anxiety in your sleep?

[Joie]

Is it possible to have an anxiety attack in your sleep? I am awakened by my whole body shaking and numb at times. can it be a result of nightmares even though i dont remember having a nightmare?

[rejanette]

It's happened to me in the past.

[Joie]

really? so i shouldnt be worried i have some kind of neurolgical disorder or something? its pretty scary but comforting to know someone else has experienced the same thing. thank u!

[Hanino]

Joie

Yes it' very possible and very likely that you can and will have anxiety while you sleep or are about to fall asleep. It can progress into heart palpitations and night jerks where your body will jerk you awake I know because I had that for 12 years but it's a thing of the past now.


Hanino

[Fudge]

It definitely happens. I find for myself that they tend to occur with nightmares.

[CAJWD]

I've definately wakened with panic and anxiety. Sometimes I find the night to be the worst time. I'll sleep soundly for 2-3 hours and then panic the rest of the night away. Sometimes waking in a sweat and numb, tingling arms. It's a horrible feeling. I actually went to the hospital one night with these symptoms - they were so bad. But there was nothing physically wrong. I hope that knowing you're not alone in your feelings helps you a bit. Strength in numbers.
CAJWD

[jennismortal]

A good night’s sleep is important to good health. Many of us toss and turn or watch the clock when we can’t sleep for a night or two. But for some, a restless night is routine. More than 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million report sleeping problems occasionally, according to the National Institutes of Health. Stress and anxiety may cause sleeping problems or make existing problems worse. And having an anxiety disorder can only exacerbate the problem.

[coops025]

I have waken feeling like i have just experianced an attack so i would say yes it is possible.

[Joie]

Thank u everyone! I had body shakes last night too. Its so scary. I feel better knowing im not alone but i cant help but fear there is something seriously wrong with my nervous system or something. My arms go numb and shake which wakes me up. then in the morning my arms are weak like theyve been shaking all night. my general doctor thinks im crazy. she tried 2 times to put me on medication and i dont want to take lorezepam because i dont want to be a zombie. thanks for listening.

[ArmyWife]

Yes It is possible. I occasionally awake in a panic attack, and it usually ends up with my gasping for air, holding my chest. And it is awful. Those are the ones I am scared of the most because I dont know the triggers for them, so I have nothing to try and prevent them from happening.

Hate hate hate them.

[edwardme]

Hey Joie,

I've had panic attacks in my sleep as well. Sometimes I would wake up from them, sometimes not.

It's not really the best way to begin your day when you jolt up with terror and fear when the alarm goes off.

As a sort of interesting addition to this, I have also had full blown physical panic attacks, with no mental components (no dread, I'm going to die, terror etc.). These started when I went off all the medications (with doctor supervision) and began to actually recover. They were pretty trippy (in a good way, if that's possible).

If it had to happen, taking the mental part out is much 'easier'.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else out there has had just physical anxiety/panic attacks without the mental component as well? Let me know.

PS

If I'm going to have a panic attack anyway (uncontrolled as they are), I'd rather have it in my sleep! ;)

[calgladyng]

i had this b4 2

[walrus]

I'd had anxiety and panic attacks during sleep every night for the past 10 years.

Every night I will wake up at around 2-4am feeling all panicky and anxious.

I'd tried sleeping pills .. and it worked.. i can finally sleep soundly. But i didn't want to be dependent on drugs so I stopped.

It is really crappy but I don't know what to d

walrus

[northstar]

waking up with panic and anxiety during the night can be down to low blood sugar, i know this from experience and have managed to solve the problem for myself :)

low blood sugar is a huge cause of anxiety but unfortunately we don't really know about it and doctors rarely think of it. it can be solved pretty easily however and it's all down to diet.

i posted up lots of information on it on another thread, you can take a look at it here: http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087

[Penny Owen]

Joie,
You've probably discovered by now that you most definitely are not alone in this - it's happened to me too. Once I made the decision to do everything I could do to overcome these awful attacks (I really couldn't function without sleep and it was affecting my performance at work) and I went to the doctor for some help and advice, I was referred to a cognitive behavioural therapist. She helped me out no end and I also decided to do exercise before I went to bed, did some meditation and listened to some calming music. I also took Vitamin B complex and changed my lifestyle. Then one night I slept straight through, only getting up to go to the bathroom (but no panic attack symptoms whatsoever). I could hardly believe it ... but although I do still get a bit of anxiety during the night at times, I no longer expect it. I get it when I've had yet another argument with my daughter and my mind hasn't quietened down afterwards.

You are going to freak out when you hear this. Invite a panic attack in, tell it to come on with as much force as it can muster - because you invite it in and expect it to come, somhow it reduces its power. I wouldn't have thought this could ever work ... but it did for me. The shortness of breath and chest pain just never appeared.

Hope this helps too.
Penny

[Joie]

thank you everyone. i have been drinking tea before bed (decaf) and its been helping alittle. i feel like im going crazy though..and ive diagnosed myself with every illness in the book which is causing my head to swim literally.. anxiety sucks!

[Penny Owen]

Joie,
Try camomile tea - that is a relaxant - you can add a bit of honey if it isn't to your taste. Also try some drops of lavender essential oil on your pillow.
I find aerobic exercise early evening to be good too as I then go to bed physically tired. I also find that any form of exercise is good for anxiety sufferers - keep your mind distracted before going to bed - do something you really enjoy doing. Then you won't go to bed with anxious thoughts.
When my anxiety was really bad, I used to meditate before I went to sleep, with some music in the background. I used to have the music on so that I could focus on the sounds rather than letting my anxious thoughts get the better of me. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't but I used to get a better night's sleep if I used all of these tactics.
Hope some of these tips help. Let us know because this is a great forum for getting help - there are a lot of anxiety sufferers on it, whether they are past or present sufferers and you are never alone in your suffering :D .

Penny

[hambone]

Is it possible to have an anxiety attack in your sleep? I am awakened by my whole body shaking and numb at times. can it be a result of nightmares even though i dont remember having a nightmare? Yes I have had it happen to me also. Gasping for air and scary. I have had it happen to me 3 times in my life.

[Penny Owen]

Hi Joie,
Yes, it's happened to me too - several times. Just because we're asleep, it doesn't mean that our minds aren't active so anxiety can happen during sleep too. But don't worry - this is quite common and it isn't going to hurt you, although the first time it happened to me, I was literally scared to death.

As you start recovering from anxiety attacks, they disappear during the night too. Stay on the road to recovery and it will be OK.

Penny