Connect
Suffering from Nocturnal Panic Attacks, advice without medication?
I have been suffereing from nocturnal panic attacks. I wake up regularly sweating, heart pounding, panicked and afraid. I know it's a dream, but it is disrupting my sleep. I am always exhausted. I prioritize sleep, I see a mental health professional, and I get over 8 hours a sleep a night. I also believe I'm beginning perimenopause. Has anything worked for anyone? I want to avoid any medication that could cause weight gain. I was tested for sleep apnea and it was negative.
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.
Connect
I’ve had that happen. There were times the attack (which woke me up) lasted an hour or more.
My attacks used to come in the way of body jerking. When they came, I would tense my entire body during the jerking phase then do deep breathing. Later I discovered Internal Family Systems (IFS) and determined the anxiety (and jerks) came from traumatized parts of me which needed attention. Now if it comes up, I ask my parts if they could be peaceful until the next day.
Has anyone ever had a constant bittet taste in mouth or seems like coming from tongue? I have severe health anxiety and health issues ptsd major depression and GAD
I am reading with interest. Over the past several weeks, I have had a handful of brief nighttime episodes that wake me suddenly from sleep. I wake feeling terrified and disoriented, often with a strong sense that something is missing, such as my phone or my granddaughter. I may briefly search through the bed or sheets before I become fully oriented. The episodes seem fleeting, although I am not sure exactly how long they last.
These episodes seemed to start about two weeks after a very stressful "vacation" in August. I also returned from that trip to a highly stressful job. I stopped using marijuana gummies for sleep on August 1 b/c I didn't want to take them on the plane.
During the day I don't any have episodes of confusion, getting lost, difficulty following conversations, or trouble doing familiar tasks. My memory is somewhat worse than it used to be, especially with misplacing things or wondering whether I already took a medication, but my friends complain about the same thing. There is a history of generalized anxiety disorder in my family and I'm sure I have that.
It seems so odd and seemed to come out of the blue. Any thoughts?