Panic Attacks - Falling Asleep and Waking At Night

Celtic3 · ‎15-04-2021

I've seen this topic discussed somewhere a while ago. Have had 3 big bouts of clinical depression three times in my life, last 25 years ago. All good since then - except - I was diagnosed with Mild to Moderate Anxiety late last year, did a CBT course, recovered. Had a relapse March this year maybe half as bad as before, but still lingering. Amongst other aspects of each episode were panic attacks in daytime napping, plus waking from sleep with panic attacks at night. Very scary. No panic attacks during day. I'm not on any anxiety or other relevant medication. Tried meditation and controlled breathing with very limited success. Anyone had similar experiences and/or know how to deal with this? Thanks.

Guest_342 · ‎15-04-2021

I have had a few panic attacks. My first one was while I was sleeping, at night. I woke up with a jolt, my heart was racing and I was hyper-ventilating which gave me pins and needles in my fingers and also made my little fingers curl up a bit (the tendon was tightened). I thought I was having a heart attack and felt absolute dread that I would die and not have a chance to see my family. I called an ambulance too. This happened a few times around that time. That was a number of years ago. Recently, I think i had one while driving. I just got this overwhelming feeling of dread and fear. But, having had a few attacks in the past (and having confirmed with my doctor at that previous time that nothing was physically wrong), I identified it as such. What I did in that moment was to breathe in deeply and slowly and then do the same exhaling, meanwhile telling myself that this is just a panic attack which cannot hurt me. Basically, I just had to ride it out. But I felt this one very quickly lost its steam when confronted with my rational thought process - that is, seeing it for what it is (nothing more than an emotional or thought related things) and taking power over it. I just had to tell myself that, yes, this is unpleasant, but it won't hurt me and will subside. This gives it nothing to feed off 🙂

Celtic3 · ‎16-04-2021

Thanks so much for your thoughts. Really appreciate that. I've had several in a short space of time the same day. But that's good advice. Will work out a strategy around that idea.

Lucyyy · ‎03-07-2021

Hi Celtic3!

I have been dealing with panic attacks for about 8 months now, with most of mine coming from anxiety around falling asleep so I 100% feel your pain! I find mine stems from thinking I won’t wake up in the morning and I will die in my sleep but this isn’t the case at all. I find the best thing you can do is when you feel these thoughts coming on, don’t ignore them. If you can - speak out loud and rationalise them. If your brain tells you that you’re in danger, fight that thought out loud. It takes some practice but I find it’s the thing that helps me the most. I also found it helpful to have a nighttime routine, it got me ready for bed and let me calm down so I wouldn’t be going to bed with anxious thoughts. Being in a routine I find helps a lot with anxiety.
As with any mental illness though speaking with a psychologist or gp is recommended as we aren’t health professionals here but hopefully you’ve found something that helps relieve it a little.

therising · ‎04-07-2021

Hi Celtic3

Seriously outside the square and could be way off but has your GP considered having you tested for sleep apnea?

I can't help but wonder whether your body's going into hyperactivity for good reason and that's what you're experiencing while you're asleep. I have mild SA and before having it diagnosed was experiencing mild symptoms of depression and couldn't put my finger on why. The internal dialogue that comes with no energy during the day, such as 'You're so hopeless, lazy, unmotivated' and so on was only part of what was bringing me down. It wasn't explaining exactly why I was feeling so down in so many ways. I'd lived with depression earlier in my life for about 15 years and wouldn't settle for going back there again, hence my determination to get to the bottom of what was going on, leading me to my answer.

I had a friend who recently expressed no longer being able to live with the depression and overwhelming anxiety she was experiencing, along with the lack of energy. After asking her about other things she was experiencing, I suggested being tested for sleep apnea. Turns out she has severe sleep apnea and is starting treatment this coming Wednesday.

By the way, I don't go around suggesting SA to everyone. I simply can't help but wonder what is suddenly waking you out of sleep, with such a jolt. What someone with SA experiences is a brief cessation of breathing so many times a night and each time the brain screams (in it's own way) 'WAKE UP!!!' to the body. Suddenly, there's a shock to everything so that things go back to normal, including breathing. Some people may remain asleep through the shock some may wake up to it, being forced to catch their breath.

Two common side effects of sleep apnea can be depression and anxiety. As I say, it's outside the square but it's my wish that you explore every possibility that may help you get to the bottom of things so that you don't have to go on suffering like you are.

Take care 🙂