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...
I want to preface this by saying other than snoring, I don't recall ever having any issues with my sleep. I always slept like a rock. About a month ago, a horrifying wave of anxiety hit me and hasn't gone away since. Basically, it's been a month-long anxiety attack and it has gotten so bad that 2 weeks ago, I started Zoloft. A few days before starting the meds, the anxiety got so bad that I was waking up in the middle of the night in a panic.
After starting Zoloft (Day 15 today), I have been waking every morning around 4am. Sometimes I just wake up normal, sometimes I wake up with heightened anxiety. I read that it's a pretty common side effect of Zoloft so other than being bothered by it, I wasn't really stressing over it.
I mentioned the waking to my doctor who said it was most likely due to both the anxiety and Zoloft, but to be safe, she's going to send me a sleep study kit to test for sleep apnea. I started FREAKING out. Sleep apnea has always been something that scared the living hell out of me. I admit I'm not super well educated on it (I avoid Googling stuff like this due to my health anxiety), but as a concept, it has always terrified me.
I'm obviously going to listen to my doctor and take the test, but what do you guys think? Do you think it's just the anxiety? For reference, I have never had sleep problems other than snoring my whole life. I have never had issues waking early, I never feel tired during the day, I don't need to take naps, always have good energy, workout daily, perform my work well, etc. I could stand to lose a few pounds and have recently lost 20 lbs. I'm 6 ft 203 lbs, so a few more pounds could definitely go, but physically, I'm in decent shape.
I guess I was just caught off guard. I was 100% sure it was just the anxiety and/or meds causing the waking and wasn't expecting sleep apnea to even play into it.
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I did the dumbest thing today. I charged my earbuds, unplugged the block and put the block in my little bag instead of the earbuds. I wasn't happy about that when I got to the gym. What a dummy!
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Ever since I stopped doing therapy because of insurance, I've been feeling that old tense and irritable sense of anxiety and stress. I hate that. I was making so many strides and changes during therapy, my therapist would acknowledge all of my progress and accomplishments, and I miss that reassurance. Today I thought about it, and I made those changes! She would always tell me that I chose to...
Snoring is part of sleep apnea. I just looked it up. Lots of people have sleep apnea, so try not to worry about if you have it or not.
Keep writing things out, such as you just did. Writing and writing will help you sort your anxious thoughts and get them out of your head and on to paper.
Also, think about what happened one month ago that might have started the anxiety. Did something happen, or did you start thinking about something, etc.
Keep exercising, as exercise helps with anxiety, depression.
You're going to be okay. Go ahead and do the sleep testing. It won't be hard to do and it could help you a lot with them fixing this for you.
The test is just a monitor you wear on your finger or wrist while you sleep. You turn it in and they can see your sleep pattern..
I know EXACTLY what hit me a month ago. It was a case of "one thing too many." I have been struggling all year with a bunch of personal stuff, COVID, CA wildfires, bad air quality etc. I hurt my leg a month ago and googled the symptoms, and just saw the wrong thing at the wrong time. It was like the dam burst after that, and the nonstop anxiety hasn't stopped since. It got so bad that I contacted my doctor and started meds again, and now here I am, lol
You've taken the important first step in writing it out.
And, you're already sharing the tip of the anxiety, the point where it went from high to overwhelming.
Zoloft requires regular hydration. The physical symptoms are more noticeable when slightly dehydrated for a lot of people, so staying hydrated will help.
The sleep study will even out the sleep issues with what style of sleep you are experiencing. It's a tool to help you find your better balance.
Keep writing, and keep on expressing those feelings floating around. It will help you relax as you continue to find the calm.
Keep writing it out, as @Mid said. When you write write write, oftentimes a solution will come to mind.
Keep up that exercising. That helps with anxiety/depression, overall mood.
Keep doing your usual, daily things. Keep yourself busy.
Best wishes.