Aa
Anxiety at 3am is horrible.
Does anyone else have anxiety between 3 and 4am? I wake up almost every morning at that time with heart pounding, shortness of breath, heart fluttering, and very panicky.. I feel like im going to die! Its scary.. I want to jump up and run to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face to maybe snap out of it but im afraid to move because im busy paying attention to my heart. Its really scary and nerve racking. This has been going on for months now! Ive been to heart specialists and all of my test come back fine. I dont do any drugs and I dont drink caffeine. I have a beer or two now and then but thats it. Doctors gave me lorazepam but I hate pills so im usually afraid to take them. Anyone have any advice for me? Please tell me im not alone with this horrible feeling.
You are very welcome. And a puppy is a great idea! Animals can be as calming as a therapist can. And having something to care for other than just yourself is a wonderful thing! If I were going to choose a good breed for someone like US, my first choice would be the golden retreiver - easy to train, loyal, and fuzzy ears with a furry body for petting - Goldens seem to have much less of annoying behaviors than other dogs. Good luck!
I was reading your post and it gives me some hope. For the past three weeks I have lived with terrible anxiety attacks specially as night approaches. I'm taking Ativan but sometimes anxiety is so bad that the dosage doesn't seem to help. I was taking effexor for 8 months and I had my life back but felt well and told my doctor to get me off. Within 3 months I'm experiencing same fears as before, my fear of not being able to sleep with is irrational because even thru the anxiety I know I sleep , I am considering to go back on effexor but I don't really want to, I'm starting a cognitive therapy but in group this Saturday. Do you think I should try therapy first? As everyone else I'm afraid of becoming addicted to ativan
Are you on any antidepressants? I ask because most of the ssris and snris leave the body in a matter of hours and some people can't make it through a day without withdrawals. You say you don't take any drugs, so this probably isn't your problem, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.
Yes thanks.. I would love to learn some techniques on any of this because, Its not coot at all. When I lay down to relax and go to sleep, I instantly think about if im gonna have a panic attack or not.. Im hella worried all the time. I HATE IT. I wish it would go away so I could live my life calmly.. And without worry.
you're not alone..,I have the same thing and honestly you need to look up techniques on how to calm panic attacks panic disorder...hyperventilating. it's a in your mind.,,your continuing to worry about your heart beat and breathing and if your okay and honestly you are..the main cause of a panic attack is the thought of having a panic.attack.or your mind worrying when it'll stop..I've lived with this since I was 12 I'm 20 now I know everything about this. message me with any questions and I'll help you.
Thank you! I will try this breathing technique! Im getting a puppy soon. Im sure animals can bring a huge amount of comfort in times like these.
Hey thanks for the replies! Actually yes Ive run into a health problem back in October, Ive been having chest pains for about 5yrs and everyone including doctors thought I was nuts because all of my test kept coming back normal.. They put me on all these different pills (that I never took because I knew I wasnt crazy) plus a couple I did try made me really sick.. Finally I had a docs aptmt and my doc was out so I had a dif lady that Ive never seen. I told her everything that was going on because she seemed concerned on why I was seen for chest pains for so long and been to ER over 50 times in 1yr, and no one could find anything.. She asked me if ive ever had an MRI and I said "no" she was floored! She couldnt understand why they never gave me an MRI.. So she ordered me one and FINALLY! The results found that I have something called costrocondritis.. Its a really painful chest pain that accurs in my ribs directly over my heart. So all this time, almost everyday,Ive been thinking im having a heart attack or stroke. And since the doctors couldnt find it at first I went into a deep depression. Also started having panic attacks because I was having the chest pains! It was and still is really painful and scary. I have norco and naproxen for the pain. Maybe all of that has something to do with my anxiety? Plus I was on probation for 5yrs and I was terrified of my P.O. because he would threaten to violate me and send me to jail if I made 1 mistake. I am in therapy, twice a month.. I love being able to talk and tell how I feel and maybe finding someone who can relate or help me with the things I go through with this anxiety. I do sometimes have them during the day. Also my boyfriend actually said he thinks I have a small case of sleep apnea because hes witnessed me stop breathing a couple of times while I was asleep. Even just knowing Ive stopped breathing in my sleep sort of makes me panic when I think about it lol . Im Really glad I found this website, I really really thank you for your reply also.. I Feel like someone hears me finally. Thank you
As BluCrystal has stated, you are most definitely NOT alone in your middle of the night anxiety/panic episodes. Why this happens is still not fully understood as it involves our subconscious, which is pretty difficult to study.
Do you have anxiety/panic during the day?
You state this has been going on for months. Can you think back to the time when this WASN'T happening? Now think back to the time it began. Did something happen during that "before and after" period?
The list of possibilities are many and I'll name just a few......................
Did you lose a loved one?
Did you, or someone you love, experience a major health scare?
A divorce or break-up of a long term relationship?
Loss of your job or major financial problems?
All of these are very real and could cause you to develop anxiety.
But there are also some that are not as obvious but could also trigger feelings of anxiety. Were you walking home one night and felt you were being followed? Were you in a parking garage with no other people around? Did a stranger approach you and cause you to feel afraid or in danger? Did your car break down on a street that was fairly secluded while you were alone? Did you get a series of phone calls in which nobody was apparently there?
Most women can relate to these fears and while, fortunately, the vast majority of the time nothing bad happens, those horrible anxious feelings get stored in our subconscious. And when do all these fears come out to haunt us? When we are asleep and our subconscious is running the show. Usually around 3 in the morning!
This is just my opinion, but I'm basing it on a situation that I've named above that happened to me and I experienced exactly what is happening to you. One night when I woke up with my heart racing, I was able to catch a wisp of fog of the dream I was having just before I awoke. It was about the frightening situation I had gone through. This was quite a revelation to me as I realized I had never really faced and dealt with just how terrified the incident had made me. I hoped that by simply recognizing the source of the fear would make it stop, but for me, it didn't. I sought out some therapy and in fairly quick order, I learned why I was still haunted by that experience. With the help of my therapist, I finally faced it and learned how to move past it.......it didn't control me anymore and I no longer woke up in a panic.
Therapy will help you find the root cause of YOUR anxiety and you will be given the tools to deal with it.
You have had your heart checked and everything is fine, but when we wake up to a pounding, racing heart, it's very frightening. Anxiety/panic attacks will cause adrenaline to dump into our system, that is the hormone the controls our "fight or flight" response and it's powerful. It also causes our heart rate to increase, our blood pressure to rise and our breathing to change which can lead to hyperventilation. When we do this, what is also known as "over-breathing," we put our levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide out of whack. This can cause an alarming number of symptoms such as feeling like we're not getting enough air, chocking, numbness in our extremities and around our mouths, dizziness and disorientation and sometime a feeling known as depersonalization in which we feel dethatched from ourselves.
(There is a very easy way to stop ourselves from hyperventilating and if you think this might be one of your problems, your therapist will teach this to you or I will)
If you are NOT having these attacks during the day, but only while asleep, there is another possibility you may want to discuss with your doctor. It's called sleep apnea and can cause these same symptoms. Sleep apnea means that we actually stop breathing while we're asleep and when we begin breathing again, people with this disorder are often jolted out of sleep in a state of panic. Your doctor may want you to go for a sleep study to rule this condition out.
I understand your dislike of relying on pills, but as a TEMPORARY measure, they can be extremely useful. Ativan is a very safe medication and we administer it often at the hospital pre-surgically to relax patients and often we give it as a sleep aid. I don't want to sound like a "pill pusher," but if this medication was prescribed to you by your doctor, please don't be hesitant or afraid to at least try it.
Sometimes the neurotransmitters in our brains don't turn off as completely at night as they should......they keep working at full power. The Ativan will slow that down and very possibly break that cycle. Kind of like resetting those transmitters and allowing you the deep sleep you need.
I realize I've given you a lot to think about, but the one you really need to discuss all of this with is your doctor. Anxiety is disrupting your life and there are options to stop it. I hope you will explore some of them because I know how horrible living with anxiety/panic can be.
I hope you find some peace. You deserve to live anxiety free.
RubyWitch
Do you have anxiety/panic during the day?
You state this has been going on for months. Can you think back to the time when this WASN'T happening? Now think back to the time it began. Did something happen during that "before and after" period?
The list of possibilities are many and I'll name just a few......................
Did you lose a loved one?
Did you, or someone you love, experience a major health scare?
A divorce or break-up of a long term relationship?
Loss of your job or major financial problems?
All of these are very real and could cause you to develop anxiety.
But there are also some that are not as obvious but could also trigger feelings of anxiety. Were you walking home one night and felt you were being followed? Were you in a parking garage with no other people around? Did a stranger approach you and cause you to feel afraid or in danger? Did your car break down on a street that was fairly secluded while you were alone? Did you get a series of phone calls in which nobody was apparently there?
Most women can relate to these fears and while, fortunately, the vast majority of the time nothing bad happens, those horrible anxious feelings get stored in our subconscious. And when do all these fears come out to haunt us? When we are asleep and our subconscious is running the show. Usually around 3 in the morning!
This is just my opinion, but I'm basing it on a situation that I've named above that happened to me and I experienced exactly what is happening to you. One night when I woke up with my heart racing, I was able to catch a wisp of fog of the dream I was having just before I awoke. It was about the frightening situation I had gone through. This was quite a revelation to me as I realized I had never really faced and dealt with just how terrified the incident had made me. I hoped that by simply recognizing the source of the fear would make it stop, but for me, it didn't. I sought out some therapy and in fairly quick order, I learned why I was still haunted by that experience. With the help of my therapist, I finally faced it and learned how to move past it.......it didn't control me anymore and I no longer woke up in a panic.
Therapy will help you find the root cause of YOUR anxiety and you will be given the tools to deal with it.
You have had your heart checked and everything is fine, but when we wake up to a pounding, racing heart, it's very frightening. Anxiety/panic attacks will cause adrenaline to dump into our system, that is the hormone the controls our "fight or flight" response and it's powerful. It also causes our heart rate to increase, our blood pressure to rise and our breathing to change which can lead to hyperventilation. When we do this, what is also known as "over-breathing," we put our levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide out of whack. This can cause an alarming number of symptoms such as feeling like we're not getting enough air, chocking, numbness in our extremities and around our mouths, dizziness and disorientation and sometime a feeling known as depersonalization in which we feel dethatched from ourselves.
(There is a very easy way to stop ourselves from hyperventilating and if you think this might be one of your problems, your therapist will teach this to you or I will)
If you are NOT having these attacks during the day, but only while asleep, there is another possibility you may want to discuss with your doctor. It's called sleep apnea and can cause these same symptoms. Sleep apnea means that we actually stop breathing while we're asleep and when we begin breathing again, people with this disorder are often jolted out of sleep in a state of panic. Your doctor may want you to go for a sleep study to rule this condition out.
I understand your dislike of relying on pills, but as a TEMPORARY measure, they can be extremely useful. Ativan is a very safe medication and we administer it often at the hospital pre-surgically to relax patients and often we give it as a sleep aid. I don't want to sound like a "pill pusher," but if this medication was prescribed to you by your doctor, please don't be hesitant or afraid to at least try it.
Sometimes the neurotransmitters in our brains don't turn off as completely at night as they should......they keep working at full power. The Ativan will slow that down and very possibly break that cycle. Kind of like resetting those transmitters and allowing you the deep sleep you need.
I realize I've given you a lot to think about, but the one you really need to discuss all of this with is your doctor. Anxiety is disrupting your life and there are options to stop it. I hope you will explore some of them because I know how horrible living with anxiety/panic can be.
I hope you find some peace. You deserve to live anxiety free.
RubyWitch
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Just last night I woke breathless like that, and I live alone, and I was so scared, I went and slept on the floor near my dog. The heart thing is REALLY not a worry - I used to think that, but it's not: when you panic, your respiration and thusly, your heart rate go up. If you concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply, your heart will not race, or it will stop racing. Are you in counseling, Dear? If not, then you should look into it.
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