Suggestions for Panic Attacks at Night?

[Sonny]

Hi,

I have been having pretty bad panic attacks at night generally after I go to sleep and wake up sitting in bed thinking about them more which obviously makes it worse...then I start obsessing about not getting enough sleep and all the What If Thoughts come up...

Any suggestions for things you guys have done that work? I have started getting up and writing journals or am thinking of getting up and taking walks to get rid of all the aderenaline etc.

Please chime in...

[pettygil]

As bad as I get panic, with the room spinning, heart racing, feeling lightheaded, feels like the floor moving benith me, or that I am moving up and down, with body jolts, while i rock back and forth, cause my body does it on it's own. I tend to just go lay down and try to go to sleep as as poss. once i wake up I feel better for a little while. Also taking my meds helps, if I take it, like xanax. I know at night it's hard because most people are asleep, and no one to talk to usually. or go see. I sometimes watch TV, it helps calm me down. But i tend to want to sleep off the panic..

I think every state should have a place, day or night, where people could get together, if they had panic attacks. I'd prob be there day and night. lol.

[ahandschke]

OK, so I know exactly how you feel, because I have been waking up at 4am with severe anxiety except. I am living very closely to this program. They said in one of the CDs you need to experience the anxiety and do the recommendations with self-talk following the steps to get over them. So, I personally do have Klonopin by my bedside but am choosing not to use it. Yesterday at 4 am, I had one that was better than previous. I acknowledged that I was having a panic attack and said "It is OK. It's just a panic attack and it wil go away". I counted a few deep breaths as explained and it was gone. It gets better everyday. Today I woke at 4 am and interesting enough, I looked at the clock and instead of going into a panic attack I said "weird..why am I waking up so early...maybe something like hormones or a dog barking is waking me up"- NO PANIC ATTACK! When I thought about being paniced, I just thought "I'm fine- just lay here and enjoy my nice cozy bed". I didn't fall back to sleep. I got up about an hour later an did a couple of yoga stretches and started my day. The relaxation CD has helped I think too. It helps me go to bed in a better frame of mind. I hope this helps. I'm a newby but am working hard on this. One of the life coaches told me it take 21 day to form a new habit in your brain so I'm being patient. I am very hopeful...but like others that skepticizem is there but I think I am slowly pushing it out the door!

[Paisleegreen]

That's great, Handshake! Keep up the good work! Paislee

[panicfree]

I used to have panic attacks at night all the time. I don't know what it is but at night, EVERYTHING seems so much worse than it actually is. Just remember that. It always helped me to get a drink of water and eat yogurt! I know it's really weird but it helped me the most!! I hope this helps.
-PF

[perspectivegirl]

One thing my mom actually suggested to me was to put a few ice cubes in a plastic bag and hold them. Something about your body forcing your brain to think "That's cold!" really helps me to ebb the anxiety away along with some positive self talk and the 2-4 breathing exercises. I just get up, go to my living room and hold some ice. Maybe watch some television or work on a puzzle, all with ice in my hand. Try it!