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...
Hello, all. I'm new here. I've been struggling with panic attacks for about 4 years now, but I've struggled with anxiety/OCD since childhood. I'm reaching out to fellow sufferers and looking for advice on nocturnal panic attacks. I had one for the first time last night and I'm so nervous to go to bed. I disassociate during my episodes and waking up disoriented like that was terrifying to me. Any advice? Can anyone relate? If you've dealt with these, what were your experiences like, and what helped you? Thanks in advance. God bless you all!
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I was listening to George Birge radio on Pandora in my car yesterday. It sounded good but the lyrics are so limited with country music. I just couldn't hear another song about whiskey. Now I'm listening to Tori Amos. She is my female Elton John. I love their lyrics!
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When i was in the ER February 16th 2025, i was being admitted to ICU where i was for 3 weeks, then had to relearn to walk for 3 weeks in another hospital rehab floor, the nurse told me something that made me feel for over 18 months now that i was finally *safe*. She told me that the guy who raped and beat me 21 years ago now almost 20 years at that time, was in prison as of a month before that...
I've never heard of "Nocturnal Panic Attacks," but I wonder if they are the same as "Night Terrors" and/or "Nightmares." Both will cause me to wake up in a panic.
IF they are the same thing, building awareness of my personal cycles was a big part of the process. An isolated incident doesn't form a pattern all by itself.
Am I guessing anywhere close to what you feel?
So, or no, I hope you'll feel safe to keep sorting here. Welcome aboard.
You've taken the important first step in writing it out.
Anxiety is natural. It is a part of us. It is a helper, so writing out what happens and sorting through everything will help you figure out what works and what goes into 'overwhelming'.
Dreaming often releases the words floating in our brains and allows us to work out what is happening in our thoughts.
Set up a calming night time routine to help you be calm before sleeping.
Best wishes as you find your better balance.
I hope you find your answer to this.
I manage to keep my anxiety pretty much under control during the day, with very few panics and they luckily tend to be quite mild.
I have worse problems at night, when I'm not on public display at my work. They tend to be more frequent when I'm under stress at work, and this week has been one of those weeks so far.
I don't know exactly what happened in your attack, but waking up terrified for no apparent reason, being in a cold sweat, feeling disoriented, wetting the bed, surreal and frightening dreams are the type of symptoms that I experience. The exact nature of each attack differs, just like your own experience will be different to mine I'm sure.
The main thing that helps me feel more relaxed is drinking camomile tea before bed - but that does mean that I encounter my bedwetting problem more often! But it does make a panic attack less likely.
I always try to relax before bed, either reading or watching something completely mindless on television. And this one maybe sounds silly, but I cuddle my teddy bear - he helps to calm me down too!
I realise that what helps me isn't necessarily going to help you, but I hope that you can find something to help, even if the only thing is knowing that you're not the only one facing this. I hope that this particular nocturnal attack is just a one-off and doesn't recur. But if it does then write about it and we will all try to make you feel less bad about it.