Severe anxiety while sleeping: So i have... - Anxiety Support

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Severe anxiety while sleeping

micah010 profile image
14 Replies

So i have been having this crazy scary feeling when i am trying to fall asleep. Its like just before i slip off into "unconsciousness" my brain like freaks and sends a jolt through my body. Its sort of feels like your falling or something. My heart starts racing and i get really hot. It started thursday and todays sunday. Thursday i was able to fall asleep on my own although it was tough, and then friday i had to take two benadril and my mom gave me a lorazepam and after about an hour i again luckily fell asleep. Well last night i didn't get any sleep at all and this feelings just overcoming me with severe anxiety i feel like I'm dying, and like its all i can think about!! Its very scary and i'm reading all these horrible things like fatal familial insomnia and stuff thinking i have a prion disease or something :(. if i don't sleep tonight or this feeling persists I'm going to a doctor ASAP. Just wondering any one has had this feeling before. Please let me know any info thanks! Not getting any sleep really sucks.

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micah010
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inthelight profile image
inthelight

I've had these symptoms. They are scary but the best advice i can give you is to stay positive and confident you'll sleep well again. A few things that i believe have helped, are making sure that you are giving your body and brain the vitamins it needs to function its best. For example a daily serving of 7 vegetables and 4 of fruits, omega-3 fatty acids like salmon. Fiber, like lentils, beans. Make sure that throughout your day you're prepping your body for a good nights rest by not upsetting it with bad food. I like to drink chamomille tea about an hour before i fall asleep, it calms me down. And a few months ago when my sleep cycle was tryly out of whack i would drink valerian root tea.its a strong tea but as my cycle slowly started becoming a bit better, i didnt have to drink it anymore. All of these things have made me feel better, i hope its helpful to you.

Were profile image
Were in reply to inthelight

I get it mostly every night it's like I'm sinking and il jump and my eyes go all weird is scary as but it's part of anxiety it's awful I've dealt with it for years and years and dizzy of balance tired scared to go out because I can't focus I just think I'm going to collapse hate it

micah010 profile image
micah010 in reply to Were

See I think it's anxiety related to and I'm going to get some Xanax from a doctor today. It's weird because for almost half a year I've been dizzy and off balance because of an ear infection. I don't know if it's related thigh cause I've never had this jolt feeling before when j try and sleep

Were profile image
Were in reply to micah010

Ye I have bad ears I had a inner ear infection years ago never been right since always of balance it's awful

micah010 profile image
micah010 in reply to Were

Hey were, i really can relate to you more then like anybody. Ive been off balance and dizzy/brain fog all that crap for like 9 months now. But now that i have this insomnia, anxiety, SUPER FREAKED annoying feeling right before i fall asleep its.... really really getting me down. Just thought i should let u know get back to me if you can offer any advice. You said you've dealt with this for years and years?? I've dealt with this for like 20 days and its driving me insane buddy. I can't take naps any more. Everytime i do its like my brain goes "into fight or flight" mode. Really disturbing man i can't doze off without meds now, restoril and lorazapram and even then i still get this panic sensation.

Were profile image
Were in reply to micah010

Yes seven years been like this it's so crazy I'm terrible but it's constantly on my mind. Ye my ear has been blocked years it's awful and I can't lay down straight I have to be propped up because I go that dizzy not nice but I think my anxiety is out of control because I can't even sit and talk to any one even in my own home a seem to always feel really hot lije face burning up my hands go sweaty I feel really dizzy and weak I have to be moving about what's wrong x

micah010 profile image
micah010 in reply to Were

I don't know if i mine was caused by an ear cleaning or an infection but yeah I'm seeing a vestibular specialist in St. Louis who's supposed to be world renown for the stuff. He's got all these tests and stuff for dizziness i guess. But this panic/insomnia/anxiety is really just overwhelming me at this point and lack of sleep. If i could just get a good nights rest i would be okay but my body won't let me have it.

Were profile image
Were in reply to micah010

Mines through an inner ear infection runs in my family my nana has labrythitus my brother has vertigo I'm really scared to go to doctors am hoping very soon though because life cant go on like this it will just pass. And ye specialists all they do is excersises like tilting ya head side to side hanging it over the edge of the bed just to get youst to the spinning sensation crazy and I'd love a decent kip but I have five kids so could imagine e very impossible anxiety is terrible tho I'm sinking now whilst sat here so scary anxiety effects eyes to also I feel hungover every morning lol x

hippieebbbz09 profile image
hippieebbbz09

I sometimes get a twitch in my foot , or thigh ...or all over like my arms & back I get a similar sensation to yours . It does get me anxious lol but then afterwards I get some sleep. But sometimes I hear that if you've been anxious &/or stressing ..& you twitch or whatever , that's your body telling you to relax ..idk but I believe that's what the article said. When I'm not stressed , I get some sleep without those sensations .....anyways, I definitely relate to your situation . I have yet to talk to my dr about it, but if you find it bothersome , which I think you do ..tlk to him/her....& let us know what you find out :)

worrymagic2013 profile image
worrymagic2013

Everyone gets the falling sensation sometimes when feeling asleep. It's supposed to be related to us humans coming out of the trees millions of years ago! You are asleep or nearly, maybe even dreaming and then you fall and wake up with heart racing. It's completely normal.

However....

It sounds like you are then getting a panic attack when this happens to you, hence the heat etc. Horrible I know and getting no sleep makes managing attacks even harder. But honestly you are fine.

Some counseling might help you explore why you get so scared and why you react like this. Good luck, and I hope you get some sleep.

Were profile image
Were

Or its awful sick of it tbh and thanks x

marcin0105 profile image
marcin0105

Hi, I'm a person who has had life-long, chronic anxiety. Not cripling, but bad enough that I'm often uncomfortable.

One thing I've learned is that it seems to be worse at night. I don't know why. I feel a sense of doom about daily issues that always seem better in the morning, so I've worked out a few tools to deal with it.

One thing is to take a hot shower before bed. Sure, you can drink a hot herb tea or cocoa in bed. What thesee things are doing is telling yourself you are in charge and are going to take care of yourself. It's a good mindset to start.

Then after that, it's important to distract your mind and tell yourself you are not permitted to think about things that encourage those anxious thoughts. How do you do that?

One is to have paper by your bed to make notes about anything you fear you will forget the next day or that you have ideas about.

Another is to read a book, and I mean really read - not glancing through a magazine. You will find your mind is constantly drifting back to your worrisome thoughts and you have to fight it - over and over. Eventually it will take and you will be able to read for longer periods.

Lastly, have you heard of guided fantasies? This is what works best for me. I design a dream house in my mind, something I like to do - you will need to find something to build or a story to make up that holds your interest. The funning thing for me is when I'm building a house in my mind, I now seem to fall asleep at the same point in the plan.

After all is said and done, if I can't sleep, I have a laptop and I pull it into bed and look for houses for sale at real estate sites and am eventually bored enough to fall asleep.

The point is that you do need to get creative in helping yourself with sleep issues and not totally depend on drugs. Sure didn't help poor old Michael Jackson.

You sound young enough that alcohol is probably not an issue, but a bit of over drinking can cause people to wake up in the night and not go back to sleep.

To return to your issue - just remember there are things you can try as mentioned above, but you do have to be persistant. The mind can be very defiant and wanting to do things in it's own, dysfunctional way. You can override it. It takes work.

Carol

MCrystns profile image
MCrystns

I have the same thing happening to me. When I do fall aslerp its for a littlest of an hour then I wakenup with bad anxiety. I used to breathe into a brown lunch bag and it would help for a little while then panic starts in. I fo take other meds and am trying to taper off. I am at my wits in.

ciley profile image
ciley

have had what i call a phobia like this most of life,its worse in difficult times,actially if you can take supps to keep your bedy fit it will take or make up on your rest, its designed to do that, its bad at present, never have things been so bad for me,trouble is i for saw it, i didn't know i'd feel helpless about changing it.

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