Panic whilst asleep

[Heaven_Scent]

I was woken up in the early hours buy palpitations and anxiety. Has anyone else experienced this? It was weird, can't decide if I was dreaming or not. For the last couple of months my anxiety has given way to depression so even though I've had the racing thoughts, negative thinking and constant worry I've not had any of the physical symptoms that usually accompany my anxiety.

[ana]

I've had the same thing happen to me. I'd wake up in the middle of a night in a state of a full-blown panic attack. It's not unusual to have anxiety whilst sleeping. My anxiety also mainly manifests itself in the mental, not the physical form, i.e. symptoms. It's unsettling, but it's only anxiety. :)

[Heaven_Scent]

Thanks for your reply ana. I've never experienced it before, shook me up. Is there anything you've found that might help?

[Heaven_Scent]

I spoke too soon. Had another panic attack this afternoon including the physical symptoms. Going to ring my GP in the morning.

[NoraB]

I was woken up in the early hours buy palpitations and anxiety. Has anyone else experienced this? It was weird, can't decide if I was dreaming or not. For the last couple of months my anxiety has given way to depression so even though I've had the racing thoughts, negative thinking and constant worry I've not had any of the physical symptoms that usually accompany my anxiety.

It's horrible isn't it. I have had nocturnal panic attacks for the past two years. Sometimes I wake up within an hour of falling asleep having an attack, others I wake up at 4.30 after having a dream. Sometimes I wake up in full panic mode, others I wake up and then it kicks in. I've worked it out that I have been bombarding my body with adrenaline for so long now that it is sensitive to any variation in sound, temperature or in my blood sugar that I would normally tolerate. Sleep is my worse issue with anxiety but I cope by not worrying about it. I accept it for what it is and try to get back to sleep or I get up and do something boring until I feel sleepy again.

[Heaven_Scent]

Morning NoraB It is horrible. I've been plagued by anxiety since I was in my teens so I know not to get too worried about and I know it's not going to do any damage, but it can just be relentless at times and it wears you down. Had a rubbish nights sleep last night so feeling even more washed out today.

[feelthelove]

yes i have woken up many times during the night with palpitations and panic .

[Jamesk]

yes i have woken up many times during the night with palpitations and panic .

Me to. Rubbish isn't it? :scared11::scared11::scared11:

[feelthelove]

Me to. Rubbish isn't it? :scared11::scared11::scared11:

yep and i can be feeling very calm and relaxed too but i will wake up during the night and my heart is racing :(

[Heaven_Scent]

Glad to hear it's not just me.

[NoraB]

I woke up twice in the night and my heart was having a race but instead of concentrating on it, I did the blackboard technique and counted backwards from 300. Last night the sound of the chalk on the board annoyed me so I switched to a whiteboard lol

It's bewildering but once I understood it's not going to hurt me - the fear element was removed and I am now able to drop off back to sleep (ish)

[ana]

I wish I could give you some helpful advice and/or tips, but I'm afraid I've got none. :weep: The thing is, the panic is uncontrollable at night because you're not conscious and can therefore not prevent it from happening. Saying that, it might be useful to think about what happened during the day that may have caused an overnight panic attack. Also, doing something relaxing before sleep, like breathing exercises, might help your mind unwind, and hopefully not panic!