Nice to meet you and great to hear all your successes. When I have trouble sleeping, I usually play soft music. I also write all my thoughts down or draw. Sometimes, I've put on the t.v. to help me distract my thoughts but turn it off after i've calm down to try to sleep. I also have gone out of bed completely and did other things until I was tired. good luck.
Welcome to the program and support group. As for the anxiety and panic at night. Finding a distraction has helped me when I awake in the night with panic. I have posted here on the site as a distraction. You can also use the blog feature here on the site. The advantage of bloging is that you can delete your blog later if you want to. That way you have more control over what stays in cyber space forever and what doesn't. Just a idea for you to consider. The second thing I do is try to control how much negative and upsetting stimulus I am seeing and hearing. Such as news on the TV and Online. What programs I watch or dvd's I watch. This helps me with the nighttime panic, meaning waking up in a panic. Of course sometimes I don't know that something I am seeing or hearing is going to trigger a night time anxiety/panic attack and in that case, when I wake up in a panic, I look for a distraction till the panic passes and I get grounded again. Reading does help me calm down and takes my mind off of things if I am just to wound up and am having trouble relaxing and falling asleep. You mentioned that you couldn't go out for a run in the middle of the night. Maybe a stationary exercise bike or treadmill could be used as a aternative. I hope one of these strategys helps you.
Reading never worked for me. But writing or drawing did. (distraction) Hot milk, Mint tea or in desperation half a valium. I will never take Ativan again, I was an addict to it and in the end it made me far worse. Anything that takes a lot of concentration only made it worse. If I'm going to eat late at night I limit to a bowl of cereal or a salad, nothing heavy.
Being cold, sitting out side till I'm cold or cold shower.
What you are experiencing is common with anxiety. I have seen many members with similar symptoms as you are experiencing. When people experience a nocturnal panic attack they awake from sleep in a state of panic. In fact, as many as a third of people with Panic Disorder report having experienced repeated nocturnal panic attacks. Panic attacks occur during late stage II and early stage III sleep and are distinguished from night terrors which are usually experienced during Stage IV sleep.
The symptoms of nocturnal panic attacks are the same as the symptoms of panic attacks that are experienced during the day. However, it seems likely that people with more severe Panic Disorder are more likely to experience nocturnal panic attacks.
There are a number of promising effective techniques for treating nocturnal panic attacks including education about panic attacks and the fact that nocturnal panic attacks are no different from panic attacks experienced during the day, sleep hygiene, challenging anxious thinking/fears related to sleep, exposure to relaxation states (such as progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation), and breathing retraining (such as boxed breathing). The auxillary session on relaxation techniques will certainly help you with immediate relief. But sticking with the program will help alleviate the anxiety in the long term.
Members, please share your thoughts and experiences.
Hi my name is Aaron and this is the first time I've posted anything. I started the sessions a while ago and stopped for a couple months. Things are about 80% better than six months ago but I am still struggling with some issues with my anxiety disorder.
Sometimes I get freaked out at night. It used to be in the middle of the night but now it's more when I'm trying to get to sleep. It usually happens if I have freaked myself out before I go to bed with a TV show or read too much on line about anxiety and other mental illnesses. It also happens if I eat before I go to bed or if I feel a bit sick to my stomach when I lay down. It only happens about once every two weeks and I try not to worry about it the next day, just say who cares. But when I do get anxious at night I feel really overwhelmed. I have racing thoughts and sometimes can't even make sense of what I'm thinking of, probably because I'm half sleeping. Sometimes it takes me two hours before I fall asleep. I used to take an Ativan but I don't anymore because I know the feeling will pass eventually. I actually haven't taken Ativan for four months now! Does this happen to anyone else, that feeling of not being able to make sense of your thoughts at night when they're racing? If so do you have any strategies to get to sleep faster and calm down. It's not like I can go out for a run in the middle of the night, lol. Does reading work for anyone? Any suggestions would be fantastic!
