suddenly awake and anxious

[Ian Scott]

Hi all,
This is still all pretty new and weird to me, decent night last night... nodded off around 2am but woke abruptly @ 4.15am anxious as hell....is this really just anxiety? if I'm asleep and restful (not knowingly dreaming) why should I wake so scared for no reason. Does anyone else have these symptoms?

Curiously yours
Ian

[Anxious_gal]

hmm i wake up alot and feel anxious. i think it's partly due to walking up n partly due to bad dreams,

[Clint1985]

hey, this sounds like nothing more than anxiety to me. i have nights quite often where i fall asleep pretty easily and wake up out of no where feeling very anxious and like something bad is going to happen. its prolly just anxiety, even though its prolly hard to convince yourself that's all it is. try not to worry

[LeeBee]

When I'm going through a particularly anxious phase or am ill (not this week, touch wood), between 3.30am and 4.30am is the time when I wake up feeling anxious. I think it must be something to do with the phase of sleep you are in at that time (depending on when you went to sleep I guess), and might happen if your anxiety levels are raised during your waking hours. I usually can't work out why I feel anxious but my heart will be beating fast, I might be a bit sweaty and need to go to the loo. If I let myself get anxious about being anxious then this can esacalate into more anxiety and, once or twice, a panic attack - pretty scary in the middle of the night. If I wake up anxious now I try not to lie there worrying about it, I switch on the light and do something soothing and distracting, like listen to the radio, or watch a bit of a comedy DVD. Eventually my heart slows down and I get sleepy again. I can usually get back to sleep now in less than an hour. :)

[Andyroo]

i went to a doctor because i had the same problem, he told me that it was panic attacks.. somtimes i would wake up normaly and feel all shakey and tired and weak i asked him why he said that it was possible for me to panic in my sleep with out even knowing it .. he said it happens to many people .. i also have had moments where im just woken up in the middle of the night panicing its horrible .. i know but it happens.. you will be okay its nothing to worry about, just panic attacks ..they can sneak up on you when u least expect it :P so be aware

[Shaky]

Its a horrible feeling, i'm pretty new to it and my sleeping pattern is all messed up, sometimes i'm too anxious to go to sleep , most of the time i get a few hours, wake up panicky with my heart racing. Great way to start another miserable anxious day.

[Nookster]

Not sure if this applies to you Ian but it
may so I will tell you. I had a couple of
these episodes back when I had a decent
Doctor not like the twit I have now :wacko: .

I told him about waking up in a panic with
my heart racing and all the normal symptoms
we know so well. He explained to me that
when the body wakes normally it sends out
a tiny amount of adrenaline to wake you up,
but very rarely with some people this can
be a lot more than normal so you wake up
in the above described state. For me this
made sense and while I know it has happened
to me since I couldnt say when the last time
was because my brain seems to know accept
thats the reason why and I calm down from
it very quickly.

Mike.

[Natural Mystic]

Hi all,
This is still all pretty new and weird to me, decent night last night... nodded off around 2am but woke abruptly @ 4.15am anxious as hell....is this really just anxiety? if I'm asleep and restful (not knowingly dreaming) why should I wake so scared for no reason. Does anyone else have these symptoms?

Curiously yours
Ian
My main problem at the moment, hence I'm sitting here. Couldn't take the heartbeat anymore, my mind wouldn't switch off and can't fall asleep.

I hate hate hate hate nights

[monika]

hi Ian.

I experienced this a lot. It's like a mini-panick attack at night. The first time it happened i thought i was dying in my sleep, and another i thought i was loosing my mind, lol. It was so scary! But sometimes your body just reacts in anxious ways when you are sleeping or falling asleep. They don't really knwo why this happens though.

I just recongnize the anxiety when this happens and go back to sleep. That's all you can really do when it happens, and realize nothings happenign to you!

Monika

[jkse]

i was also having this problom initally when my anxitey started up again, but now when i wake up in the morning , i also start experincing anxiety, does anyone else get it the first thing when they make up? it's such a bad start to the day, and its hard not to focus on it

[Winter08]

I've had this happen a few times, always in the winter when it was cold and when I had not eaten very well during the day.

I read somewhere that it is a symptom of energy malnutrition - I'd suggest trying to stick to a good diet and keep warm at night so that your body can relax, so it's not struggling to keep your body temperature up.

[LACEYA1961]

I Know Exactly How You Feel...started Getting Panicky At Night In The Past Of Couple Of Weeks And I Hate It! I'll Lie Down And Right When I'm Dozing Off I'll Get A Panic Attack...droppy Feeling In Stomach, Arms Tingling, Have To Go To The Bathroom Right Away. Saying It's Uncomfortable Doesn't Even Cover It. My Bedroom Use To Be Safe For Me But It Sure Doesn't Feel Like That Anymore. I'm Not Even Comfortable In The Living Room Anymore Because I Get Panicky In There. Might As Well Start Living In The Bathroom (ha Ha)

[EmmaJane]

Hi This is definately anxiety related. I have been waking up like this for the past week or 2 now.

[jwoulf]

Normal for me, I can manage to calm myself down enough to go to sleep, then wake up 4 hours later feeling like I am having a panic attack.