Anxiety is worse at night, why?

[ggreg]

Everyone,
I have depression and anxiety.  I've noticed that at nighttime, almost every evening about 7 p.m., these bad feelings come over me, and I can't shake them.  I've had mental illness for many, many years, I'm on several medications which I take about every six hours, and I'm female age 58.  This nighttime routine has just recently started up a few months ago.  I've had some pretty rough emotional upsets this past year, so could be anxiety is just building up, I simply don't know what has set this off.

So, my questions are:  Could it just be that I get tired and that's what lets these bad feelings jump in?  Or does anyone else have this problem or knows what this is?  Or is it something that happens with medication perhaps?  Or, even though I am familiar as can be about depression and anxiety, is there a form of this, anxiety or any other mental illness, that happens to people mainly in the evenings?  Is it poor eating habits, lack of exercise?  My fear of the dark?  

See, I have actually gotten worse with my mental problems in the last couple years.  Two years ago, went through a huge financial problem where we had to move, so could be that's all it is.  But I have trouble with language and communicating, it's like a glitch in my mind.  My neurologist said I do not have Alzheimers (he sees me for other stuff), and I myself know I don't have that, it's just different than what those folks have.  I also see a psychiatrist regularly and saw a specialist, too, and it's not Alzheimers.  It's like I am totally confusing what people are saying to me, and I have to be careful when I'm talking with others, and it takes me longer to think through things.  This post is taking me forever to make.  So, spontaneous talking is difficult for me, and I sometimes get into arguments because of it.  But I'm just saying, this talking glitch in my mind, I wonder if it's connected with this nightfall thing.

Of course, it could just be since I'm naturally afraid of the dark, that my anxieties over my problems for the last year, have come to the forefront and are making themselves known through that particular fear, or perhaps I just get so tired that those anxieties come out then. If anyone else has had their anxiety increase at night and has some thoughts, or if anybody has heard of nighttime anxiety meaning something, I would really like to hear about it.  It's starting to scare me a lot, and I need to be reassured.  Thanks a lot.
GG

[cj29]

I am sorry that you are having problems with anxiety right now.  First off, in my experience anxiety can really cause us to lose our self identity and can also be a huge hinderance to mental focus.  So what you are experiencing in my opiniion is part of the anxiety/panic cycle.

Anxiety can really come hard at night sometimes because that is when our minds are not preoccupied with daily tasks.  I often found that it can 'bubble' up at night when we are at 'rest.'  

Have you been talking with a therapist through all of this?  Please keep us posted!!

[ggreg]

Dear CJ,
Thanks for your response.  I'm glad you told me that you have found that anxiety can get worse at night, it makes me feel a little better about my situation.

As for a therapist, unfortunately the psychiatrist I see only works with my meds, altho she does spend some time listening to me tell her about big stuff, as relates to any meds changes, but I only see her about twice a year.  The psychologist I want to go back to seeing, I cannot afford her right now, altho at the beginning of next year, I will be able to afford see her again.  I've been needing very much to talk to her.  So, perhaps that lack of professional help for this past year has made my anxiety less easy to deal with!  

I shall think about how some people do indeed get wrose in the evenings, and also I shall think about how not getting to see my psychologist, both have made all this stuff that has happened in the past year harder to deal with, and that might be why anxiety is bubbling out at night.

A lot of things happened recently and a couple years ago, too, that sort of took away my hope.  Hope is such an important feeling to have.  A friend passed away this summer, and I had a lot of dreams all wrapped up with him, and so I guess I've gotten a little lost.  Your point about self-identity was also interesting to me, that anxiety is based in that.  I shall think about that more.  My self-confidence is very low right now, I just can't seem to get up the motivation to do stuff.  Perhaps I'm losing my grip because I am indeed losing my sense of identity.  Wow.  Very perceptive, CJ.  

Any others who have thoughts about increased anxiety in the evenings, I think I could stand up to a little more feedback, just in case.
GG

[mungies77]

Hi GG, first of all I am sorry that you are having such a rough time right now. I think that your fear of the dark would definitly play some part in this... But I know that once you have an anxiety attack at a certain time or in a certain place you will get anxious about possibly getting one the next time you are in that same time or place. And you having anxiety about anxiety makes you have an anxiety attack. It is a very vicious cycle. I think what you need to do is break that cycle. Schedule something for yourself to do for the next few nights at that specific time. Make it something you enjoy and will look forward to (a positive thing). For example, call a friend or bake cookies, do yoga or take a bath... something completely stress free...
Just another thought, are you sure that your meds are doing all that they can? Do you feel they are working for you or could be better?

[alliecat_84]

Hi, I can relate with you about your anxiety/panic being worse at nighttime! Sometimes I can all day without my anxiety playing up, but as soon as I sit down to relax it hits me with horrible thoughts or I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. I've also notice I'm going to bed alot earlier then I did before I had Anxiety because I just think that if I go to sleep then I can't have horrible thoughts!
My thoughts are with you :)

[ggreg]

Mungie,
Thanks for the confirmation of my fear of the dark thing.  On my meds, I take four, and I've gotten two increased, with the other two planned for when I see my other doc next week.  I noticed I was having a hard time, so that was my first reaction, too, to increase my meds, which will probably help.

Allie,
Gosh, you sound just like me.  I also want to go to bed early, just so the day will finally end.  Just hate those uncomfortable thoughts at night.  Maybe I'm just wore out from recent stresses, losing my self-confidence, and a bunch of other stuff.  Thanks for your feedback, it helps so much.
GG

[klcb]

I experience increased anxiety at night also. In fact it is the only time I have an issue with it. It gets so bad that I have insomnia as a result. One thing that does help is relaxation and meditation. These must be done daily. You may not think they are working at first but they have a cumulative effect. When I do them consistently my problem with anxiety greatly improves. Do a search for Emmet Miller's web site. His stuff has helped me.

Exercise also helps a lot but done early in the day only. Of course no caffeine if you have this problem or heavy eating at night. That will just increase your addrenalin which doesn't help.

Another little trick with anxiety that has helped me is to give yourself permission to worry but make an appointment with yourself to do so. For ex. when negative thoughts flood your mind say I will not think about this now. I am going to think about it tomorrow at 10 am. for ex. When the time comes allow yourself to worry or think about it. Usually the fear or worry losses its power over you because it does not seem as big as you thought previously. Keep thoughts at night focused on the positive... you ARE safe... how comfortable your bed is, etc.

Hope this helps.

[BusyGrl]

Just chiming in as another voice saying yes, the anxiety hits me when I am finally relaxing at home in the evening after a full day of work. My psychiatrist suggested that I anticipate this and take my Xanax (now switched to Klonopin) just before then to control the symptoms, and that has worked a little better for me. It's a real puzzle, isn't it? Like cj29 said, it's when I'm not distracted that it comes on strong. I also tend to get it in the morning, so I take my calm-down meds first thing in the morning and again in the evening.

I like the suggestions about doing meditation and yoga, but it's hard to calm down enough to focus when your generalized anxiety is flaring.

ggreg, it sounds like you have a lot of worries in your external world. I hope you get the help you need soon and know that you are doing the best that you can. Keep reading these posts and you will begin to see yourself and feel part of a caring group that is a safe place to share your concerns.

[klcb]

Yes I can relate to how difficult it is to do meditation when your anxiety is severe. Believe me, when I started, my anxiety was so bad I could hardly breathe and I couldn't stay focused for more than 2 seconds. That is why using a cd is easier. All you have to do is lay there and listen. You can't help but want to try to do what the speaker is guiding you to do. You will see results if you keep at it. It was much more effective than medication for me. I found the xanax type drugs made my anxiety worse over time. I quickly needed more and more to be effective and they are addictive... so be careful. Actually I found antidepressants increased my anxiety also. maybe it's just me.

I would look at it this way... exercise and meditation can't hurt, right? Hope you're feeling better soon.

[gp526]

GG and group...I have had generalized anxiety off and on since I was 13. I'm now 37 and wondering if this will be a part of my life forever?

I logged onto the computer now in the middle of the night b/c I'm having an anxiety attack that the meds are not helping and I can't sleep. Just can't shake it. I wanted to know if other people are worse at night. Unless I'm in the middle of a huge jag of anxiety, I'm okay the rest of the day...if it intensifies it starts happening in the mornings too, etc.

Thank you all for your posts, it is comforting just to know that other people are experiencing it too, and with similar symptoms (although I'm sorry for you all about it...I hate anxiety...it is hell). Anyway, I agree that meditation can help...for me, it can help me to avoid it if I stay regular with it, but once I'm in a flare-up sometimes it makes me worse trying to "be still". More room for my mind to play, I guess.

[ice_princess]

ok, so i tried this exercise and it works. The more you believe it, the more it works. My anxiety gets worse at night too...i think it's a lonely thing.

So here is what i do: I find a comfortable warm place in my house (bathroom mat) and i sit Indian style and take deep breaths. With each breath I intake, i think of one of the things that cause issues in my life and when i blow the air out, i imagine the negative every escapes from my body regarding that feeling and situation.

One that's accomplished, I start taking deep breaths again, and I imagine all the places i ever been to that was beautiful and healing. Breath one: the golden gate bridge , San francisco. I breath in and can smell the ocean. I breath in the good energy from that. Second breath: Hawaii, and so on. It's amazing but it does work. Not sure why.