Panic attack on waking from any sleep
Hi, not sure if anyone has experienced this but for well over a year now I have been having a panic attack every time I wake, regardless of whether it's a nap in front of the TV or the early hours of the morning. This is a difficult one to understand as it's immediate without time to gather thoughts or able to prepare. Just wondered if this was common and how best to deal with it. Thanks Mark
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
hi Mark there's no easy answer panic strikes at anytime with no warning,but maybe because you're thinking about it and relating it to when you woke up your brain is programmed to it when you wake up try and change your thought to yes this happened but it doesn't mean it will again you need to reinforce the oppersite good luck x
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
This used to happen to me. Not every night but occasionally. I'd wake up from sleep and descend straight into a panic attack. My therapist did it may be coming out of REM sleep too soon triggers it. I usually turn the tv on in my room, turn over and watch it, take the covers off me so I don't over heat, then stroke my arm or leg whilst saying to myself, "you're fine, it's only a panic attack, nothing bad is going to happen." I'd say within 5 minutes max I'm almost asleep again.
---------- Post added at 11:44 ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 ----------
This used to happen to me. Not every night but occasionally. I'd wake up from sleep and descend straight into a panic attack. My therapist said it may be coming out of REM sleep too soon triggers it. I usually turn the tv on in my room, turn over and watch it, take the covers off me so I don't over heat, then stroke my arm or leg whilst saying to myself, "you're fine, it's only a panic attack, nothing bad is going to happen." I'd say within 5 minutes max I'm almost asleep again.
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
I used to get this all the time and it's very common.
The best thing to do is try and ignore it. It sounds counter intuitive, but the more attention I paid to it, the worse it got. It used to happen to me most at about 3-4am. I eventually just used to get myself up, go to the toilet, get myself a glass of water, take a deep breath and just lay down again. By the time I'd done all that it had mostly passed anyway.
Also, as 'YouRemindMeOfTheBabe' said, just telling yourself it's only a panic attack helps to re-train your brain too. Tell yourself you know what it is and it'll pass etc.
I don't get them at all any more so they do stop happening eventually.
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
Yes, this has been happening to me for the past couple months. It is getting so bad that I fear going to sleep, because I will know what will happen when I wake up. I usually take a Xanax to calm down. Sometimes it goes away on its own, and sometimes it doesn't. It scares me
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
It's one of those things that I've realised one way or another I'm feeding it by giving it attention so I refuse to encourage it. If you sit any say oh my god I'm going to die, I'm going mad, etc that feeds the devil. If you counteract it with thoughts like, no I'm fine, this is a panic attack, it'll pass, you'll eventually retrain your brain. Going to bed frightening will leave you on edge and more likely to panic because it all comes down to anticipation. Sometimes the panic attacks go quickly, sometimes they linger but it's keeping the head filled with positive reinforcement. We're wired for stress wrong, it's a case of rewiring.
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
I am experiencing bad anxiety every time I wake up to go to work and continues at work and has been lasting most of the day. How can I stop this from happening as it is causing great distress. How to stop feeling on edge all the time. It has got so bad that I have had to get a sick note from work and fear going to work and seeing people there because of it.
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
Maybe try meditation before work or doing something to work off the excess adrenaline. I know that's easier said than done but I do a physically active job and I find it burns the adrenaline out of me, by the time I go home I'm so knackered I don't have to worry about panicking. I fall into bed and sleep.
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
Hi everyone,
I am so glad I found this site, I was starting to think that I was going crazy because no one understands what I am going through. I wake up 2:30 with the strangest feeling its almost as if my upper stomach muscles are pulling tight and I am panicking I am scared of dying and getting a heart attack. Sometimes I can get back to sleep but today no luck. It just wont stop. What can I do I need some advise please.
How can I get my stomach to relax it is driving me crazy!:scared15:
Re: Panic attack on waking from any sleep
I get it. I wake up in the middle of the night, routinely at 330am. Then, my body and mind (with a panic problem) has me focus in on my heart rate or something else and I start to panic. The first time it happened, in the darkness, dead of night. I was convinced I was dying. My heart felt like it would explode out of my chest. I had my wife call up an ambulance. Once they got there I calmed down a bit. At the hospital they ran all the tests and couldn't find anything. The doc told me to take my heart rate next time and said the heart can beat at 200bpm for hours and be fine. Mine was probably nowhere near that fast. This has happened a few times since, and not just at night. Now, I know it is panic. I tell the anxiety in my head to go away. Seems silly but works most times. Sometimes I still get pretty spooled up. I struggle with it. I find getting up, grabbing some water, a few deep breaths, and looking in the mirror to see yourself looking ok helps. It sucks, but its just panic.