Waking up in a panic

[Guest]

Hi, on some nights I wake up 2-3 times, very panicky and out of breath, often saying things in German... (I'm German but I moved to England). This freaks out my boyfriend (who is English). But he tries to help me and calm me down. I don't know if it's because I'm dreaming something bad, because I never even remember my dreams. I just wish I knew what was causing them. Do others have this as well ? It would be good to hear from people with similar experiences.

 

[beautifullybree]

I deal with this as well. When my anxiety is flares up they are the worst. My symptoms are the same (except the language thing). It is really annoying and causes a rough night. Sometime I wander if I hold my breath while I'm sleeping and that causes it.

 

[John Snort]

Any time I slept in the afternoon when I woke up I always had this feeling that something really bad was about to happen. For a few minutes I'd be sort of confused and had this feeling like I'd committed some sort of vile crime. The feeling faded away though after a few minutes. I don't know why this happened but I hated the feeling which is why I never sleep in the afternoons anymore.

 

[lexinonomous]

This is what caused my first anxiety attack. I was laying down, sleeping. I woke up feeling as if I couldn't breath and went into a complete panic. I was convinced that something was wrong with my heart and I was going to die. It was easily one of the worst experiences I have ever had and I was convinced that I had a heart problem. My heart rate had skyrocketed to about 138 BPM while laying down. Thank goodness for my fitbit or I wouldn't have been aware of anything going on with my heart rate. Thankfully, this doesn't happen often, but if it did I would not be a happy camper. My heart goes out to you because I know how much it sucks!

 

[amonda]

That has only started to happen to me recently, frequently too. It's becoming something that happens about once every other night. I don't even sleep at nights anymore and it is making me feel tired. I am so tired.

 

[hades_leae]

I deal with this as well. When my anxiety is flares up they are the worst. My symptoms are the same (except the language thing). It is really annoying and causes a rough night. Sometime I wander if I hold my breath while I'm sleeping and that causes it.

That could definitely cause it, I did not know that people could unknowingly hold their breathe in their sleep, but it's true. When that happens, your body will freak out which wakes you up not knowing what happened.


Did you go see a doctor about it?

 

[Schons]

My wife gets panic attacks but doesn't wake me up if she has one in the middle of the night. I don't know why but I guess she feels like she can calm herself down and control it better by doing it alone. I'd love it if she woke me up and I helped her though.

 

[rz3300]

I consider myself somewhat lucky because this happens to me very rarely, and when it does happen it is very short. I think that it also probably has something to do with having a steady and consistent place to sleep for some time now, whereas when I was going from place to place I would get these a little more. I know that I am lucky because I have met people who struggle with this on a daily basis, and it sounds like an awful lot to add on to a condition that is already rough on its own.

 

[Jean Thomas]

Sometimes I'll wake in a panic and it'll take me a few minutes to even remember my name or where I am.


Since you start speaking in German, your anxiety is probably making you regress back into your youth when you were in Germany. Maybe it's your body trying to relieve a situation in Germany.


What helps me is taking deep breaths and looking around in the dark until my eyes focus. Once they focus I look at the posters on my wall or my dresser or I call to my cat. These things ground me and I would recommend you to try the same.

 

[shcoo]

This is one of the worst feelings, I'm sorry you are dealing with it. One suggestion my friends had was sort of a double-edged sword: they suggested practicing lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming can give you better control and awareness of your subconscious mind. You can shape a more pleasant dream world. However, if you are prone to sleep paralysis and night terrors, you could get yourself stuck in one when you attempt lucid dreaming.


You could also try sleeping with an ambient noise or white noise machine. Hearing the constant sound when you wake up may be comforting and it may ground you, reminding you that you are at home.


Did you have any traumatic experiences back in Germany? Perhaps you are having flashbacks or night terrors that you cannot remember. That could be something to bring up in therapy and use regression techniques to unlock the repressed memories and clear them out.

 

[beautifullybree]

No, I haven't seen a doctor about that specific problem. I did see him about my anxiety though. I will bring this up at my next appointment, because its terrifying. I wish they had more ways of testing and discovering different issues people have. Hopefully research will develop in the near future.

 

[Theazzz]

I've only had mild versions of such attacks and so few and far inbetween I don't remember them all that much. My sister on the other hand... Wow. It's almost a guarantee that once she's sleeping somewhere new to going to happen. This has been the case since we were kids. She'll wake up screaming out and clawing at everyone and everything begging for a window or door. Some type of claustrophobia.

 

[janemariesayed]

Hi, on some nights I wake up 2-3 times, very panicky and out of breath, often saying things in German... (I'm German but I moved to England). This freaks out my boyfriend (who is English). But he tries to help me and calm me down. I don't know if it's because I'm dreaming something bad, because I never even remember my dreams. I just wish I knew what was causing them. Do others have this as well ? It would be good to hear from people with similar experiences.

Try having a warm cup of milk before you go to bed. It will help you to sleep better. If you were to eat a little knob of cheese as well before you sleep it will help you to remember your dreams. I dream all the time and I absolutely love it. I wonder what will happen, or where I will go, or who I will see in my dreams. It helps to remember dreams if you put a pen and paper by your bed and write, or scribble it down as soon as you wake. Even if you wake in the middle of the night, ask your boyfriend if he can remember what it is you said. Even though he dosent understand German, he could tell you what you said and then you can translate it.

When you write down your dream in the middle of the night, all you need is one word and it will trigger a lot of the dream to be recalled to you. Also, try to remember that these are just dreams. Treat it as a cheap TV, with no TV license to pay! You can watch it for free and no one can change the channel. Know that you can't get hurt by your dreams. They can't do anything to you.

They can help you to understand yourself, though.

 

[Concernedgal]

Lord help me. Here it comes again. Sitting here minding my own business when all of the sudden , I was hit with sudden nausea. Now a little lightheaded. Vision a little distorted. Need to keep reminding myself that this will not last forever. But, this sure sucks. This sucks so much. This is a hateful disorder. Simply hateful. Talking about it helps though. Thank the lord. It's starting to subside. Maybe I need a good night's sleep. Haven't been sleeping well lately. Thanks guys. I just needed to talk about it. This was a short 1 but, i'm sure that it will return later .... it usually does.

 

[janemariesayed]

How are you feeling now @Concernedgal ? Any better?

I hope that you start to try to drink a milky drink before you go to sleep. It will really help! You could try as well sprinkling lavender over your pillow. That would make you fall asleep like a baby. And eat some good fruit too. Get some vitamins inside you to level out your blood sugar. Hopefully, you will feel better in no time. Hope you take it easy.

 

[Decentlady]

Sleep apnea is something you should be ruling out. It happens to most sane of the people.

It is when the brain gets deprived of oxygen that you go in air stravation mode and get nightmares, panic attacks or a feeling of suffocation and anxiety.

It is good to get a proper evaluation from a qualified pulmonologist.

 

[Concernedgal]

Much better. I worked a hard shift at work and was super tired I suppose. That's usually 1of triggers, maybe it was exaustion. Looking back. ... I bet it was. Have you ever been so tired that you couldn't sleep? That's also anot her thing that's was going on that night.

 

[janemariesayed]

Much better. I worked a hard shift at work and was super tired I suppose. That's usually 1of triggers, maybe it was exaustion. Looking back. ... I bet it was. Have you ever been so tired that you couldn't sleep? That's also anot her thing that's was going on that night.

Oh God yes! There have been nights where I think about that cross over from wake to sleep and it starts to scare me. Then I can't sleep and I find I'm still awake near sunrise and that I've been thinking all night. I have a small DVD player beside my bed now, and it helps. When I watch something as I'm dropping off to sleep I find that it takes my mind away from thinking and normally drop off to sleep very quickly. If I'm having a larger problem sleeping I sprinkle lavender around my pillow and that also helps hugely. Lavender is a great relaxant.

 

[Danes]

That's actually a great idea, to keep a DVD player next to your bed, but remember to pick uplifting things to watch. Some movies might start off OK, but after you fall asleep your subconscious mind is still 'awake' and if there is stuff going on in the movie or whatever you're watching that might trigger an attack, it still gets 'seen' or 'heard' by your subconscious mind and it can still affect you even while you sleep, so be careful of that.

 

[Rinka]

When I have a night terror and need to calm down, I make myself some camomile tea or listen to some mellow music. It helps a lot to relax and reduce the state of over arousal, which is the reason for most night terrors (had sleep assessment for night terrors).