Sleep anxiety & Night anxiety?

[Wintear]

I'll try to make this short and sweet. If anyone who's reading this can let me know whether or not they've experienced this form of anxiety/any of these symptoms before, it would be greatly appreciated as I m growing just a tad bit desperate...

My anxiety seems much worse at night as opposed to during the day when the sun's out. In fact, the later it gets (12, 1, 2, 3, 4AM, etc..) the worse it gets. Every night, I get into bed anywhere from 12-2AM. I'll lay there and stare at the ceiling until around 5-6AM, or at least until day-break. That's when I feel most comfortable to drift off. I'm very, VERY anxious about going to bed during the hours of the night. I fear this because for the past month now, I have been waking up continuously every hour or couple of hours with a pounding heart beat (it'll sound something like BOOM...BOOM...BOOM...BOOM)...
I have very vivid dreams and nightmares. However, whether I dream or not seems to not effect my heart/broken sleep. I'll wake up regardless. Sometimes, I'll wake up directly into a panic frenzy and get myself all worked up because I mean, who's expecting to wake up out of a deep sleep with such scary symptoms? Ya'know? I won't have a panic attack ALL the time, but I'll have to fight one off at least 50-60% of the time. Usually, I start deep-breathing exercises right away when I notice things starting to take a turn for the worst. That takes about 5-10minutes to start working...
As a result of all this broken sleep, I am barely rested during the day. I feel absolutely terrible when I wake up and roll out of bed. Facing the day for me now has become a challenge and a half just to get through. I've never been this exhausted in my life.
I feel alone in this. I've had GAD (generalized Anxiety disorder) for 10+ years (I am 20, now..) but it's never infiltrated my sleep/dreams this frequently and intensely before. I'm at my wits end with this craziness...

So, I guess there you have it. Night time = anxiety increases a whole tenfold.
Trying to go to sleep or even thinking about going to sleep = brings on even more anxiety.
I'm trapped, essentially. What is there to do when you can't even sleep in order to escape from the stresses and hardships of the waking world? It's like I'm burning the fuse at both ends. This can't be healthy, either, which is also a concern of mine. I'm certain my overall health, physical and mental, is taking a beating from all of this...

Also, I'm not sure if anyone can relate to this but last night, my anxiety got SO bad that it overwhelmed me, LITERALLY, to the point where I felt like the very fabrics of reality it's self were going to tear wide open. That's how much tension I was feeling...and it was a very scary moment for me because I thought I was headed for a breakdown. I hope that tonight does not prove to be a re-run of last night...

Suggestions/advice? Similar stories/experiences? What should I do for this? Is there even a way to combat something as unforgiving as this? Please, don't leave me hanging :/ let me know.....I'm desperate for some answers.......

Thank you all...and be well.

[Melon176]

I know a little of what you've described - especially vivid nightmares. Even just last night I woke up sobbing & terrified that what I had dreamt was reality it was so vivid. I totally understand the heart pounding you described as well. When I first got really ill I had Valium to help just before bed but as I didn't want to get addicted to that I went to see a naturopath who gave me a natural product containing valarium. I take 2 before bedtime and sometimes I'll have a hot bath before bed to try and relax. The name of what he prescribed is Anti-Spas as it's often used to naturopathically help combat awfully painful periods which is why I originally had it.

The other thing which would definitely help is finding a lightening process practitioner - not sure where you live. I'm in the uk and did the lightening process training to recover from ME 5 years ago. It's absolutely amazing and works fantastically for anxiety/panic etc. It's expensive but worth every penny. It's a training programme rather than a therapy and teaches you to control/eliminate anxiety etc using principles based on NLP and Life Coaching. One thing my LP practitioner said to me when I explained to her about nighttie anxiety is that the worst thing to do is lie there trying to breath through it. Because the brain is then focusing on the situation. Getting up out of bed and doing something totally different is what she recommended combined with doing the lightening process technique.
Let me know where you're based and I'll see if there is access to a practitioner nearby for you.
Take care and hope that helped a little even if it's to know you're not alone in your suffering xx

[Wintear]

Thank you very much for your response. I am in the US. East coast.
Every time I think it's anxiety and stress, something else pops into my head and I obsess over what it could be. Sleep apnea has plagued my thoughts for quite some time now....but these symptoms became problematic at random..seemingly out of nowhere so I don't know :/
I'm just hoping I'm able to sleep at least a bit better tonight...

[Peppels]

I know what you telling us. I had the same.
Changing your thoughts away from anxiety is the answer.
I use a motivational over the top american speaker on my phone.
When ever i feel overwhelmed i play him. I use it as positive brainwashing and for me it works.
The calming tapes with ocean waves etc. drive me batty when i am in a hyper state
Try it i hope it works for you too