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being wakened by a panic attack

Posted , 4 users are following.

elizabeth11977
elizabeth11977

twice this week I have been wakened from sleep in the middle of a panic attack. Heart going really fast and palpitating, missing beats, shortness of breath and great agitation. Panic attacks are not new to me but during sleep they are! I'm scared to go to bed! Anybody suffer from this and how do you cope? Tia. 

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • aimee48816
    aimee48816 elizabeth11977

    Posted

    Hi Tia.

    I have had this multiple times in the past, and I understand the difficulty! Do you ever drink alcohol before you go to bed then wake up panicky? Because I found (before) that this sometimes happened to me after drinking.

    It has also happened to me otherwise, so I know how you feel. It's also waking up feeling really sick that bothers me! Do you feel sick too?

    It may seem obvious, but the next time this happens just try to take deep breaths, have some water next to your bed so that you have a source of hydration.

    I hope things work out!

    • elizabeth11977
      elizabeth11977 aimee48816

      Posted

      Hi Aimee I'm Elizabeth. Thanks for reply. I don't drink alcohol at all so can't relate to that. Yes I do feel sick but nausea is almost constant with me. I'm fed up to the back teeth with it all. I woke last night about 2 and didn't calm down until 7am. Felt I was doing 4 4 7 breathing all night! Have you any idea why it happens? 
    • aimee48816
      aimee48816 elizabeth11977

      Posted

      I have constant nausea as well! I think it has to do with the anxiety that creates the nausea that wakes us up in the night. I also think that maybe, our subconscious is thinking about something while we are sleeping which wakes us up in a panic, so something that would worry us when we are awake comes to life while we are asleep and makes us react badly to it.

      I'm not sure how to stop this, like i haven't found a solution yet. But when it happens to me I will go through a time period of a few nights of waking up every two hours and panicking but then eventually after a few days I will get back to normal, I'm not sure why! Has anything specifically bad happened that would make you panic?

  • lisalisa67
    lisalisa67 elizabeth11977

    Posted

    Those really stink! I have had that. I bought l theanine and i take one if its during the night. But i dont use any other medicines. It does hapoen maybe a dream triggers who knows. I have had a couple of weeks where i dreaded fice am cause of that. It does stop thankfully. I wish i had a teick for you but i dont know any for that. Sometime i wake uo like i cant breathe then it wears off but usually when im getting a cold or have one. But i think thats aonea thing which is scary. This whole anxiety thing can be so life ruining at times. Hang in there it will eventually stoo doing that.
    • elizabeth11977
      elizabeth11977 lisalisa67

      Posted

      Hi Lisa thanks for reply. Yep it's the pits.....the whole anxiety thing. I'd rather have an arm and a leg chopped off! I thought myself it was perhaps dreams that triggered them. Sleep was my refuge but the two attacks I've had have been brutal and I'm scared to go to bed! We can but hope! 
    • lisalisa67
      lisalisa67 elizabeth11977

      Posted

      Its unbelievable how there is no fix for this mal function already. So many suffer from this. I dont understand how the health field works to stigamatize this or not fix it. I get so angry when i read all these medical break throughs and yet i really have not seen most of them in real life. All this technology and yet here we all are..miserable. 
  • lisa17089
    lisa17089 elizabeth11977

    Posted

    Hi Elizabeth

    These are awful, I suffer from these. My escape use to be sleep, and now I even have them in my sleep.panic attacks and anxiety suck. Eventually I do manage to calm down, but it's a terrifying experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. You are not alone.

    Take care x

  • G...
    G... elizabeth11977

    Posted

    I tend to be awakened by panic attacks when I my anxiety has been very high the day before. It's the worse waking up to a panic attack. 
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