Middle of the night an BANG.. Huge panic attack! Please help.. Goin crazy!

[fairyclairy]

Hi guys,
Sorry if i seem abit scatty or anxious..
Iv jus woken up to a HUGE panic attack! Or atleast thats what im tryin to tell myself it is.... bt findin it difficult to believe mid attack!
I woke up suddenly n for a split second i didnt no where i was... Then my heart began to absolute race! Thumpin so hard..
i immediately jumped out of bed wonderin wot was goin on.. Was i gona be sick (huge vomit phobia) was i ill?
My legs, arms an whole body didnt feel like mine...? In a state i went to get mum, who sat with me for 5 mins telin me its anxiety bt i cudnt believe it...
I jus feel unreal? Lik im not here..... Like im loosin control?
Mums gone now an im alone stil havin attack.. Im tryn to convince myself its jus an attack bt i feel so strange?
Can anyone help??? I feel like im loosin the plot! Please xx

[JaneC]

I'm sure it must be terrifying to wake up like that fc and I know it doesn't sound like much, but could you try to do some deep breathing to see if it might help calm you down? Do you have any Rescue Remedy or anything? If you need to talk to someone, perhaps ringing NHS24 might help. Hope you feel better x

[Going home]

Hi fairy, what you've done is talked yourself into a panic attack. I don't get these waking up with a Bang experiences very often but had this last week around 4am one morning and hadn't had this for well over a couple of years. Can't honestly say what did it but could have been an outside noise that I heard sub-conciously but not conciously if that's possible. The thumping racing heartwas there, but there is a difference between turning it into a full blown panic and allowing your heart to calm down again...these days i choose to just get up, feel the palps, get some water, take some breaths and wait for my heart to say 'phew' and allow it to get back to normal without adding to the fear.

I know its not easy, but it wasn't your heart that woke you up, your heart just reacted to whatever it was that did, and it reacted in the way it should have done, its a good heart and its not damaged, its a normal heart and you'll be fine honestly. Try to sleep when you feel a bit calmer.

Anna xx

[fairyclairy]

Thank you soo much for replying, it has reassured me alot!
I know deep down its jus a panic attack, which i kno wont hurt me... I think it got so bad because i suddenly woke up with it an didnt kno what was going on..
Its still lingering but i feel like im coming down from it now.. Im doing the deep breathing which is working and had a rescue remedy pastil... Also jus had half a banana cos i find eating alittle helps me get my mind off it..
I just hate being on my own with them.. My mums been great over the years bt now she knows its always just panic with me which wont hurt me.. She tends to leave me to it an gets angry in a way... I know i cant depend on her for the rest of my life, im already 22! But i jus want someone to sit with me tellin me im going to be alright..... Thats why i love this site so much!
I am feeling alittle calmer now but obv still feel woozy which is expected i guess... Just hope i can go back to sleep cos its totally tires me out having these.
Thanks again for your help, u have no idea how much it helps x

[Going home]

That's ok fairy, everyone here understands how you feel because most of us have felt the same. Your mum is right, she knows its only panic and that its not dangerous because she has seen you in this way many times, but what she cannot know is how it feels, its hard for the poeple who haven't experienced it to know it. They can sit with you and rub your back and make all the right noises and this helps us tremendously, but as time goes on they lose patience with us and that's understandable too, so then we feel bad for bothering them and then we feel alone with it, but we know its not their fault.

With time you'll start to get on top of it, its a slow process so no use pretending theres a quick fix because it has to come from how we handle the fears ourselves. You'll get there...i'm loads better than i was since joining nmp. Having people who understand really helps.

Hope you get some sleep anyway.
Anna xx

[guitarpants]

These are the worst. This is the only way I've had panic attacks, waking with them in the middle of the night. They won't harm you and they are only panic attacks. I had the same types of thoughts as you when I woke with one.