Scary symptoms trying to fall asleep

[Panic6]

I get this weird scary thing that happens to me at night when I am trying to fall asleep from time to time. Usually when it happens, it happens three or four nights in a row. I lay down trying to fall asleep and all of a sudden it feels like my heart stops or skips and I stop breathing. It leaves my heart racing and a jolting feeling once I have felt my heart beat skip/stop. Before it happens, I usually start feeling this weird high sensation. I have had my heart looked at and the doctors saw nothing wrong. I have been diagnosed with severe anxiety and panic disorder. I am at my wits end about it because I strongly believe that I have a heart problem and that one night, it will happen and my heart with completely just stop. My anxiety stems from the thought of death, so the sleeping problem terrifies me to extremes. I am a 21 year old female if that's helps my situation, I just don't want to feel alone in what I have been dealing wuth at night. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

[DeanPhillips]

Hi there!

I've had that, been through a whole barrage of tests and in the end it was anxiety.

I once had an attack so bad I genuinely thought my heart had stopped beating. It was scary and so powerful I collapsed. At that time I was actually on a 24hr monitor and it showed that my heart rate hadn't even dropped.

I do occasionally get the odd missed beat but that's normal, everyone gets them and in the end it's all caused by my anxiety.

Your heart is very unlikely to just stop, especially at your age, and believe me, if it was you'd know about it!

Just remember anxiety cannot hurt you and you'll get through it

[Helena877]

This is VERY common.

I suffer from hypothyroidism so my anxiety is all connected to a lack of thyroid hormones. When my medication needs slightly adjusting the first sign I get of anxiety is exactly the same as what you are describing.

I think it's something to do with cortisol /adrenaline levels

[Lucas29]

Hey, I had the exact same issue. It worried me so much, I booked a doctors appointment for an EKG, to my surprise, they told me my heart is fine and that its anxiety thats making this happen to me. I posted about it on here a few months back, Ill give you a link to that here...healthunlocked.com/anxietys...

You'll be okay x

[JessMarie79]

My anxiety too stems from my absolute fear of death, so anything that i feel is outnof the ordinary has me thinking the worst. You are not alone in this feeling either, i feel this way as well sometimes when i go to bed and then i have panic attacks because it just isnt right.

[2670 in reply to JessMarie79]

Hi. 45 year old mom of four girls here to help. My girls are. Soon to be 24. 17. Soon to be 16. And 13. I went through this wen I had my first daughter. I was 21 wen I had her and 23 wen I got a cough that wouldn't go away for so long. After taking medication I ended up having a panic attack and had never heard of that. I was like. A what? This was 20 years ago. I went to the hospital by ambulance. Let's just say. Week after week then daily. Then all day every day. I had racing thoughts. Fear of death. Out of body. Numbness tingling. Vision weirdness. Blurry. Overly sharp vision Hearing loss. Over sensative hearing. Sensitivity to sun light fear of dark. Agoraphobia. But also afraid to stay indoors. This ATTACK . I thought was going to kill me. After a million trips to the ER. And finally about six trips to a group therapy and hearing women talk about the years n years of not dying from this dreadful thing. And suffering . I decided I was done with this. I prayed. God led me to people. There was nothing like this back then. I had to go out. So God put people in my path. And books and magazine articles. While was laying in bed not sleeping listening to the sound of ringing so loud in my ears and the grinding of my teeth. I'd pray and this commercial would come on . It was about panic n anxiety. Is listen to testimonies. I had to kick this thing off me. Out of me. I had things to do. And so do you. If God didn't have a plan for you. The enemy wouldn't attack you. With lies that say. Ur going to die. Stop believing the lies. And during this time. Drink a lot of liquids. Water preferably. I had every test done known to man. Tubes up my butt to X-ray my insides. Barium enima. That was fun. NOT. Nothing was ever wrong. Ok. So I had to do things I feared. And make some changes. You will too. Pray. Always in all different ways. God will help you moment by scary moment. Before Jesus died on the cross. He said. Father if there is any way to remove this fate from me please stop this awful thing. But none the less your will be done. So let yourself be victorious. If this is what your going through. Don't waste it. When it's over. Use it to help others. Eat balanced meals a couple times a day. Stay hydrated. Pray. Be still. Wait. Listen. And sleep as much as U can. I pray you will see the truth in this moment of your life. That after this no matter what you are faced with that u will look at it like David before Goliath. Pick up the pebble. Fling it at the temple of ur enemy and watch it fall. Because this is your training. And it'll make you a warrior for wats coming next. Love you

[moni85]

Hi ive experience everything you described and its an awful feeling😞

I've read on someone else post that it was a hypnic jerk and its due to anxiety

[Jayde_96]

Hey darling! I'm 20 years old female about a year ago I had this! It was dreadful trust me I feel you! I went to the doctors sooooo many times had my heart, chest, blood checked. They found nothing physically wrong. Are you going through anything stressful right now? Perhaps anything is worrying you? I can assure you that this is a classic sign of anxiety and believe me when I say that you are ok! It won't hurt you and it will get better, one day you will be able to sleep and it won't happen x