I’m shaken up... please help!

[HypochondriasisMaximus]

Okay, I’m not even sure what to think. I just woke up and immediately sat upright, I felt cold but I had this huge feeling of rushing to my parents room... so I did but everything felt slow, the best way to explain it is as though as my body had been turned off and on.
I’m really scared right now. Considering telling my parents to take me to hospital. I’m scared of falling asleep again.

 

[Seekingcalm]

Just happened to me the other night had a full blown panic attack woke off feeling like I couldn't breathe

 

[matisworried]

it sounds like you had a panic attack. the ones that wake you from sleep can be especially traumatic. sorry you had to experience that.

 

[Deniseh]

I am new here and trying to get my mind off my anxiety and help others. This is something I have lots of experience with. I have night terrors when I wake up and see things, have the same anxiety and rush almost like I’m going to pass out. I try to get a hold of my mind and talk my self out of it, breath, etc. through the years I try to remember to not open my eyes and try to relax.

 

[Camden]

I’ve had two strange episodes overnight while sleeping this week. I don’t know if they were panic attacks, night terrors, or simply nightmares.

First episode happened at about 2:30 a.m. I dreamed that I was paralyzed and my dad ran to my rescue to try and revive me. I dreamed that I was choking and couldn’t breathe, and it felt like it was the day before something I was dreading at school or work. When I actually woke up and got my bearings, I realized I had nothing to dread and there wasn’t anything wrong with my breathing.

Second episode happened last night. As I had just drifted off to sleep, a barking dog out in the distance startled me and woke me up. I screamed and hallucinated that the dog was actually in my room about to jump on me. I remember yelling and cursing before turning on the light and realizing I had had a very vivid hallucination. Is it normal to hallucinate when you’re in the threshold between sleep and awake?
I was really shaken up and didn’t sleep great the rest of the night. I woke up with my usual tingling in my feet and hands. I was really jumpy and was startled by the noise of an air conditioner next door and a few other tiny sounds. My lips tingled, which was really strange.

 

[MATD]

I’ve had two strange episodes overnight while sleeping this week. I don’t know if they were panic attacks, night terrors, or simply nightmares.

First episode happened at about 2:30 a.m. I dreamed that I was paralyzed and my dad ran to my rescue to try and revive me. I dreamed that I was choking and couldn’t breathe, and it felt like it was the day before something I was dreading at school or work. When I actually woke up and got my bearings, I realized I had nothing to dread and there wasn’t anything wrong with my breathing.

Second episode happened last night. As I had just drifted off to sleep, a barking dog out in the distance startled me and woke me up. I screamed and hallucinated that the dog was actually in my room about to jump on me. I remember yelling and cursing before turning on the light and realizing I had had a very vivid hallucination. Is it normal to hallucinate when you’re in the threshold between sleep and awake?
I was really shaken up and didn’t sleep great the rest of the night. I woke up with my usual tingling in my feet and hands. I was really jumpy and was startled by the noise of an air conditioner next door and a few other tiny sounds. My lips tingled, which was really strange.

The time between sleep and dozing off is a kind of no man’s land. What you describe is most likely a result of this, your mind is in between sleep and being awake. However, your brain is still in a state of hyper arousal due to anxiety. In my own experience, I would hear conversations in my mind during this sleep/awake transition. Voices I didn’t recognize and very strange conversation content. After I learned what was causing it, gradually I learned to not fear it or pay attention to it, I just let it happen and did not react to it. Eventually this symptom faded away. When we react and judge anxiety symptoms, it reinforces them, it gives them more power. To contain our reaction to them by accepting that they are a result of anxiety and are benign, then our fear subsides naturally and the symptoms can fade.

 

[Jonathan123]

I’ve had two strange episodes overnight while sleeping this week. I don’t know if they were panic attacks, night terrors, or simply nightmares.

First episode happened at about 2:30 a.m. I dreamed that I was paralyzed and my dad ran to my rescue to try and revive me. I dreamed that I was choking and couldn’t breathe, and it felt like it was the day before something I was dreading at school or work. When I actually woke up and got my bearings, I realized I had nothing to dread and there wasn’t anything wrong with my breathing.

Second episode happened last night. As I had just drifted off to sleep, a barking dog out in the distance startled me and woke me up. I screamed and hallucinated that the dog was actually in my room about to jump on me. I remember yelling and cursing before turning on the light and realizing I had had a very vivid hallucination. Is it normal to hallucinate when you’re in the threshold between sleep and awake?
I was really shaken up and didn’t sleep great the rest of the night. I woke up with my usual tingling in my feet and hands. I was really jumpy and was startled by the noise of an air conditioner next door and a few other tiny sounds. My lips tingled, which was really strange.

There is a condition in all of us that there is that space between being asleep and awake. It's called an hypnagogic state. Half asleep half awake. It's then that the mind can become confused and hallucinations occur. It's because the conscious mind has not fully taken over, and half of us is still in the land of dreams. It is rare for anyone to wake up all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for the day.
Most of us, even so called 'normal' ones often take time to adjust. When young it may be so, but as we get older bed holds many attractions. Also our metabolic rate, the way our body uses available energy may be low. It takes time to adjust to being back in the world. All perfectly normal in anxiety. Any anxiety symptom is a normal symptom greatly exaggerated. Normal people will be apprehensive about some event, like going to hospital, but it is kept in check so no panic occurs. In anxiety the apprehension builds and builds and eventually it leads to panic.

 

[Doug97]

Is it normal to hallucinate when you’re in the threshold between sleep and awake?

Yes, very normal. Both myself and my wife frequently experience sleep paralysis, and I know many people who have night terrors. I know others who experience episodes of sleepwalking. It seems sleep can put the brain into vulnerable states, particularly in those who suffer from anxiety.

I know my anxiety is always at its peak in the middle of the night. My amygdala (emotion centre) is wide awake, whereas my frontal lobes (rationality centre) are tired and can't do their normal job of reigning things in.

 

[Camden]

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiences! That’s really interesting how the amygdala remains active while the rational frontal lobe is switched off for the night, allowing for fearful thoughts to be untamed, so to speak.

I had another shouting fit last night. I fell asleep at about 10 pm and it happened about 45 minutes later. I jolted awake thinking someone was in my bedroom. I screamed, swore, and grabbed my pillow before fully waking up and realizing nothing was wrong. This is the 3rd one in about 3 weeks.

What’s causing these fits? Could it be something ugly in my unconscious that’s creeping its way to the surface in my dreams?

 

[MATD]

If I could count the times I threw fits in my sleep. The best way is to approach these episodes with a “whatever” attitude. The basic fact is the anxiety is the cause. Get your anxiety down, these episodes fade away.

 

[Jonathan123]

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiences! That’s really interesting how the amygdala remains active while the rational frontal lobe is switched off for the night, allowing for fearful thoughts to be untamed, so to speak.

I had another shouting fit last night. I fell asleep at about 10 pm and it happened about 45 minutes later. I jolted awake thinking someone was in my bedroom. I screamed, swore, and grabbed my pillow before fully waking up and realizing nothing was wrong. This is the 3rd one in about 3 weeks.

What’s causing these fits? Could it be something ugly in my unconscious that’s creeping its way to the surface in my dreams?

There is never anything 'ugly' in your unconscious. Anything there is always neutral. Once again, it's how we react to dreams, events and circumstances that matters. Even awful nightmares which some have are still telling us something about ourselves. The unconscious is like a deep lake, and the vast majority sail across it and through life unaware of the treasures that lie on the floor of the lake. But it takes a lot of courage to dive in and swim to the bottom. Far better just sail along oblivious of anything but ourselves. It's why anxiety can be turned to good. It takes time and a lot of suffering to be able to dive in. But there comes a time when we must if we want to recover. What is the treasure? Peace!!!