Night Time Panic Attacks

[ThePerfctSky]

I really hope someone can help me here, I've never been this bad with panic before, i do suffer from anxiety but I've got it under control till now. Basically last Thursday i was very poorly with a respiratory infection had to call 111 at 2am because i was struggling to breathe and felt really poorly, they sent me to the drs straight away and i was given Antibiotics which worked really well and my infection is now gone. But now the last few nights i have been sleeping on my sofa due to nocturnal panic attacks they will not let me sleep in my own bed even going into my bedroom makes me fill with dread i have tried so much nothing is working everytime i drift off i wake up startled wanting to go downstairs, the only place i can get actual sleep is on the sofa, i can't carry on like this I have been crying all afternoon its not normal for me to feel like this usually i love going to bed. When my partner is next to me and he coughs or moves it also sets my panic off. I feel so alone right now and I'm so scared I'll never sleep in my bed again i feel so low today i haven't even eaten. What can i do and is anyone else experiencing this? Please help me

[glassgirlw]

I’m not a doctor or medical professional. But I feel like you’re associating your bed (and bedroom) with the panic you had at waking up and not being able to breathe, and having to ring emergency. So now you’ve associated panic with the bed as that’s where the panic attack occurred. Try small bits of exposure therapy maybe? Go sit on your bed. Breathe through the panic. Try to make it 5 minutes just sitting and breathing. Then extend the time. Maybe if you do that enough your brain will start to realize it can be a safe space for you too. I don’t know but may not work, but I feel like it’s worth a shot.

I used to suffer from awful nighttime panic attacks. So I understand how terrifying they are. I just stuck it out in bed though and eventually they just stopped happening. Fighting against the flight reflex is not easy but it really does help move past these attacks sooner.

[ThePerfctSky]

Thank you for your reply, i actually did try that last night early evening when it got dark out and it did work i laid there for 15 to 20 minutes and i felt a lot calmer, i did sleep downstairs last night only because i fell asleep there before bed but early morning i went up to bed, i couldn't sleep much i felt wide awake but i didn't panic.

I've also changed my mindset last night which made me feel a lot more positive into it won't last forever and I've been through a lot this last week so I'm bound to feel like this its all normal. Thank you again

[glassgirlw]

That’s fantastic!! Sounds like you made great progress!

[NoraB]

I really hope someone can help me here, I've never been this bad with panic before, i do suffer from anxiety but I've got it under control till now. Basically last Thursday i was very poorly with a respiratory infection had to call 111 at 2am because i was struggling to breathe and felt really poorly, they sent me to the drs straight away and i was given Antibiotics which worked really well and my infection is now gone. But now the last few nights i have been sleeping on my sofa due to nocturnal panic attacks they will not let me sleep in my own bed even going into my bedroom makes me fill with dread i have tried so much nothing is working everytime i drift off i wake up startled wanting to go downstairs, the only place i can get actual sleep is on the sofa, i can't carry on like this I have been crying all afternoon its not normal for me to feel like this usually i love going to bed. When my partner is next to me and he coughs or moves it also sets my panic off. I feel so alone right now and I'm so scared I'll never sleep in my bed again i feel so low today i haven't even eaten. What can i do and is anyone else experiencing this? Please help me

You're doing the classic avoidance behaviour with panic attacks..

If you're reacting to slight noises and movement then your body is highly sensitised. When my panic attacks were at their worst, things like feeling a breeze, or even the most trivial of things would trigger an attack and 95% of mine were nocturnal. I went through quite a long phase of insomnia before I learned that the best way to control this is to stay in situ and do the breathing exercises. Breathing slowly from the diaphragm actively turns off the fight or flight response. You will feel your heart rate slow down if you concentrate on your breathing. However, sometimes there's way too much adrenalin in the system and it's necessary to get up and move around to discharge some of that energy. For me, this meant doing some light cleaning or even just walking around the living room. However, the important thing is to go back to your bedroom as soon as you can..

A panic attack can't hurt you, it just feels very unpleasant - especially at night when there are fewer distractions. It helps to remind yourself that you're not 'dying' or actually in any danger at all. This is just your brain acting like an overly-sensitive car alarm which goes off when someone walks past, rather than breaks in. You get me?

I stopped dreading going to bed. I told myself that it didn't matter if I had a panic attack because I'd handle it. I told myself that it also didn't matter if I had to get up and go downstairs for a few hours because the result of doing this is that I've seen many a glorious sunrise I'd have otherwise missed..

It will take time for your body to settle down again, but the trick is not to add fear to the mix. The reason why it's not taking much to trigger a panic attack is because you are so sensitised. Work with the anxiety and do the breathing and always get back into your bedroom, even if at first you can only manage to sleep in a chair. Sometimes, it can feel like we're having multiple panic attacks but we're actually just experiencing the residual from the original one and this is why we need to burn those chemicals off.

When you understand what panic attacks are and why they happen, they're not scary at all. This is just your brain trying to protect you from danger, as it is meant to do, it's just that the brain cannot differentiate between an imagined danger and a real one..

[Zapp]

I had anxiety for years . I've only just had my first night panic attack, and it's stressful keeps going around in circles and up and down most of the night. I don't know if I'm awake or sleep hot and cold sweats heart pounding but I just try and go back to sleep. Its freaking me out. Any advice. Thanks zapp

[WiredIncorrectly]

But now the last few nights i have been sleeping on my sofa due to nocturnal panic attacks they will not let me sleep in my own bed even going into my bedroom makes me fill with dread i have tried so much nothing is working everytime i drift off i wake up startled wanting to go downstairs, the only place i can get actual sleep is on the sofa, i can't carry on like this I have been crying all afternoon its not normal for me to feel like this usually i love going to bed. When my partner is next to me and he coughs or moves it also sets my panic off. I feel so alone right now and I'm so scared I'll never sleep in my bed again i feel so low today i haven't even eaten. What can i do and is anyone else experiencing this? Please help me

If it's any comfort to you this is me right now. I've slept on the sofa a lot recently. My other half thinks I'm being odd, and trying to explain this isn't much help. I have panic attacks while asleep that wake me up and cause me to be in some very strange state of mind with the heavy fear of impending doom. It's like I'm awake enough to be conscious I'm not in a dream, but can't do much else until it passes. Happened to me last night.

I think they're a part of the dream experience because many times they happen and I won't even remember that they happened. Sometimes though I remember, like last night.

For me, I think my sleep problem could be the same "feelings" that happens when a person is given that chemical that stops the heart to reverse VT. Even down to the not being able to move, and the impending doom. I don't think they're night terrors because I don't see any hallucinations, or wake up screaming (I don't think I could scream even if I wanted to) <-- too much research there

And this makes it hard for me to want to sleep at all. This doesn't help though because sleep deprivation will cause me to have these attacks even more!

Nope, you're not alone.

[Lencoboy]

If it's any comfort to you this is me right now. I've slept on the sofa a lot recently. My other half thinks I'm being odd, and trying to explain this isn't much help. I have panic attacks while asleep that wake me up and cause me to be in some very strange state of mind with the heavy fear of impending doom. It's like I'm awake enough to be conscious I'm not in a dream, but can't do much else until it passes. Happened to me last night.

I think they're a part of the dream experience because many times they happen and I won't even remember that they happened. Sometimes though I remember, like last night.

For me, I think my sleep problem could be the same "feelings" that happens when a person is given that chemical that stops the heart to reverse VT. Even down to the not being able to move, and the impending doom. I don't think they're night terrors because I don't see any hallucinations, or wake up screaming (I don't think I could scream even if I wanted to) <-- too much research there

And this makes it hard for me to want to sleep at all. This doesn't help though because sleep deprivation will cause me to have these attacks even more!

Nope, you're not alone.

But I guess it's still possible to get such attacks no matter where one actually sleeps.

[NoraB]

If it's any comfort to you this is me right now. I've slept on the sofa a lot recently.

I'd advise against doing this, James..

I used to do this and it just makes the problem worse. You need to be able to try and deal with the PA in situ, or get up - move about - and get back into bed as soon as you can, even if this means you have to do this several times..

I had a DOOZY of a nocturnal PA the other night. Usually, I wake up with the 'impending doom' and then my heart starts thumping etc, but sometimes I wake up with my heart racing, and this was one of those occasions. I've got myself to a point now where I can prevent a full-blown panic attack by breathing deeply (box breathing). Often, this means that I don't have to get up and I can go back to sleep. The other night? No chance. Too much adrenalin. So, I got up and started moving around. I got myself a drink of water (also helps to slow the heart rate) and was back in bed about an hour later, and asleep an hour after that, though I did feel wrecked the next day..

I think they're a part of the dream experience because many times they happen and I won't even remember that they happened. Sometimes though I remember, like last night.

I've noticed some of my worst ones happen if I've been using my phone (scrolling). For this reason, I try not to use it after 6pm, but the other night I had been using it up to about 8.30pm.

Even down to the not being able to move, and the impending doom. I don't think they're night terrors because I don't see any hallucinations, or wake up screaming (I don't think I could scream even if I wanted to) <-- too much research there

This actually does sound like sleep paralysis, James. I had this once. It was horrible. I didn't have an hallucination either, or wake up screaming, but it felt like something really bad was happening, or about to. I could see everything in the bedroom as normal; I'm pretty sure I was 'awake' but I was unable to move...

And this makes it hard for me to want to sleep at all. This doesn't help though because sleep deprivation will cause me to have these attacks even more!

Absoultely.

I got around the avoidance shizzle by telling myself (and my brain) that it didn't matter if I had a panic attack. I stopped avoiding going to bed. If I woke up at 2am having a panic attack, so what? I've literally had hundreds of the buggers. They are very unpleasant but they can't hurt me. In reality, when we stop adding fear to the situation, a panic attack is more an inconvenience more than anything.

I've seen some really beautiful sunrises thanks to my insomnia and panic attacks...

I've also seen two pissed-up neighbours rolling around in the middle of the road at 5am, throwing punches at each other. Impressively, one of them managed to keep hold of his can of Carling! (Skills!)

[sammie]

I would agree with Nora B. I came back to this site in October 2022 with awful nightime panics. I am now nearly rid of them , yes its taken some time but patience wins in the end. I just used to lay there letting it wash over me and as Nora siad i have had these buggers for a while and i am still here

Sam