Night time and morning anxiety attacks

[TM78]

Hey there,

So I'm suffering from anxiety. I have on and off for some time. I'm ok during the day. I work long hours as I own a cafe but it's as soon as I try and go off to bed my stomach feels sick, my heart races, sometimes I get nausea and vomit or I just cry. It also happens if I receive a call from a hidden or private number.

I have seen a doctor who just wanted to give me meds but I don't think I want to go that way just yet. It's the same when I wake up in the morning too.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? If you did what did you do to help ease them 😕 I'm starting to lose hope and feel like a freak.

[Emsta]

Hey (:

I promise you that you are not the only one to experience this kind of feeling.
I’m currently experiencing similar symptoms such as feeling nauseous, racing heart and crying a lot. When I’m at work I’m perfectly fine but when I wake in the morning I have intense anxiety and I can’t even eat.

I’ve struggled with these symptoms in the past as I suffer from anxiety. I used a mix of medication, psychotherapy and meditation which I found to help significantly. Taking really good care of my health was also helpful such as exercising and eating healthy (stayed away from sugar a lot!). I also take magnesium powder right before I go to bed as it nurtures my nervous system and relaxes my muscles.

One thing I can say is that you are not alone in this feeling. And also, you learn a lot about yourself and your stressors and you come up with ways that work for you. Everyone is different, you just need to find what works best for you!

I hope that helps (:

[Petal22]

Hi TM78,

sorry you are feeling this way....... but please, please never loose HOPE! There is always hope keep believing you CAN overcome what you are going through!

im living proof that you can overcome mental health conditions with the correct help...

I have overcome severe anxiety.... OCD it was a very exhausting debilitating condition...... I was in its grips for years but I have now mastered it through medication and therapy which gave me the skills I needed to overcome it....

I understand your doctor has suggested medication if your not ready for that road you could do a mental health plan with your gp this will give you 10 free sessions with a phycologist..... a psychologist can help you with many things.... including strategies to help you with your symptoms.......

you are not a freak..... tell yourself positive things about yourself every day ......

stay hope full....... with the correct help you WILL get better...

here if you want to chat

[Lucy_123456]

Hi, I’m new so I don’t really understand how this works but I can completely relate to what you are saying.

I get frequent panic attacks as soon as I wake up so I spend my mornings trying to suppress them. I have similar symptoms of heart racing and stomach illness that feels like you’re going to vomit - I also find that breathing really difficult. I find that I will be completely anxiety free for months on end and then suddenly it’ll come back and hit me like a truck - I think this is due to poor care for my mental well-being however I’m slowly but surely getting better. I talk to a therapist which I really recommend as it helps me a bunch and have also been on medication (It didn’t help me personally but I know it can be really beneficial to others - also, I’m quite young so my options are very limited).

Improving your mental health requires many factors, so understand that doing just one thing may not give you immediate results. You have to do all the boring stuff like eat well, exercise and get good sleep as whatever strategies you use to cope but ultimately seeking help is the most difficult and important step to take. Posting stuff like this is really brave and I commend you for taking action (it inspired me to reply).

Here are a few strategies which I use to calm myself - I still get panic attacks but they help me to get back to normal quicker.

What I normally attempt to do is to control my breathing and relax my body. I take really purposeful breaths as I relax each muscle in my body, starting at my feet then all the way up to my head, letting any tension go. I find it distracts me from what’s happening while simultaneously grounding me in the present. Another strategy I use is noticing your 5 senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste). You go through each one and notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. It also works as a distraction and reminds you that whatever you’re worried about isn’t that important in the scheme of things. While I do this, I try to clear my head and not pay any attention to my thoughts, allowing myself to let go and detach myself from all the adrenaline in my body. And if all else fails, I drink a large glass of water and distract myself with YouTube/Netflix.

I hope this helps and you now have some short term strategies for your panic - let me know if you have any too

And hey, if you’re a freak, let’s be freaks together 🙂 Good luck

[Lucy_123456]

Hi Emsta!

Your message really emulated positive vibes and made me feel less alone in my own struggles, thank you for being so open. I really appreciate your practical advice!

When I’m anxious, I too find eating really difficult - I often avoid breakfast because of it. I usually just try to stomach something small but the nausea makes it almost unbearable. My go-to is a huge glass of water but sometimes even the prospect of drinking makes me ill. What do you do to ease this?

[Stefan164]

Hey TM78,

Just messaging to let you know that you are not alone in feeling this way and sorry you haven't been feeling the best lately.

I can relate to the night time and morning anxiety as I often feel anxious at night before going to sleep. I can feel panicky and breath shallowly which can make falling asleep difficult. I am not the best at routines but some things that have helped at night time is reading a book right before sleeping or I also use a clock radio. I just put it on whatever station to have some background noise whilst i'm trying to fall asleep.

In terms of the morning anxiety breakfast used to be very difficult for me in the past especially during high school where I avoided it completely. I often felt nauseous and stressed in the mornings but I started small and maybe ate just a biscuit or a handful of nuts just to get something in my stomach and I found that it became a little easier the longer I did it. Another thing that I feel has been helpful is listening to podcasts on the way to work.

Hope you find some of these tips helpful and start feeling better shortly