Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

23,095 Members
43,238 Posts
0 Online
Anxiety Disorders
/ Anxiety Support Group

Night Panic

madelynjay
madelynjay

Hello, i have been struggling with my constant anxiety and panic attacks while trying to find a medication that works. Thankfully my anxiety during the day has gone down but once its night it starts flooding in. I make sure i have calmed down before going to bed but i have been waking up an hour later in sheer panic. I am then up with constant anxiety until around 6 when it gets light out. I am not sure why this happens and am wondering if anyone has any tips to help me sleep at night without waking up with panic attacks. 


Thanks!

shakyinside
shakyinside
It’s hell when that happens isn’t it? There are a few natural things that help like ashwaghanda, white noise or relaxation vids from YouTube but the only thing that actually helped me significantly was amitryptyline which is an older type antidepressant also prescribed for anxiety. It has a sedating effect as well and is taken at night. I pretty much tried to avoid pharmaceuticals because of side effects but I got so bad I agreed to try it. It probably saved my life. I really hope you can find something to help you, I know what you’re going through.
arfie
arfie
My own night terrors/panics are dream related. My remedy is/was keeping a glass of water, a pen and notebook next to my bed. The water is to wash the taste of panic out of my mouth. The pen and notebook are for recording the dream and/or emotions attached before they fade. During my long stretches, important patterns often emerge. During the random occurrence, the writing calms me enough to get back to sleep.

Gentle support while you find what works for you, Madelyn. May you find restorative rest soon.
Restful
Restful
I have had serious problems sleeping also, especially with having bad dreams every night. One thing that seems to help a little is to get up and move to another place. For instance, I will wake up terrified, but if I get up and move from the bed to the sofa, I usually fall back to sleep pretty quickly.
RickN
RickN
New here, first comment ;)

My tips for calm night: do 20 minutes of light yoga before bed. (lots of pre-bed yoga routines available on youtube). This will calm your nervous system (twists are great for this), relax you diaphragm (key for panic), and get you comfortable with being in your body. It also forces deep breathing, which really helps.

I follow this up with a meditation app. They have good pre-bed routines that are soothing and (I find) reduce the sense of being alone with these issues.

Good luck
madelynjay
madelynjay
Thanks for all the tips! I'll have to try them out. :)
Posts You May Be Interested In
  • GreenEyes727

    My Diary

    Posted by: GreenEyes727
    Last Reply: GreenEyes727
    7
    I haven't written in my diary on my computer since May because I thought that my computer was dying.  I got away from writing but my computer is hanging in there.  I think that I will start writing in it again.  It's so therapeutic.  
  • Vince3789

    Missing Therapy

    Posted by: Vince3789
    Last Reply: hasty_05
    5
    First, I hope everyone is doing well, and continuing to fight that good fight! Keep up the great work on yourselves; I'm rooting for all of you!So, I started doing therapy at the beginning of the year, when I was in my most depressed state, but with my therapist, I made big changes and steps in the right direction. But, over a month ago, she couldn't take my insurance anymore, and I had to stop...