Nighttime Anxiety!

[Capricorn548]

Almost every night before I go to sleep I think I start to have panic attacks. My heart pounds so hard I think it might stop, I sweat, and feel very afraid and uncomfortable. During the day, I am fine. At work I am fine. But I can't get to sleep at night and sometimes I cry for hours. I have an appt with a psychologist Tuesday. I have tried Klonopin before from my mom but it never helped. It isn't getting better! I have stomach problems I think from so much worrying. I am afraid to go on meds because I don't want them to change me. It's only at night. I have obsessive thoughts sometimes at night. I need some advice. Everyone says to distract yourself before bed but that doesn't work. I worry alot about my relationship. Contantly. I think it is what is giving me anxiety.

[northstar]

hi capricorn sorry to see you having a rough time, it sucks when you can't get any sleep. the symptoms you're describing sound very similar to what i went through, i also had a lot of difficulty with sleep and spent many nights restless, my body burning, sweating, heart pounding, i felt like i would go crazy. and of course the lack of sleep didn't help with the stress.

i think you'll find it very helpful to look at what you're eating before you sleep. you might find that surprising, but it really can be that simple - at least it was for me! avoid any stimulants in the late afternoon/evening time (preferably with anxiety you'd stay well away from them, but that's not always going to happy lol) - so no coffee, no tea, no alcohol, no coke or sodas, and no refined sugar (like bars of chocolate, bisuits, cakes, sugary cereals, sweets, etc.), nothing that contains caffine or sugar basically. these things will all put your body on edge and play with your blood sugars - low blood sugar can cause all kinds of symptoms like heart pounding & palpitations, sweating, shaking, breathlessness, feelings of anxiety & panic amongst other things. so it's best to avoid them for a good few hours before you sleep.

also you might find it helpful to have a snack before you sleep that will keep your blood sugars stable for a while. i often have something like wholemeal toast with peanut butter on it (if you're going to do this make sure the peanut butter doesn't contain a huge amount of sugar first & also white bread is really not ideal). you could have a banana either for some natural sugar or tryptophan which will help you to sleep. if you wake up in the night unable to get back to sleep have a banana by your bedside to eat and it will help you feel calm again. don't eat too many bananas though as they may give you headaches from all the potassium they contain :)

so first of all you're avoiding stimulants for a good few hours before bedtime, then you're also having a snack before you sleep to keep your blood sugars stable for a little while as you begin to rest. these two things alone will help enormously, give it a try and see if it works for you, it's pretty simple to try.

it may also be a good idea to get some exercise in during the day to wear you out naturally and to help you get some feel good hormones flowing through your body. also having a nice hot relaxing bath with a couple of drops of lavender oil in it before you sleep will help you to chill out.

if you'd like to read a bit more about the low blood sugar stuff or other things that will help with anxiety then take a look here: http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087 i hope this helps you out a bit :)

[Capricorn548]

Thank you so much! I am actually very concious of my eating. I can't do caffeine (it will send me into a heart attack lol. I will definitely try to watch what I am eating. Who knows, if I am concentrating on what I am eating, maybe watching what I eat will have at the very least a placebo effect and give me a distraction that will help! I will give it a try. Thanks for your input, as this is my first anxiety post and writing it gave me a little bit of anxiety lol. :)