Things that help with Heartrate, Sleep issues, Anxiety

[gadamsgrega2]

Hi there, I'm a newbie on this but not a newbie to anxiety. I've been reading a lot of comments on this about what people are going through and can totally relate to many. My anxiety attacks came on back about 12 yrs ago then suddenly vanished for the next 10... then the past couple of years they have come back. I'm a 45 year old athletic male. I enjoy working out, I have a regular 8-5 day job.

Certain times of the day they come on for me, usually 11am then again around 2pm in the afternoon... then sometimes just an hour before bed.
I've noticed if I sleep well at night, I'm fine during the day and feel good for the most part. But the days I get poor sleep... That's when the struggle happens and get all the symptoms.. I've noticed when I start getting them too severe, I step out of my job for a moment or walk around. I was reading something how putting cold water on your face helps change mood almost instantly. That and doing a walk...

What are some remedies you all use besides getting on medication? I'd be curious to hear so of the instant fixes you all do... I'm sure a lot of you are experts at diverting by now...

And as for sleep at night, do any of you get woken up to anxiety or the rapid heartrate?

 

[Glassgirlw]

I can’t do meds. I’ve tried twice and both times I’ve had worse panic attacks than no meds. So I’ve learned to manage my attacks without meds.

For me, I started by learning distraction techniques. Deep, slow breathing. Finding a hobby that would refocus my attention elsewhere. Removing myself from the current situation causing the anxiety. All of those are a great way to start. Eventually, I worked my way up to resisting the urge to “flee” when an attack would hit. I made myself stay put and keep doing whatever task I was doing at the time. The more you do that (and it will take many, many repetitions), you become desensitized to the fight or flight response. Your body learns that the attacks aren’t anything to fear, you will make it through and be just fine.

This has not eliminated my panic attacks. But, it does make it easier for me to deal with them when they occur, and I don’t have the massive fatigue after an attack that I used to have.

Night anxiety was a big one for me. For that, I found some guided meditation videos on YouTube and would pop in some earbuds and try to relax to those. Typically I could fall back asleep within a few minutes.

Hopefully this helps!

 

[edm]

Yes, I have often awakened with a fast heartbeat. I went to doctor and my heart rate was 109, ekg was normal. Blood pressure was high so I was put on a beta blocker along with xanax. I'm on a low dose of Coreg to block the excessive adrenaline. All panic. It still happens from time to time but not to that extreme. Getting out of bed and walking around a little helps or I just lie there and wait for it to pass. I find taking a shower or maybe even having a snack can alleviate the anxiety. As you probably know, a fast heartbeat or a pounding is a classic sign of anxiety.