Night anxiety

[Nutmegbella 91]

2 am woke up about 15 minutes ago. I woke up swallowing air. And then I felt like I was breathing but it wasn’t computing with my body. I started to get the cold chill on my face and numbness/tingling around my lips followed by a headache. 

I am trying to see the time on my phone and my hand is shaking to the rhythm to my heart beat. And it was just really fast beating like da da da da da da da da. Instead of what I think is normal ba dum ba dum ba dum. 

Chest got tight. My heart sped up even more. And head started to hurt. I can’t believe I am having this swarm of anxiety and panic attacks. Do you guys get these random attacks?

 

[bin_tenn 1252]

Yes. I used to have fairly frequent attacks very similar to what you describe, although not in the middle of the night. But seemingly random and full force 0-60, yes.

[Nutmegbella 91]

2 hours ago, bin_tenn said:

Yes. I used to have fairly frequent attacks very similar to what you describe, although not in the middle of the night. But seemingly random and full force 0-60, yes.

It really sucks doesn’t it? Mine have always been at night. Will I get them in the day too but at night it’s the worst. Lately whenever my husband goes to work at 4 I am left anxious. It takes me awhile to go to sleep afterwards. My mind races with what ifs.

You are lucky you don’t really get these at night. And hopefully it stays that way. Have you had any recent panic attacks?

 

[Nutmegbella 91]

I woke this morning drenched in sweat. My room is cold and my sheets are these kinds that stay cool. So my sheets are cool and yet I was sweating never sweat before in my sleep. The only time I sweat is when I have a good work out. Which makes me fear if my heart was beating fast. I am cold now. Why am i feeling these things? I have a long drive right now with four kids and I’m fearing I will drop dead while driving. My whole body just feels odd. 

[Iugrad91 501]

It's all stress and anxiety. It can make you feel really off. All that adrenaline and cortisol will mess with your body. Found this on the internet (I googled for you?) on a reputable medical website.

1. Anxiety—Stress and emotional problems that cause sweating during the day can often have the same effect at night.

You won't collapse and die during your ride, you will be fine!

 

[jonathan123 2368]

Whoa! Nutmeg. Slow down!! Deep breaths. OK? YOU ARE FRIGHTENING YOURSELF. You are sweating; feeling cold then hot. Fast heartbeats, palpitations and other symptoms ARE anxiety. They  are you know.

Why am i feeling these things? I have a long drive right now with four kids and I’m fearing I will drop dead while driving. My whole body just feels odd. 

The answer to that is simple. You are suffering from anxiety. If you had the flu you would expect certain symptoms wouldn't you. Hot, trembling, feeling awful, aching etc. So why is it so difficult to understand the symptoms of anxiety. Because they frighten you and create fear in you. Fear IS anxiety. Without fear there would be no anxiety.

My whole body just feels odd. 

The source of anxiety is in the Mind not the body. The body reacts to what the mind is thinking. Your body feels 'odd' because your mind is telling your brain, it's loyal servant, that there is danger and the brain responds by sending a message to the body to pump adrenaline to help you run. It's a common cycle and perfectly normal, but its normality is not recognised and it become very frightening.

It is fueled by the 'what ifs' and the OMG's. Drop dead while driving! Why? Why would that happen? You see the nervous anticipation here? What else do you expect when you think that way? I am not minimising your suffering; no way because I do know. But try and begin, just begin to see that thinking the way you do is the CAUSE of the problem, not a symptom.

 

 

[nicole97 6]

I totally sympathize. I am waiting on a biopsy and I woke up in the middle of the night, not because of anxiety, but once I was awake, the anxiety hit hard and I ended up getting sick.  It's nerve wracking and makes it feel even worse because now I haven't gotten a lot of sleep.  You WILL be fine though. You'll make the drive with no problem!

[Nutmegbella 91]

41 minutes ago, Iugrad91 said:

It's all stress and anxiety. It can make you feel really off. All that adrenaline and cortisol will mess with your body. Found this on the internet (I googled for you?) on a reputable medical website.

1. Anxiety—Stress and emotional problems that cause sweating during the day can often have the same effect at night.

You won't collapse and die during your ride, you will be fine!

 

Thank you Iugrad91, I made the first half of the trip just fine. I did feel like my heart was racing the whole time. But I got this feeling that I’ve been through this before I will be fine. 

 

[Nutmegbella 91]

41 minutes ago, jonathan123 said:

Whoa! Nutmeg. Slow down!! Deep breaths. OK? YOU ARE FRIGHTENING YOURSELF. You are sweating; feeling cold then hot. Fast heartbeats, palpitations and other symptoms ARE anxiety. They  are you know.

Why am i feeling these things? I have a long drive right now with four kids and I’m fearing I will drop dead while driving. My whole body just feels odd. 

The answer to that is simple. You are suffering from anxiety. If you had the flu you would expect certain symptoms wouldn't you. Hot, trembling, feeling awful, aching etc. So why is it so difficult to understand the symptoms of anxiety. Because they frighten you and create fear in you. Fear IS anxiety. Without fear there would be no anxiety.

My whole body just feels odd. 

The source of anxiety is in the Mind not the body. The body reacts to what the mind is thinking. Your body feels 'odd' because your mind is telling your brain, it's loyal servant, that there is danger and the brain responds by sending a message to the body to pump adrenaline to help you run. It's a common cycle and perfectly normal, but its normality is not recognised and it become very frightening.

It is fueled by the 'what ifs' and the OMG's. Drop dead while driving! Why? Why would that happen? You see the nervous anticipation here? What else do you expect when you think that way? I am not minimising your suffering; no way because I do know. But try and begin, just begin to see that thinking the way you do is the CAUSE of the problem, not a symptom.

 

 

I didn’t take offense I understand what you are saying. And part of me knows it. But the fear wins. Why? Because of stories I heard. Things I’ve seen. And maybe that’s what grounds the fear. I’m going through a faze I’ve been before we’re nothing really helps and the best I did was just ride it out. But I have to conquer it if I don’t want this cycle to control me.

[Nutmegbella 91]

13 minutes ago, nicole97 said:

I totally sympathize. I am waiting on a biopsy and I woke up in the middle of the night, not because of anxiety, but once I was awake, the anxiety hit hard and I ended up getting sick.  It's nerve wracking and makes it feel even worse because now I haven't gotten a lot of sleep.  You WILL be fine though. You'll make the drive with no problem!

Oh hun I hope your biopsy results are in your favor. Hopefully this will pass for you too. 

Thank you first half of the trip was good now i await the second half. 

[nicole97 6]

Thank you!  I appreciate that!  And the second half will go just fine!  I would think keeping 4 kids entertained would be the hardest part! 

[jonathan123 2368]

Hi Nutmeg. I am glad you didn't misunderstand because sometimes it's difficult to put over a point without seeming to be uncaring. My goodness, in no way would I say or do anything to cause hurt in anxiety. Unlike our non suffering friends who often do hurt with remarks of a hurtful nature.

 But the fear wins. Why? Because of stories I heard. Things I’ve seen. And maybe that’s what grounds the fear. I’m going through a faze I’ve been before we’re nothing really helps and the best I did was just ride it out. But I have to conquer it if I don’t want this cycle to control me.

Yes it does, but only temporarily. You will be fearful for a while even after you begin to recover. I liken it to a big bell that has been rung but the vibrations take time to die down. Yes, ride it out, but do so with acceptance in your heart. The stories we hear about illness and the reports we get are mainly erroneous.  We are over informed about things of which we have little knowledge. It is said that 'ignorance is bliss', and although not true in a general sense, may be so when it comes to illness. Leave it to those who do know.

 

[Iugrad91 501]

You can't unsee or unhear the stories, but when I see or hear something distressing that triggers me I remind myself that that story is not about me and it doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen to me. Stories are sensationalized because news sites want people to click on them. The headlines are written to get people to read them, so you do and your fight or flight kicks into gear because you think "I can't let this happen to me" and chances are it never will. I stay away from the news and don't click or follow things on FB that would be a trigger for me. 

[bin_tenn 1252]

7 hours ago, Nutmegbella said:

It really sucks doesn’t it? Mine have always been at night. Will I get them in the day too but at night it’s the worst. Lately whenever my husband goes to work at 4 I am left anxious. It takes me awhile to go to sleep afterwards. My mind races with what ifs.

You are lucky you don’t really get these at night. And hopefully it stays that way. Have you had any recent panic attacks?

 

No, I actually have not had a panic attack of any kind since my last one drove me to the ER in September.

You're "feeling these things" most likely because you're obviously very anxious at the moment. You're going to notice things as well as react to them more strongly than when you are not anxious, or when you're less anxious. Anxiety always blows things out of proportion, sometimes drastically, but that's all it is - anxiety. It's a bugger like that.

[Nutmegbella 91]

On 1/12/2018 at 9:27 AM, nicole97 said:

Thank you!  I appreciate that!  And the second half will go just fine!  I would think keeping 4 kids entertained would be the hardest part! 

? you’re welcome. And thank you. I saw this before I started driving yesterday but I Am finally able to reply. 

Well the rest of the trip was great. I thought about what you said and decided to focus and keep the kids entertained. We sang songs all the way and I just really sang my heart out (my preteen daughter doesn’t like my singing and kindly tells me to not sing lol but yesterday she actually sang along with me☺️) and I had a great time hearing the kids talk about what they saw on the road. My anxiety was gone for the rest of the day.

until we came to have dinner. We decided to go inside the restaurant and eat there as opposed to our plan to take it back home. This lady walked in with her sick kid who was hacking up a good coughing fit. And proceeds to vomit. Luckily we were done and were about to leave but knowing there’s a severely sick child in the area around us got me fearing for my kids. We left before we could see if the kid was alright. That got my anxiety up. 

But I was able to quickly move on. And have a relaxing time before bed. 

Today im fighting different fears but it’s been more manageable. 

 

[Nutmegbella 91]

On 1/12/2018 at 12:50 PM, Iugrad91 said:

You can't unsee or unhear the stories, but when I see or hear something distressing that triggers me I remind myself that that story is not about me and it doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen to me. Stories are sensationalized because news sites want people to click on them. The headlines are written to get people to read them, so you do and your fight or flight kicks into gear because you think "I can't let this happen to me" and chances are it never will. I stay away from the news and don't click or follow things on FB that would be a trigger for me. 

Very true. And I’ll try to remember this when I come across this stuff. Like this morning: a story about some dying from the flu. People in the comments section were saying that we shouldn’t fear dying from this flu, just yet, that we don’t know this persons health history. And that it goes for any health story out there. 

It’s a reaction I want program in my head.