panic as i fall asleep: im writing this as... - Anxiety Support

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panic as i fall asleep

Beadyeye0102 profile image
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im writing this as im worried sick about going to sleep as i thinkits just when im about to fall asleep my body jolts and its as if im having a heart attack i loose my breath and if its when im on sofa i act all confused to my partner and embarresed. i only got this over the last 2years and its effecting my life, does anyone else get this

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Beadyeye0102
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RasAlGhoul profile image
RasAlGhoul

Yes i almost got that yesterday but then i started thinking of something that could take my mind off of it and it was maths equations and calculating hard numbers in my brain and that is how i got rid of the attack and eventually fell asleep.

Agora1 profile image
Agora1

Yes Beadyeye0102, I use to get this and it was frightening. But if you understand why it's happening, you will be able to let it go just as fast as it came on. I too use to fall asleep on the sofa and still do at times, but my reaction is no where near what it use to be. I accept it, I fell asleep and when waking up on the couch am confused as to where I am and how fast the sleep had overtaken me. I use to cry out that I was scared, that didn't help and just angered my family. In bed, my nerves were sooo wired from living with anxiety all day, that when I did finally fall asleep in my bed, my body would jolt me awake. It is just the nerves trying to calm down. It has nothing to do with your heart and is not dangerous. You may lose your breath because you get so afraid, your chest wall muscles tighten up as your mind is trying to get you to relax. The answer for me was to listen to my relaxation tape and deep breathing before I fell asleep in bed and immediately when I woke up in the morning in order to calm down the morning anxiety. As for falling asleep on the couch, I replace the negative thought of having lost control to this is a normal function, I was tired and my body wanted a little cat nap. Nothing wrong with that. So Beadyeye, it's all about understanding what is happening which will reduce the stress and fear of the symptom itself. My best. x

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