Hi Twill,
I hope it’s okay if I extend a very caring welcome to you to the forums here. Well done on managing your anxiety so brilliantly for 10 years. I feel that’s very admirable and a huge achievement 🙂
Last Friday sounds as though it was extremely stressful and nerve racking. To wake up in the middle of the night (morning) in such a panicked state would have been very distressing and exhausting. That was one intense panic/anxiety attack you had...no wonder you’re now dreading going to sleep.
I hope your doctor’s appointment goes well today. I hear what you’re saying about your fears about letting work down. That must be playing on your mind a lot because of you’re history. But hopefully with your doctor’s support and advice, work won’t be disrupted.
I know lack of sleep is one of my triggers- any hints on what works for you at that time of night ?
Great question but, sorry, I’m not entirely sure if you’re asking for hints to help you fall back to sleep or hints for dealing with an anxiety attack in the middle of the night?
If you’re asking for hints to fall back to sleep again. Maybe when your anxiety has subsided, you might like to get up and walk around your room calmly and slowly (or other equivalent) to reinforce a calm mental state before returning to bed for more sleep. I’m not sure if this is helpful or not but I wanted to share this idea with you anyway to see what you think...
If you’re asking for hints to deal with panic attacks in the middle of the night. I think your breathing exercises is a great start. I know some people also find grounding exercises helpful by focusing on your senses (e.g. naming 5 things you can smell, hear, etc) so maybe, if you haven’t already, you could consider something like this.
Otherwise, you might like to check out a thread called self help tips for managing anxiety. While it’s not specific to managing anxiety in the middle of the night, it contains a wealth of suggestions for general anxiety management.
If you’re interested, but there’s no pressure to look it up, you can find it by typing ”self help tips for managing anxiety” in the BeyondBlue search bar or by visiting the Anxiety forum where you will find it pinned at the top.
If you’re feeling up to it, it would be great to hear how things have been going since your first post. That being said, there’s no pressure or rush to post...just in your own good time and only if you want to do it.
kindness and warmth,
Pepper
