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Bad Dream or Panic Attack?
Okay so last night I fell asleep around 11 and I woke up at 2 am with my heart pounding and my hands shaking. And I would look at the wall and see a lock on it repeating down the wall, like one of those locks in apartments with the chain on them? So that freaked me out. But my heart was pounding so hard I could see it when I looked down at my chest!
I don't remember if I had a dream at all. My panic attacks have been getting somewhat better during the day so I was wondering if I could've had one in my sleep?
I don't remember if I had a dream at all. My panic attacks have been getting somewhat better during the day so I was wondering if I could've had one in my sleep?
I know EXACTLY how you feel, honestly. It's all normal and it's all going to be OK, you hear? :)
I don't remember what I ate that night and I'm not so much into scary movies anymore. They make me too nervous or something about them bothers me so I can't watch them.
And nursegirl6572 thank you! And I will, of course! I'll let you know how it goes with the therapist tomorrow morning! I want to also drive somewhere with my mom after, and I know I'll do it for sure if I feel good enough and motivated! I'm trying to keep myself in this happy confident state so that I actually get out. I appreciate all your kind words, I really do! Everything means so much to me!
And nursegirl6572 thank you! And I will, of course! I'll let you know how it goes with the therapist tomorrow morning! I want to also drive somewhere with my mom after, and I know I'll do it for sure if I feel good enough and motivated! I'm trying to keep myself in this happy confident state so that I actually get out. I appreciate all your kind words, I really do! Everything means so much to me!
Honey, I'm SOOOO proud of you. You are REALLY trying and doing everything right! You are pushing yourself, but a little bit at a time! PERFECT! I'm so glad to see you're celebrating this accomplishments! They're HUGE! There ARE no "small" victoires in this war!
Keep up the great work! Keep us updated! WAY TO GO!!!!!! BIG HUGS! XOXO
Keep up the great work! Keep us updated! WAY TO GO!!!!!! BIG HUGS! XOXO
Yes I am doing better! Just yesterday I sat on the sidewalk for 15-20 minutes near this big four lane street. I've been going on more walks and I've been getting in the car and going to my grandma's! I'm soo proud of myself.
I do get anxious and scared once I leave my neighborhood now. I feel fine leaving my house, but I freak when I get out of my neighborhood. It makes me feel better knowing I have Gaviscon and a water bottle with me though. Haha. I'm trying to push through this.
My mom and I enrolled myself into online school, I should be starting next Wednesday, and my mom has a therapist coming to our house on Saturday to come talk to me.:)
I feel everything's getting so much better. I'm still not sleeping in my bed, but I try to lay in it and read at least one chapter in the book I'm reading just so I feel a little more comfortable each day. Another thing is, is I stopped taking Prilosec (because I had such bad heartburn and acid reflux when I was continuously stressing and getting anxious and sad, so I took it every morning and it helped) but I stopped taking it, and I'm eating the foods I used to! I think one thing I worried about was if I ate something, it would make me sick, so I would only eat cereal and toast all day long. And I would make myself wait two hours until I did anything after I ate just so I made sure I didn't get sick.
But now, I don't do that. Yeah, I do still give myself at least an hour, but it's not constantly in my mind anymore. And I'm not worrying as much when I go for a walk, or when I make plans. Like this past weekend I was supposed to go shopping, but when it came to the time to do it, I backed out. But that's okay! Because I got in the car and drove around my neighborhood with my mom and I made it to my grandma's. And when I say I made it to my grandma's, I mean I stay for almost two hours!
I'm so proud of myself lately. And my health's improved and I'm a lot happier. I will get out of this and I will make it. And I have you to thank for all the encouragement before and now. Thank you so much.
I do get anxious and scared once I leave my neighborhood now. I feel fine leaving my house, but I freak when I get out of my neighborhood. It makes me feel better knowing I have Gaviscon and a water bottle with me though. Haha. I'm trying to push through this.
My mom and I enrolled myself into online school, I should be starting next Wednesday, and my mom has a therapist coming to our house on Saturday to come talk to me.:)
I feel everything's getting so much better. I'm still not sleeping in my bed, but I try to lay in it and read at least one chapter in the book I'm reading just so I feel a little more comfortable each day. Another thing is, is I stopped taking Prilosec (because I had such bad heartburn and acid reflux when I was continuously stressing and getting anxious and sad, so I took it every morning and it helped) but I stopped taking it, and I'm eating the foods I used to! I think one thing I worried about was if I ate something, it would make me sick, so I would only eat cereal and toast all day long. And I would make myself wait two hours until I did anything after I ate just so I made sure I didn't get sick.
But now, I don't do that. Yeah, I do still give myself at least an hour, but it's not constantly in my mind anymore. And I'm not worrying as much when I go for a walk, or when I make plans. Like this past weekend I was supposed to go shopping, but when it came to the time to do it, I backed out. But that's okay! Because I got in the car and drove around my neighborhood with my mom and I made it to my grandma's. And when I say I made it to my grandma's, I mean I stay for almost two hours!
I'm so proud of myself lately. And my health's improved and I'm a lot happier. I will get out of this and I will make it. And I have you to thank for all the encouragement before and now. Thank you so much.
Hi again, hon. For one, I'm SO glad to hear you're doing better, that's super...keep up the good work!
It's SO hard to determine in these situations if you had a bad dream that caused feelings of anxiety and panic, or just had a panic attack. In the end, it's not all that important WHY you felt that way versus what you do about it.
When we're experiencing higher levels of anxierty than normal (which, for those of us with anxiety disorders is definitely the case a lot of times)...it tends to be reflected in our dreams.
I know when I'm extra stressed, I have goofy, stressful dreams almost every night. Not always a full blown nightmare, just not pleasant. During high levels of stress...I'm always struggling in my dreams...lost somewhere, upset about someting...those kinds of things.
It's also typical to wake up with a panic attack when you have a history of panic that isn't completely managed yet. Unfortunately for us, panic can strike anytime, anywhere.
The best advice I can give you, when this happens, TRY very hard to shrug it off. Don't spend a lot of time wondering what happened, or thinking about how you felt...because the more you do that, the more power you are giving those anxious feelings. I you can manage to sort of "blow it off", it takes the power away from the panic, and you are less likely to have reoccurences of those sensations.
I can't recall how you're addressing your anxiety/panic, but I do remember talking about it with you. Whatever you're doing, obviously it is working to some degree...THAT is what you stay focused on...not these small bumps in the road, which are inevitable.
Keep talking to us!
It's SO hard to determine in these situations if you had a bad dream that caused feelings of anxiety and panic, or just had a panic attack. In the end, it's not all that important WHY you felt that way versus what you do about it.
When we're experiencing higher levels of anxierty than normal (which, for those of us with anxiety disorders is definitely the case a lot of times)...it tends to be reflected in our dreams.
I know when I'm extra stressed, I have goofy, stressful dreams almost every night. Not always a full blown nightmare, just not pleasant. During high levels of stress...I'm always struggling in my dreams...lost somewhere, upset about someting...those kinds of things.
It's also typical to wake up with a panic attack when you have a history of panic that isn't completely managed yet. Unfortunately for us, panic can strike anytime, anywhere.
The best advice I can give you, when this happens, TRY very hard to shrug it off. Don't spend a lot of time wondering what happened, or thinking about how you felt...because the more you do that, the more power you are giving those anxious feelings. I you can manage to sort of "blow it off", it takes the power away from the panic, and you are less likely to have reoccurences of those sensations.
I can't recall how you're addressing your anxiety/panic, but I do remember talking about it with you. Whatever you're doing, obviously it is working to some degree...THAT is what you stay focused on...not these small bumps in the road, which are inevitable.
Keep talking to us!
I wake up like that to sometimes and sometimes I experience my eyes moving all crazy in every direction before I wake up. Its scary but I don't think its anything to worry about. Anxiety seems like not a big deal to some people (those esp. Who don't have it) but they don't understand how anxiety really effects people and what anxiety could do to a person. Sometimes when I have an episode like that I just tell myself not to worry its jus my anxiety.
Thank you for your response!
Idk it worried me a lot. Cause I never wake up like that. But it's nothing to worry about?
Idk it worried me a lot. Cause I never wake up like that. But it's nothing to worry about?
I to suffer from anxiety and the occassional panic attack buti find my problem is more of constant anxiey of having an attack, Very often i wake up the same was you do. Usually i can't remember having a dream, but i wake up with a pounding heart and somtimes panic as if somthing just happend. It's happend to me for years and i just feel like it's because im startled awake even nothing woke me up other them myself.
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