Waking up panicking

[RecurringThoughts]

Hello everyone,

An hour ago I woke up in the middle of the night in the throes of a panic attack. My heart was racing, my palms were cold and sweaty, and my pupils were constricted. I thought I was dying. My husband got me some water and talked to me until my attack seemed to subside. He has gone back to sleep now, and I should as well because we have to wake up early in the morning to catch a train, but I am afraid of not waking up. I haven't woken up having a panic attack this bad before, and I am terrified of the vulnerable position sleeping puts me in. I don't know what to do...I might just stay on the internet until by body gives in to exhaustion :(

[shakyshawn]

I've been there. I really feel for you. I've had so many nights where I'm afraid to go to sleep because I am afraid I won't wake up. Sometimes I can't even nap on my day off without waking with a racing heart and just feeling horrible...like I am going to die. Eventually I stopped taking naps to avoid that feeling.
But the nights are the worst. It's scary. All of our thoughts are louder at night - especially when we can't sleep.
Have you tried meditating? It actually helps me. At least it's rest and at least I am in control.
I will say that after a while, I got to the point where I just said a prayer and went back to sleep. I was always surprised to wake up, you know? But after a while, when the panic struck in the middle of the night, I could say to myself, "Okay, I've felt this way before and nothing bad happened. I still woke up every morning."
There's no easy answer...and I don't like the short answer which is strong meds.
Anyway, God bless you. I hope you get some rest. Just remember you aren't alone.

[briggs05]

The most important thing to do is not let that experience worry you too much. If you do then it will just snowball and turn into another fear. It will then continue to worry you and you will develop a fear of going to sleep and waking up in a panic. It was probably just a bad night and I would try my best to think of it as that and tell yourself that from now on you will not panic in the middle of the night and that everything is going to be okay. I have been dealing with anxiety for a while now and I know how a fear can develop. So, I would just shake it off, no matter how bad it was and continue on like everything is ok. Best.