather than get up and face the day.

My Pdoc did suggest that I schedule appointments with him the last available time available. I am more able to make it to a 5pm appt than a 2pm appt.

I am going to start getting the coffee pot ready before I go to sleep and try to force myself out of bed to turn it on. Or keep a can of iced coffee in my bedroom to drink when I awaken.

If you find something that works please share it because this is a big problem for me too.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by tam16

protein shake (Bolthouse Farms Chocolate Protein Drink). That gives me a little more energy to get myself going and get out of the house. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

Thank you Tam... It just dawned on me - I have no protein in the morning (I usually just have tea) and that may easily be the culprit.

[BlackPup]

I have a shower in the night and have my clothes next to my bed for the next day. Once I'm dressed it's easier to get going and get out of the house. I might get changed again if im going out but just to get up and do stuff I have some track pants and a top and underwear all ready to go.

[heytheresunshine]

When I don't feel like getting out of bed, I turn on Pandora on my laptop and turn on the lights. I also saved a voicemail of my friend singing Good Morning Sunshine. It makes me feel happy and is the second best thing to having a real person there in the morning.

[BuggsBunny]

When I can't get myself up, what works for me is having someone come into my room and wake me up. Since I homeschool, it's usually my niece who is ready to start learning before I am ready to get out of bed. She gives me the impetus to get out of bed and dressed in order to start our day of school early so we aren't still in class at 4 in the afternoon. I, too, keep my clothes set out for the next day.

[hamster-bamster]

Thank you, everyone! I tried all the suggestions. Here is how my morning has gone so far:

- took a bath the night before

- took one Melatonin instead of my regular two pills

- alarm in the kitchen, 8:30, 9 hrs 44 mins from when I went to sleep. If I were not on this board, I would be embarrassed to admit to sleeping that much, but my doctor believes the optimum for me is 9 hours. I often sleep more, and yesterday slept 11.

- woke up at around 7:30 and decided to wait for the alarm to ring. Was half asleep. Slowly was waking up until I realized that it is silly to wait for the alarm. Got up at 8:06, having slept a decent 9.5 hours.

- opened the windows and even spread the comforter over my bed, which made me feel better

- started boiling water for tea (coffee has too much caffeine in it for me, plus I like the taste of black tea better)

- took meat cooked in soup the day before, cut it up and ate

- put on clothes prepared the night before

- puffed the steroid nasal spray I need to prevent sinusitis

- had my tea and the alarm rang, now that I had already done so much

- brushed my teeth

- checked email

- avoided doing the first item on my list, which was transferring money from savings to checking because I avoid facing my financial reality

- instead, deciding to report to this group

some thoughts:

1) Obviously, I will not normally have anything as high protein as a sheer piece of cooked beef every day. I need to find a reliable replacement. I will try the protein shake in chocolate or go back to making fruit smoothies myself.

2) I do not know whether the idea of trying the suggestions from this thread and reporting back to it were the main energizing factor, but I certainly feel like a different self now. It is not even 9 and I am typing something, after all.

[BuggsBunny]

Great job this morning. Every day you can do it makes you one day closer to it being a habit!

[tam16]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

Thank you Tam... It just dawned on me - I have no protein in the morning (I usually just have tea) and that may easily be the culprit.

Glad I could help a little. Sounds like you are doing great. Even small steps are still steps forward.

[BlackPup]

Well done for a productive morning.... If it wasn't for work I'd still be asleep. Utthen again I didn't go to bed until 2 am....

[mikkeylee]

none of this helps

[hamster-bamster]

So far I am doing well, even without the alarm (natural awakening). It seems that one thing that really helps is opening the windows right away. My apartment has windows facing in opposite directions and I open both to create a draft. The coolness sort of shakes me into the "awake" state. But mikkeylee, I am sorry that none of this helps. Even with caffeine?

[CastlesInTheAir]

Funny I'm trying to do the same cause I've had issues making it to work on time. Which isn't good. So i now have two alarm clocks to try for tomorrow and I'm gonna try the music thing. And instead of smoking a cig first I think I'm gonna hop right in the shower or do a workout then shower. Hmmmm....I hate mornings

-Trish
"Don't curse the rain, without it things don't grow. Instead find the beauty in it."

[BlackPup]

I have 4 alarms in the morning: 1 to wake up, 2 to get up and have breakfast, 3 to get dressed and 4 to leave.

[cocoabeans]

I think about how not getting up will lead to my not going to work or being late and how tiring that would be dealing with my boss and how I might lose my job, stress out my partner, become unable to pay my rent, I barely am able to feed myself, then I'd find myself on the street without a comfortable alone space to come back to and then I'd have to kill myself because I have no options that kind of motivational thinking usually does it. If only...

[hamster-bamster]

I am doing better and I have added flossing which I had not been doing for years. Just for the past couple of days and hoping to make it a habit. But once I realized how many activities are involved in one morning (heat off, windows open, anti-sinusitis spray, clothing on, water on etc etc windows shut, bed made, etc. and that even without exercise and with an optional shower), it dawned on me that it is objectively difficult, especially with problems with motivation. Lucky people who go through these activities on auto-pilot!!

[argv]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

Whether it is from drug sedation or from unwillingness to face the day, I have a hard time getting up in the morning and taking a shower. When I do take a shower, I usually put my hair up in a pony tail and direct the flow of water away from it - washing my hair is even harder than taking a shower. I stay in bed for 1-2 hours upon awakening. Are there any strategies to face the day in a better way? I cannot help doing what I am doing but I start hating myself for it, and that is not good.

I have the same problem. My snooze button takes quite a beating. I dunno.. I just force myself to get up, knowing that once I'm vertical I'll make it. I always liked it if someone could bring me coffee in the morning, but that doesn't always happen. haha

[BuggsBunny]

This may sound like a silly thing, but I have a trick I can use when I'm buried in bed and just don't want to move a single muscle, much less get up. First, I ban all thoughts of what I have to do after I get up, and just focus on getting my body in motion. I figure I can handle moving one finger, so I do, then my hand, then my arm, and so on, until my whole body is stretching in bed. Kind of a reverse muscle relaxation. It may sound silly, but it gets me up and in motion, and you know the physics law: a body in motion tends to stay in motion.