Sleeping problems

[Kayla_Brooke7]

Every night when I’m about to fall asleep, it feels like I start to lose my breathe and a sinking feeling starts happening through out my whole body. It feels like if I give in I WILL die, so a shit ton of adrenaline pumps through my body and I jolt out of bed trying to catch my breath. It happens every single night, even when I’m not anxious or panicked, I could be completely calm and if I’m about to fall asleep this happens over and over again until I finally fall asleep from giving up on trying to stop it? I’ve seen a doctor, they keep telling me I’m perfectly healthy, can someone reassure me that I’m okay?

[Galyndra1217]

Hi..I know exactly how you feel!! This has happened to me as well. Starting to fall asleep and a sinking feeling. Then a rush of adrenaline! It must be anxiety, it’s really frustrating though because of the out of control feeling. Then more anxiety thinking what’s wrong with me. I take CBD oil and it really helps. Good to know we are not alone!! Sometimes I feel fine and I’ll think..wow, haven’t had that feeling for awhile and then it happens lol. Gotta laugh.

[Kayla_Brooke7 in reply to Galyndra1217]

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer me ❤️

[Galyndra1217 in reply to Kayla_Brooke7]

You’re very welcome..anytime if I can help. Hope you’re having a good day today. 😊

[Kayla_Brooke7 in reply to Galyndra1217]

I hope you are too! Please feel free to message me if you ever need someone to talk to, it’s not all about me. We are all struggling in one way or another. Much love to you my friend.

[Galyndra1217 in reply to Kayla_Brooke7]

Thank you so much. We have to help each other. Much love to you too! ❤️

[Swan2019]

I get this every now and then and it is scary. And just like it happens till i cant fight it and fall asleep. I was starting to wonder if it was sleep Apnea. Tonight its not that. Its feeling dazed everytime i doze off. Feeling like ill faint while falling a sleep. Still awake.

[Kayla_Brooke7 in reply to Swan2019]

It happens every night for me, every single night, and sometimes it happens so bad that I jolt out of it and scream cause I thought I just somehow escaped death by a thin line, I just want some peace at bed time. I’m sorry it happens to you, if you have any suggestions on what you do to help when it happens to you, please let me know 💗

[Funkyfaerie]

Hi Kayla,

I had this too and still get it from time to time. I had it real bad for a few months. It felt like I would forget to breathe or something and only when I started to fall asleep. But as you say once I finally did fall asleep I was fine.

I think a lot of it is expecting it to happen, it's that classic fear of the fear.

I broke the cycle by by taking deep breaths when I got into to bed, in through the nose and out through the mouth. I know that's hard to do when you are freaking out, but I preserved and once I started to take control, it eased off... And now I hardly get it at all, and when I do get the odd moment, yes it will still scare me a little, but I can think, oh its that old thing again, and not panic about it and fall asleep.

Hope I have helped you a little. xx

[Kayla_Brooke7 in reply to Funkyfaerie]

Thank you so much for your thorough response, I really appreciate the effort and time you put into this feedback for me. I have a panic disorder and PTSD from a near death experience when I was a child and then in 2016 I fatally overdosed and was dead for 4 minutes before they were able to resuscitate me, there are other contributing factors to the PTSD developing but it’s mainly from those two situations. I’m terrified of death and it’s turned me into a hypochondriac on top of everything else. I want to live my life but I’m too afraid of potentially dying in the process, I know it’s inevitable but I’m having a hard time relinquishing control over how life works, I would live forever if I could, I’m so afraid of what happens after you die. I’m sorry I just vented to you, I’m struggling a lot these days, I used heroin for many years to combat these problems but I’ve been clean a long time now and don’t have drugs to make the problems go away so I’ve been in therapy trying to face my demons and make peace with them. I just want one night where I can go to bed without paralyzing anxiety that I’m going to die. Thanks for listening ❤️

[Funkyfaerie in reply to Kayla_Brooke7]

Kayla,

I would guess that you could ask anyone, and they would be afraid of death, we don't talk about it. And I don't think they'd be telling the truth if they said they weren't afraid, so we are all in it together!

I am not a religious person, but I have my own beliefs, which I won't write on here as I don't think it's appropriate.

But what I will say to you is, I think about all the things, the history, the life that went on before I was born, I knew nothing, but it didn't hurt me.

You know, I am not a young person, and I have suffered on and off like this all my life, but my father died recently, and I admit I got a bit morose about it.

But then I looked around at all the things I try to do with my anxiety symptoms, and I thought I've got to live this life, wear my whacky clothes ( I was an original hippie in the 70's!)

😊 And live life, go out and enjoy, have fun while we are here, don't forget we are all in the same boat, and I agree if you stop and think its frightening.

Isn't there a song where the lyrics are "To scared to live, but I don't wanna die?"

Get up, dress up, be your best... Walk in nature, listen to music, dance, chat with friends.

And you know this horrible thing before you sleep, it will go away slowly, you've been checked out. Anxiety is a sneaky beast, it's always laying in wait to present you with a different symptoms, just when you thought you were doing OK. Everyone on here knows that, but do you know we are all strong people with what we have to cope with day after day.

Did you say you've had talking therapy?

A good book to read is " Be your own life coach" by Fiona Harold. Its uplifting and encouraging.

I've gone on a bit sorry, I hope you have a good day today. xx

[Brightfuture22 in reply to Kayla_Brooke7]

Hi Kayla,

I have been experiencing extreme anxiety, especially at night. Many times I start to panic because I am afraid that I won’t wake up in the morning. Eventually I pass out because my brain and body are so exhausted from dealing with heightened anxiety throughout the day. Lately I’ve been getting these bouts of dizziness, feeling faint, like my brain is spinning or trembling. Anyways, I haven’t experienced specifically what you are talking about, and I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It’s frightening to the core! But I wanted to comment and share something that may help to deal with the PTSD. I started seeing a psychologist about 7 weeks ago. We started something called EMDR therapy and honestly it’s been incredibly helpful dealing with past traumas. If you get a chance, look into it, I think from what you’ve described about your past it could be potentially really helpful for your coping and anxiety! Good luck!

[Clarrisa]

Is sleep apnea a possibility? There is a “Berlin Questionnaire” that is used to identify patients at risk for the sleep apnea syndrome. I hope you you are sleeping better soon.

[Kayla_Brooke7 in reply to Clarrisa]

Multiple doctors told me I don’t have it, they said it’s a common thing with people who struggle with panic disorders, high stress and constant anxiety like I do, they said it will stop happening when I start to heal my mind. Thanks for your feedback 💕

[Hidden]

For me, it was sleep apnea. I only figured it out after getting a sleep study done. Sharing my sleep apnea experience so that others can compare.

For me, I would fall asleep super fast then my breathing would stop then my breathing would get faster and faster, my fight or flight would activate, and my brain would eventually tweak my muscles so that I was forced awake because my whole body just twitched hard enough to shake the bed.

When I wake up, my skin tingles, my eyesight is limited and it’s like looking thru two straws, and I swear that the fan turning above my bed is a huge insect about to kill me.

Yeah, it sucks. It’s exhausting.

[Daninicole22 in reply to Hidden]

So what did you end up having done to fix it or is it still happening??? I ask because the same thing happens to me, when u wake up andnyour soin tingles and all of that stuff... it’s very scary and sometimes I can’t even go back to sleep after that

[Hidden in reply to Daninicole22]

Sorry to hear it still happens to you too. It still does to me but not nearly as much. I’ve done quite a few things so I’m not sure exactly which thing is the reason for my sleep getting better. Maybe all of it, who knows? Here’s what I did: go to bed at a regular time even if I’m not sleep, no naps after dinner and before bed, no evening news, try to call a friend, no intense tv before bed, no internet in bed and instead read while trying to fall asleep, no sugar after dinner, sleep on a rolled up towel instead of pillows, sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs, sleep with calm soft music playing, take a walk outside after dinner, take a shower before bed, use a soft fleece blanket in bed, take a slow release melatonin tablet before bed. These things seemed to help me. I hope things get better for you. Hugs.

[Hidden in reply to Daninicole22]

Oh and I also leave a light on in the hallway and in the living room. There have been a few times where I’ve woken up from a really bad night and literally though I was being chased by someone evil and I ran out of my room and stumbled downstairs before I really woke up and realized that I was ok. Those nights really suck. I’ll sleep on the couch when that happens because there’s something comforting about having the back of the couch “spoon” up against my back.

[Littleone88]

OMG ii have this too it’s awful ii hate it makes me dread bed time. Ii also get it where ii start to feel like my breathing is really slow and really long. And any second I’m going to stop breathing. Hate it !! Ii wake up every morning like wow i didn’t die in my sleep lol. Fun xx

[Gmfc]

Hey!! I have that same thing! Kind of feels like your being smothered. It drives me insane. I don’t sleep well because of it and it’s stressing me out.