Drinking and faling back to sleep

[trev1234]

Ok hi all...has anyone ever had this or similar...right here we go i suffer with GAD..get very depressed sometimes..recently ive been drinking too much...The worrying bit is i fall asleep approx 11 oclock,no probs at all,then i wake up regulary at 4ish in the morning..Bam ! my head just thinks bout all the bad things and i go into a bit of a sweat...Now for the scarey bit .after that i try and fall back to sleep and i cant.it makes me have bad dreams that i swear make me feel like i stop breathing...this only happens after ive woke tho...its like my breathing goes to shallow.its not obstructive apnea..i know its the drinking doing this,and i am cuttin right back at moment...if anyone can relate to any part of this i would appreciate some comfort ...Many thanks..

[kaisersozay]

Actually it is a scientifically proven fact that you dream more in the last moments of sleep than for the first few hours. This is when you go into REM and your dreams are at the most vivid. This usually happens to me between the hours of 5am to 6am. Nightmares are a common theme to anxiety as our subconscious mind always takes over, so all those fears are coming out of the woodwork.
Drinking is known to worsen nightmares as alcohol is a excito-toxin which makes the nerves in your brain dance around... it is no surprise that they do not calm down for your sleep.
If you are getting depressed, nothing will give you more of a boost than a new found ability to completely lay off alcohol. Alcohol certainly worsens mood when your mood isnt great to begin with.

[trev1234]

thanks for the reply....much appreciated...

[alicegreen]

Hi Trev,

It was drinking too much last Christmas that sparked my first ever panic attack where I woke up with my heart pounding.

I have since found that I have had to dramatically cut down on my alcohol consumption, or I suffer like you describe.

[trev1234]

ok thanks....need to stop i think totally...thanks

[kaisersozay]

Good idea but never totally stop doing something you have done in excess because it will make you feel even worse. Wind down over the next month to the point where 1 is too much.