Scared to sleep.

[StereotypicalPisces]

Every now and again for months now I’ll wake up in the middle of the night either feeling nauseated or like I’m suffocating. It wakes me up out of the middle of my sleep around 2-3am and makes me feel very uneasy. Sometimes it happens when I’m trying to go to sleep too and I have to fight to stay awake to keep these feelings from happening. It’s always random and a lot of times doesn’t happen because of any bad dream or any anxious thoughts that are at the forefront of my mind. It’s scary and I have no idea what to do about it.

I have a diagnosis of ptsd and every now and again I have panic attacks but it has lessened dramatically though the past year when i used to panic all day every day. I don’t currently take medications for it besides an occasional Xanax that I had prescribed, but nothing on a regular basis. It’s hard to feel rested and calm when these nights happen. Does anyone else experience this? Because I don’t know if this is common with anxiety or is an underlying issue elsewhere.

[fauxartist]

hi SterotypicalPisces...glad your sharing about this... PTSD and anxiety do manifest themselves in a multitude of ways....I know sleep apnoea can cause you to awake suddenly with a feeling of being suffocated...not sure though about the nausea...have you had a check up with your doctor to see if this is something physical and get that ruled out first. Maybe a sleep study to catch what's going on with your sleep cycle....

[StereotypicalPisces in reply to fauxartist]

I’ve gone to the doctor with concerns about it a few months back and everything seems normal and I even took a pregnancy test and that was negative so they just said my nausea was anxiety related and anxiety/depression medications would help. It bothers me because these symptoms usually only happen in the middle of the night or when I’m actively trying to sleep. So I guess I’ll dig more into it. I’ve been trying not to take antidepressants due to bad side effects in the past but maybe I need to try something new