Waking up scared for no reason.

Hi, another day of waking scared of evdrything, sort of nightmare like. Asssume this must be anxiety. Diazepam not calming it down really.  Makes the whole day hard.  Anything younhave taken that helpss or anything you do?  I dream i am in an institution with lunatics and then i see friends in distance but fear talking tomthem.  Its been happening to me for some time but it had lessened for a while, but back again.  I thought it was the mirtazapine causing the feeling somhave cut it down since August, but now its back.  Imhave valium to take but dont want to really increase it.  Any suggestions?

did you not have any medication to help and it really went away on its own? I have been struggling with this for so long. Trying to domcbt saying im safe, home  etc still i feel during day very vulnerable and anti social because of it.

Hey, Ann - sorry to hear you struggling with this too. For me that was about plus/minus 8 years ago & I wish I had paid more attention then to give you a more detailed answer now - but maybe I can think of something while I write back. And, no - I have never taken any medication of that sort (it's a personal thing) but that does not mean I did not work on my issues on my own. I think my anxiety was a lot worse back then though in general & I am sure it played a role as well. I don't know whether certain circumstances changed or whether I changed or did something that helped but eventually it faded & I haven't had it like that since. What I wonder, since you mentioned nigtmares in your reply to mimibrenda, whether that could be something that effects the way you wake up. When we sleep our subconsiousness comes up after all & our brain works on the things that affected us during the day or in general, all one is able to suppress when one is awake. Maybe there are a lot of fears you can control at daytime that submerge in your sleep or do you wake up like this when you have a good dream as well? I am just wondering whether the way you wake up is a "normal" reaction of your brain to what you dreamed & if it frightened you a lot the way you wake up might make sense. After all, children wake up from nightmares, crying & being afraid because they don't understand it was just a dream & can't hurt them but their initial reaction is fear because they don't understand that yet. What I am trying to say is - at times I still notice that I wake up p****d when I was angry in my dreams, that I wake up crying & sad when I dreamed something that made me feel that way in my dreams, that sometimes I wake up with a "thank god or who/whatever that was a just a dream" but somehow I can feel it effecting me for a while still - well, I don't think that is neccessarily unnormal tbh & it doesn't happen that often. What maybe could be helpful (just an idea) is to look for patterns. Like what you dreamed when you wake up like that or other things that made it better or worse during the day - maybe you can see a common theme or get some clarity of the underlying issue that way? I think the scariest thing about such things & anxiety is general is not understanding why, so it is harder to come up with strategies & one, naturally, feels more helpless. I can understand that the way you wake up effects your mood during the day - it is hard to shake such things off when you can't understand them, so ofc they keep your mind busy & you instantly starting your day with a feeling of anxiety surely doesn't sound like a great start in the first place. Maybe find something that helps you calm down again, maybe also during the day & at bed time - some rituals to relax your mind. I don't know what would help you there but I am sure you can figure something out. And maybe keep a dream journal or something like this if it would help you find patterns in your dreams - maybe you can figure out what causes your nightmares & work on that, if you don't do that already. The more you understand what is going on the better you can deal with it. What I additional found & find helpful with regards to anxiety & other issues is taking yourself out of the situation for a moment - like watching yourself from the outside to see what is going on (objective & observant) & how you react to it (sometimes it helps adjusting your reaction)..it is hard to think clear when you are in a state of terror or fear after all, being emotionally overwhelmed & frozen in a way. I don't know whether you can do that though but I guess those things are the best I can think of atm. I hope you get better - I know it is a struggle in general but things can change.