5:00 A.M.

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Lately, I've been struggling with something I think everyone experiences from time to time in the small hours of the morning. You know, when you wake up any everything floods into you head at once, sometimes causing extreme anxiety.

I thought back to a blog post from years ago rhat summed it up adequately. I thought I would share part of it.

It's 5:00 a.m. and I am awakened by the sound of a sheet of aluminum foil that has blown from the open gas grill on the patio outside my window. Soon, a flood begins! A pincher movement of violent, churning invective breaks me free of my moorings and and hurls me into a murky sea of dread!

I fight the current with every ounce of emotional strength I can muster in my weakened, post-slumbering state. Chaos, panic, uncertainty paddle me further into boiling waters — but I wrench control from their iniquitous guidance. In the distance I see an island – lush with green vegetation covering the peaks – shrouded in mist, but more mystery.

Like an enraged artist, I finish the landscape before me with bold swipes against the canvas, creating an oasis – a small patch of sanity – from the seething blackness of an irrational narrative that seizes my mind. Once again, I have survived oblivion’s early morning assault on my psyche.

I think we can all relate to that.

Yep....this sort of thing happens to me sometimes.

^I think this is a pretty universal experience. I've often pondered why we experience so much anxiety in this early morning state. Maybe it's because our usual daily defense mechanisms are shutdown. Usually when I rise and go about my day, they are reactivated.
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I've woken up, many times, from dreams where I was in a state of futility---almost like being in a metaphorical prison.

Fortunately, I do "reality testing," and the anxiety from the dream dissipates pretty rapidly.