need to get some sleep.

[heyikr1]

I was wondering if anybody has any ticks to getting some sleep. I had a pretty bad panic attack after I realized I could actually feel my palpitations in my pulse. I always thought it was in my head. By the time I got to the er my blood pressure was 189/86. After a day in the hospital they sent me home and said my heart was good. Been very anxious ever since
Worse I've ever has it. Burning skin, palpitaiona, sweating, jerkd awake fear.
Etc. Doc put me back on celexia 2 weeks ago and I haven't got more then an hour or two sleep at night. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Jconley]

When I have problems sleeping I try to take my mind off of the symptoms by watching tv or playing a game on my phone. I seem to calm down when I can take my mind off of things.

[ellen1]

Yeah i have trouble getting to sleep because i have a fear of dying in my sleep:/ go on a device such as a phone, ipod, ipad etc. in a dark room. doing that makes your eyes very sleepy quickly and you'll probably fall asleep with the device still in your hand! you won't have your mind on your worries and you'll forget about them. you'll sleep like a baby.. it's weird but it does work :)

[dazza]

You thought palpitations were in your head? eh?
Do you mean you didn't think palps were actually real?

Palps are awful, I know... but they are nearly always caused by thoughts - usually subliminal.
Your mind can drift off for a split second, a dashing thought of something profoundly bad, stressful or scary, either past, present or future - and BUMP goes the heart in response to that thought.

YOWZERS...

Stress and anxiety isn't always obvious ya know. You can have it but don't know it, or you can have it but it feels like something very physical.

Before we actually experience anxiety disorder &/or panic attacks, we tend to view it/them as just someone getting a bit stressy and that's it.
But OH NO, it goes way, WAYYYYY beyond that. It drags us to hell and back...

The recovery process takes time. Sometimes a LOT longer than we hope for.
The first step is to recognise & understand the condition. The next step is to accept it. The final step is, well, just wait it out really... using therapy and/or meds as required.

What is of paramount importance right now, is that, if you have been told that you are physically OK, then you gotta believe that.
You won't EVER sleep easy until you grasp this.

The other, usual sleep aids can help - such as:

1/ cut out caffeine and any other energy source in the several hours leading to bed time
2/ exercise daily
3/ if necessary - take a med perhaps 1 hour before bed to somewhat knock you out
4/ DON'T watch stressful TV or play stressful video games before bed
5/ keep your bedroom cool... nothing worse for sleep than a hot, sweaty, stuffy bedroom in my opinion. Use a fan if necessary... not only will it circulate air but the sound can actually be comforting
6/ leave a light on if it helps
7/ RELAX!
8/ try to think of pleasant stuff when trying to sleep (e.g. flowers, sunny days, blue sky... etc)

[troy294]

I'm the same as everyone , I used to be able to feel my heart beat . So I just go to sleep listening to the radio , or I put my tv on timer and just doze off listening to the tv . It's defienately hard but to sleep in the middle of the worse times of anxiety

[heyikr1]

Thanks for all the replies. What I meant by the palps being in my head was I always felt like my heart skipped beats but was never able to feel it in my pulse. Well that was until 2 weeks ago when I was finally able to catch it in my pulse. Both my gp and 3 cardios told me everyone gets these but most ppl can't feel them and that anxiety will definitely bring them about. Still hard to believe that anxiety can cause these. Very scary at times.

[dazza]

Ok... I understand now.

Yeah, I know it's scary... i've had them no end of times SINCE i developed anxiety disorder some 7 months ago, but would only feel them maybe once every few months before this shit began, which is proof in itself that anxiety does cause them.

You have to realise the power of the mind and it's control over everything - including the heart.
An anxious mind is BOUND to send out signals that it otherwise wouldn't... so it's hardly surprising really.

Beta blockers are usually quite effective in reducing (if not completely eliminating) palps, by the way. Propranolol being the most common, I believe.

[troy294]

I used to get it bad feels like it skipped a beat it's known as a PVC (premature ventricular contraction) it doesn't skip a beat it's trying to get back in to beat . I had a heart ultra sound because I got em ALl the time . They not dangerous unless ya get like 5 a sec for example . Read up on it it's actullt interesting. But as soon as I got a heart ultrasound and got told got a good heart they were gone lol because in my mind I knew it was nothing so stopped thinking about it