This might look stupid and completely insignificant compared to other people posting here, but this community looks the most appropriate to ask, so here is the situation : sometimes when I wake up (and only then), i have huge, existential fear (panic) that I will die. It lasts for a dozen of seconds, it’s the only thing i can think about. The fear is profound, and infinitely large, there is nothing i can do to stop it myself.
Then, all becomes normal. The fear disappears and i am back to being a functioning individual.
The fact that it happens regularly, with a strict pattern (only at wakeup), tells me it is some chemical sude effect of sleeping (?)
Just for the record, i am aware this is nothing to worry about, i am not trying to get attention lol. i just wanted to know if anyone experiences the same
you might need to work on making peace with your mortality. it’s a bummer and a reallllll tough one
Another thing to consider is the idea of setting events in your life. We all generally understand the cause and effect relationship of triggers (though sometimes they can be tricky to identify). A setting event, or distant antecedent/trigger, is similar in that there is a cause and effect relationship but it is not always obvious to see the relationship because they can be spread out. As an example: you are in a long term relationship and get dumped. This is now a setting event. For the next few weeks (or maybe longer) your behavior is modified as a result. It is not a direct “trigger” in the traditional cause and effect understanding. It is an albatross around your neck that increases the likelihood of you being depressed, irritable, anxious, etc.
Consider this effect and then we can analyze: is there something like this present in your life at the moment? Existential dread is a common one for a lot of people I work with right now given the state of well, everything, and it increases things like this for some people. Addressing the setting event here is challenging because we are potentially right back at the same conundrum. Making peace with climate change, potential government being overtaken by right wing nuts, trans erasure, etc is up there with making peace with mortality in terms of difficulty. Unplugging from news and social media can help although that may just feel like escapism and denial (to be fair it is, a little bit, but that’s not necessarily bad. Sometimes you need to prioritize your functioning)
Also never a bad idea to get a physical check up when new mental health symptoms crop up. You’re probably fine, I cannot stress this enough, but it’s especially a good idea if you haven’t had a check up in a while (eg over a year) or if the issues come with a lot of physical discomfort that is new. I again cannot stress enough that you are probably fine and this is precautionary
Of course it could be a million other things too. Consider talking to a therapist if you are able to do so. If you don’t have insurance or have shitty insurance open path collective is a directory of therapists that offer counseling for $30-$70 per session. https://openpathcollective.org/