i feel like im dying when i try and sleep!!

Hi,

I hope this is a part of Health Anxiety but even my theapist at CBT says hes never heard of this!
When i try and sleep day or night time i dont feel like im going to sleep, it feels like im passing out or dying.
Then i get a masive rush of anxiety, like my heart stops and then it jumps me straight up.
Its a terrifying experience i have found myself drinking up to a bottle of wine a night just to get a few hours sleep. iF I dont i just have to deal with these horrible surges over and over all night.
I really hope some one out there has experienced something like this because no one seems to know what it is!!
Thanks
Neesh X

somewhere at the back of yor mind your terrified of dying ,so when you relax to sleep bang your thoughts run wild it must be awful feeling ,why dont you put some music on when you get into bed it helps with thoughts i do, or tv ,drinking is ok but wont stop your fear ,maybe docter could give you something to help you sleep

Hi Neesh,

I had the exact feelings/symptoms when I was six or seven years old. I can remember (even now, I am 38!) the anxiety I felt over it, I was convinced my heart was going to stop. (My Dad actually, slapped me round the face when I had an episode! It did stop lol!) Very occasionally I get it now, then I jump with a start. So yes, don't worry - I have heard of it and had it!! I think its down to a big adrenalin rush.
If a bottle of wine is helping you get some hours in, then I would put it down to anxiety, as you are obviously more relaxed. See if more natural ways of relaxing will help you sleep, and try not to think about it too much before you sleep (easy I know) I have found listening to music with headphones or an audio book (get one with a dreamy voice!) helps me into the land of nod. Lavender bedtime spray (on pillows) - trying to think of things off the top of my head!

Good luck x

Hi neesh i get the exact same thing,its worse when im stressed.and if i think about it.so ur not alone.xx

Thankyou for the replies i feel sooo much better now i know its due to the anxiety and not some terrible heart condition as ive suffered for years and never known anyone else had experienced it!!
:) Xxx

Hi Neesh.

I also get this, and it seems to go through spells when it it is happening a lot and then dissapears for a while, probably worse when im stressed.
I think the reason for this is, when your stressed and tense, when you are trying to relax and go to sleep, when i am almost at the point of falling over into sleep i jolt up right in a painc, feeling like i have stopped breathing or my heart is about to stop, but i think it is just such an alien feeling to relaxed at times of high stress, and this is how we react to it, it just feels so odd to feel relaxed, our bodies dont recognise it as normal, and that is the sensation that we get. I hope i have made some sense, i dont know if i have explained this very well, but i totally understand where you are coming from.


take care

P x

Hi Neesh

I know what you are going through to...here is part of my very 1st post on NMP back in 2005....!

Hi my name is Trish and i'm a newbie, i am so glad i found this site. My problem started 21 months ago........and since then i have not had a decent night's sleep! I spent a week in a sleep clinic with my head wired up, although i had 'episodes' during that week, the results didn't show up a thing.

Episode: Waking up in sheer fright and my heart racing, this can happen up to 11 times a night, sometimes it can catapult me out of my bed! When i have so many, i am so frightened, i will get up and i have to wait until my body is completely drained before i return to bed, sometimes i am going back to bed when my husband is getting up!

Today my GP has put me on a drug called Dosuepin so i am keeping my fingers crossed that these ones will work, i've tried Amitriptyline and Temazepam together but with no joy.

My consultant at the hospital is refering me to a heart specialist (as i have two heart murmurs) in case these episodes are connected, but he thinks it's highly unlikely and is putting these down as night panic attacks.

I just want to be able to go to bed at a normal time, sleep and get up at a normal time................not to much to ask is it??

I have posted this on another thread, somewhere on this site, but i can't remember where (lol), so i'm sorry if you are having to read this twice!
.................................................. ...............................................

Here we are at 2010 and i still get these episodes although awful i don't get so worked up about them so much now. I am at the point now i can identify if i am going to have them as soon as i lay down...i get an odd feeling but i'm unsure if this 'feeling' is in my head or body...it's so very odd:blush:

Hope this helps you.

Best wishes

Trish x

This is the first time I saw someone post something like this, and it's reassuring because I've had the same thing happen. I guess for me it's the lightheaded feeling where it feels strange to start falling asleep, it's almost like you're afraid that if you lose consciousness you aren't going to wake up again. It is strange.

Hi
I know exactly how your feeling i had a similar thing for ages but i just get it ocassionaly now thank god, i call them night jolts now for lack of a better name. Its like your sorting of dropping off to sleep and not realised and you jolt really suddenly wake feeling like you cant breathe or youve stopped breathing and your hearts going fifty to the dozen. I did a post over a year ago about the same thing as it was really spooking me ive copied the link for you to read and hope it night help you a little knowing your not alone...hope things improve soon for you xxx

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=41916

Hi guys
Thanks for the replys joining NMP is the best thing i could have done for my anxiety i dont feel stupid for the first time EVER saying how i really feel.
I cant believe that for once people are actually helping me not just telling me 'oh its all in your head'
Thanks sooo much for taking the time too share your own experiences to help put my mind at ease, and for the first time since i can remember i am already begining feel like i can beat this with the support ive already had
Heres to a better nights sleep tonight :)
Neesh Xx

Just to add that I too get this almost every night...I put off ging to bed as it is very frightening. I know its stress and anx because if I have a really good day it doesn't happen.

Hope the reassurance helps to settle you a little.

I'm glad you feel better about it... it's miserable to be worried about something so much. You have my sympathy. I, too, have suffered from this - not so much the death feeling brining on the anxiety but the anxiety bringing on the death feeling! I wake with my head spinning, my heart pounding and green spots before my eyes and i'm sure that "This is IT! Goodby cruel world!" and all that malarkey! Strangely, after an hour or so of surfing the net, watching TV or reading i can settle back down (normally about 4:30am ish).

So, you're not alone and i hope it subsides for you. Good luck! :D

It's probably anxiety, but yes I mean sometimes people just do experience little things like this, not that it usually really means anything as such it's just a bit bothersome! :)

I would imagine that anxiety is still the biggest culprit, and so herbal sedatives or something could be a good bet (valerian root, lavender, camomile, etc!), as well as pretty much anything that might relax you before bed :)

It COULD be something else, but if it were me I would be considering ways to relax before bed before I thought it might be anything else!

Let us know how you get on :)

i have exactly same issues atm...weird lightheaded rushes...with my eeys closed its like i can feel my eyes roll back into my head when it happens...its sooooo scary...then I get an intense rush of adrenaline and butterflys in my stomach.

Hi
I just found this website whilst googling. I suffer exactly the same problem and in fact last night it happened a few times. Just dropping off to sleep - very comfortable when all of a sudden I jump as though I can't breath - takes a couple of seconds and then I calm down. But it really distupts my sleep pattern. I also have a few drinks to get me to sleep at night - if I don't I take Nytol which makes me feel really drugged in the morning.

The first time it happened it bought on a serious panic attack and I had to go to the keydoc in the middle of the night because I thought I was having a heart attack.

I just wish I knew had to deal with it. I have had hypnosis in the past and have done the whole relaxation cd whilst trying to get to sleep but it still happens.

I am so pleased to find this website and realise that I am not a lone in this matter - so thank you for this.

Katie

I really think you are going through the anxiety to alcohol to anxiety cycle. I have heard many times do not drink alcohol as a means to get you to sleep. It has that temporary soothing effect, then wakes you up. It also dehydrates you and can lead to panic attacks. that's why they say those of us who are prone to panic attacks should not drink it. I would suggest seeing how things go for a little while by not using alcohol to calm you down.
You are not dying. This sounds anxiety related to me. On days when I have had high anxiety, I have had moments when falling asleep I feel like I have stopped breathing. It scares me so bad, I jolt myself back up to make sure I am ok. My thinking on this is my body is finally relaxing and my breathing might be actually going back to being normal -- or it is anxiety in itself. I am not active when I am falling asleep so the adrenaline has to release itself somehow.
You will be fine, but if these symptoms do continue, especially after soothing yourself in other ways, I would talk to a doctor about them for added reassurance. Hugs, Wiskers ~

I have been suffering from the same problem for the last 2 nights in a row, even when taking a nap! Yesterday I fell asleep on the couch with my son and I woke up panicking because I felt like my whole body weighed a million pounds and I couldn't move! I also felt like I wasn't breathing but my heart was pounding. This used to happen to me before, but hasn't happened in a long time!

I've also experienced the after-alcohol anxiety the last 2 times that I drank. It's horrible. Even worse than a regular panic attack. Drinking alcohol before never used to bother me - I would actually feel normal the day after. Not anymore!! I'm ready to give up drinking and I only drink socially!

Oh I'm really sorry to hear you've been having these awful panics when trying to sleep. I had this for a couple of weeks when my anxiety was really bad a few months back. I would start to fall asleep and then I'd get a terrifying image in my mind or my mind would wander onto something horrible and I'd get a sudden jolt of intense anxiety/panic. It's such a horrible sensation and of course totally disrupts your sleep completely. I didn't sleep for a week or so even on Diazapam :(

A few things helped me:
-Getting put back on anti-anxiety medication (Sertraline in my case)
-Going home to stay with my Mum for a couple of weeks
-Reading before I went to sleep or having quiet time with my boyfriend before bed
-Stopping watching TV before bed
-Taking a cup of Chamomille tea to bed
-Talking to anxiety helplines in the evening for advice and to get things off my chest
-Writing down my worries before bed

I hope some of these things can help you too :)

Feel better soon. You're not alone.

Moonlight Xxx

i know when this topic is pretty dead right now, but i have to share my feelings! i have the same problem and feel relaxed thet i found this topic, since i had a very long nights before..

the feelings were same, i felt like im falling in sleep ,and i recognized when in the same time ,im thinking about things thet rushes adrenalin in my blood somehow.. and then i felt like vanishing out of this world and my breath got uncontrolled ,as well as i had feeling like my heart were uncontrolled and could stop beat! at thet point i feel some dizzy feeling in my head and i pull my self instantly up, covered in fear and panic of death.. like thet it happens multiple times at same night.

i hope someone will figure out how to deal with it. the only thing thet comes in my mind, is when there got to be a way to fix the adrenalin input at nights! becouse before, i had never any problems to sleep...
maybe if i try to not think about things thet gives me adrenalin ,may help, but sometimes its too hard.

Again, I know this is an old thread but I have been experienccing the exact same. I either cant get to sleep or I wake up with a gasp, heart racing feeling as if im going to die. I keep wonderibg if its sleep apnea, but yes it is worse when im really anxioua... Ive had to take a quarter of a lorazepam to help, and it does, but I cant keep doing that. When im falling asleep I suddenly become.aware of how slow my heart is beating (usually its too fast), and I feel out of breath and scared and have to sit bolt upright.

I have told the dr, he seemed to smile and nod as if it confirms his anxiety diagnosis.

Charlotte

I sometimes get a similar feeling, If i am really tired, especially after a night shift and try and go to sleep i wake up sudenly feeling like i cant breathe and my hearts about to to stop, really makes me panic, think with me its a mixture of anxiety and tiredness, I really dont think its anything for you to worry about x

I know exactly how you're feeling, whenever I go to sleep I felt like I'm not going to wake up or I'll just drift off and die, sometimes I wake up in a night terror or panic too, horrible but I know how you feel, it's just a normal anxiety response, chin up xxx

Hello,

First off, I would like to say that what you are experiencing before/while you sleep is very answerable and treatable.

1. Falling asleep is akin to dying. Your nervous system reacts the same way. Hence why you get a sudden burst of adrenalin.
2. Twitching and being unable to sleep because of adrenalin bursts can be treated with anti-anxiety medication. Find one that works for you that will eventually balance your circadian rhythms (sleep patterns). I use Cipralex 10mg to achieve this - I have no trouble sleeping anymore... it was such a relief!
3. Do not use alcohol to fall asleep, as it will not let you have proper REM sleep and is dependent.

On a side point, if you are in front of a computer (for work or leisure) or television for long periods of time it is highly recommended to take a walk outside with no other stimuli (like, a MP3 player, phone or what not).

Hope this helps!

Kai

that is horrible.I woke from being asleep thinking and feeling like I was dying.Sent me into terrible panic attacks.I still get anxious every night when I get in bed.A part of me thinks I am dying now, yet after about all the med tests that can be done, nothing is out of the ordinary.I still do not understand what is going on.I am stunned at the severe intensity of the emotions and physical sensations experienced in a full on panic attack.Its been just over 3 months now and I do not know if I should carry on with life or just sit and wait for the next panic tsunami,if it even comes again.Oh what to do.Hows thing going by the way?Are you sleeping better now?

Hi, Neesh. I had the same problem when I was under a lot of stress. I even "felt" my heart stoping for a second and my breathe "going slower to nearly no breathing". The most interesting thing was feeling a sudden rush through my core to my head, the same feeling when your are about to pass out. Yet I wake up every time. It's an anxiety thingy and I overcame it with some relaxing herbs and relaxing music.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neesh X

Hi,

I hope this is a part of Health Anxiety but even my theapist at CBT says hes never heard of this!
When i try and sleep day or night time i dont feel like im going to sleep, it feels like im passing out or dying.
Then i get a masive rush of anxiety, like my heart stops and then it jumps me straight up.
Its a terrifying experience i have found myself drinking up to a bottle of wine a night just to get a few hours sleep. iF I dont i just have to deal with these horrible surges over and over all night.
I really hope some one out there has experienced something like this because no one seems to know what it is!!
Thanks
Neesh X

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I get this loads all the time I feel this it's anxiety I am sure my counsellor told me! :/ it is horrid though x

I sometimes get that when my anxiety is in overdrive.

It makes me afraid to let go and sleep and I jump up suddenly as soon as I feel myself falling asleep.
it feels like im suffocating and I used to wake up bolt upright with a gasp in the middle of the night sometimes.

I also see flashes like lightning when I am just on the cusp of falling asleep.

it's scary but harmless it just means you're extremely anxious.

Hi Neesh x

I've also had this and it got that bad i was afraid too go to sleep as u said, i went to my docs and she told me it was (night terrors) she said kind of similar to the dream that you're falling off a cliff and just before you hit the ground bang you wake up terrified! The GPs advice was to read a book or listen to relaxation music low, even watch a comedy, i was 18 when this was going on and I'm now 30 and still have bouts of it so i totally understand what you're going through really frightening but try some of the above and see how it goes for you ;-)

Hope you get a good nights sleep Neesh all the best

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Neesh X

Hi,

I hope this is a part of Health Anxiety but even my theapist at CBT says hes never heard of this!
When i try and sleep day or night time i dont feel like im going to sleep, it feels like im passing out or dying.
Then i get a masive rush of anxiety, like my heart stops and then it jumps me straight up.
Its a terrifying experience i have found myself drinking up to a bottle of wine a night just to get a few hours sleep. iF I dont i just have to deal with these horrible surges over and over all night.
I really hope some one out there has experienced something like this because no one seems to know what it is!!
Thanks
Neesh X

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Hi im new to this, I am getting exactly the same and im really panicking its my heart or something, ive had it for years but is happening more and more frequently lately, maybe once a week, but last night it happened at least 5 times whilst trying to sleep, il be drifting off and feel like im becoming more and more distant, almost fading away, with a continuous beep in my ears almost like a flat line, then I jolt up gasping for air and with my pulse racing, after 30 seconds or so I calm down and go back to normal but then it happens again, it feels like if I were to let myself go to sleep im not going to wake up like im dying or fainting its the worse feeling in the world and its really scaring me, surely this cant be normal, I don't feel anxious or stressed at all ???? could it be heart trouble ?

Don't worry Neesh, I get the same thing when I'm having a particularly anxious night! You're not alone :)

I tend to find that the first 3-5 times I attempt to fall asleep I get the sensation and it feels as if my heart jumps and I jolt up in a sudden panic, and it's happened so often that I'm rather used to it now.
I tend to lay down, perhaps play a game on my phone for a while to calm down and then attempt sleep again. Eventually you drift off no problem :hugs: You don't need to drink to sleep~

omg this happen to me last night its the weirdest feeling ive ever felt. its like im fying or passing out and if i get too deep into it i cant move or anything (terrifying) this happened about three times last night.I THOUGBT I WAS LITERRALY DEAD!! after i woke up once i wrote a good bye letter to my family and friends i was so convinced i was dying. whenever this happens i cant move at all and i feel like im not breathing. ive had panic disorder for a little over a year. let me know if any gets this feelin p.s sorry for the typp im at work

Hi I have suffered from this for 14 years, and it usually happens when I'm very stressed, very tired or had a wine ( even just 1)
As I'm drifting off to sleep, it suddenly seems like my heart has slowed and my breathing stops as I'm breathing out, then it jolts me awake as I'm gasping for air but as I'm still half asleep and i feel disorientated my heart is racing like mad as I'm not sure if I'm dying or dead it's awful totally understand you guys...
I researched and also saw my doc as was worried about sleep apnea, but it's not the same thing I won't even go into the symptoms of Apnea ;(
But it is part of Anxiety, so even though drinking is helping you I would say try not to drink as it definitely will make it worse, try sipping a mint tea before bed and do some deep breathing excersises these will help tremendously, don't worry you are not alone , hugs x

I am so glad that I've found someone who knows and understands exactly why I'm going through. The only i could explain before was the feeling of a whole panic attack but concentrated into a second, with my heart stopping and not being able to breathe (to the point of hurling in fear) when I try to explain ppl think it's the falling sensation that sometimes happen when you twitch but it is nothing like that. Does anyone know how to help that? Thanks :)
Ethan