Why do i wake up panicking

What You Need to Know About Waking Up with a Panic Attack

Stressors, certain underlying conditions, and other triggers may cause panic attacks that wake you up. Treatment can depend on the cause but may include therapy, medication, and relaxation techniques.

If you wake up with a panic attack, you might be experiencing a nighttime, or nocturnal, panic attack.

These events cause symptoms like any other panic attack — sweating, rapid heart rate, and fast breathing — but because you were asleep when they began, you may wake up disoriented or frightened by the feelings.

Like daytime panic attacks, you can take steps to relieve the intense distress or fear and other symptoms.

If these happen regularly, you might be able to find treatments that can help stop panic attacks altogether. Read on to learn more about panic attacks that wake you up.

The primary symptoms of a panic attack at any time of day can be divided into three categories. In order to be a panic attack, you must experience four or more of these different symptoms at once.

Physical symptoms

sweating
chills
nausea
heart palpitations
feeling faint or unsteady
trembling or shaking
feeling dizzy or lightheaded
shortness of breath
chest discomfort or pain
sensations of tingling or numbness
hot flashes or chills

Emotional symptoms

having a sudden fear of dying
fear of losing control
fear of being under attack

Mental symptoms

feeling smothered or choked
feeling disconnected from yourself or reality, which are known as depersonalization and derealization

It’s unclear what causes panic attacks, or why 1 in 75 people develop the more chronic condition known as panic disorder.

Researchers have identified underlying factors that might increase your risk for a nighttime panic attack. Even still, not everyone with these risk factors will wake up with a panic attack.

Here are the potential triggers for any type of panic attack.

Genetics

If you have family members with a history of panic attacks or panic disorder, you might be more likely to experience panic attacks.

Stress

Anxiety isn’t the same thing as a panic attack, but the two conditions are closely related. Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or highly anxious can be a risk factor for a future panic attack.

Brain chemistry changes

Hormonal changes or changes from medications may impact your brain’s chemistry. This may cause panic attacks.

Life events

Upheaval in your personal or professional life can bring about a great deal of worry or concern. This may lead to panic attacks.

Underlying conditions

Conditions and disorders may increase the chances of a panic attack. These may include:

generalized anxiety disorder
acute stress disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder
obsessive-compulsive disorder

Individuals with specific phobias may also experience panic attacks that wake them up.

Previous panic attacks

Fear of having another panic attack may increase anxiety. This could lead to sleep loss, increased stress, and higher risk for more panic attacks.

Blood tests, imaging tests, and physical exams can’t determine if you’re having a panic attack or if you have panic disorder. However, they can rule out other conditions that could cause similar symptoms, such as thyroid and heart diseases, among others.

If these tests results don’t show an underlying condition, your doctor may discuss your symptoms and health history. They may also ask about your current stress levels and any events that are happening which could trigger panic attacks.

If your doctor believes you’ve been having panic attacks or have panic disorder, they may refer you to a mental health specialist for additional evaluation. A therapist or psychologist can help you understand causes of panic disorder and work to eliminate them.

While panic attacks may be unpleasant, they’re not dangerous. Symptoms can be bothersome and may be frightening, but these treatment measures may help reduce and stop them altogether. These treatments for panic attack include:

Treatment in the moment

If you’re experiencing a panic attack, these steps may help ease symptoms:

Help yourself relax. Instead of thinking about the rushing feelings you’re having, concentrate on your breath. Focus on taking slow, deep breaths. Feel the tension in your jaw and shoulders, and tell your muscles to release.
Distract yourself. If the symptoms of the panic attack feel overwhelming, you can try to distance yourself from the physical sensations by giving yourself another task. Count backward from 100 by intervals of three. Talk to a friend about a happy memory or funny story. Focusing your thoughts away from the sensations in your body helps them ease their grip.
Chill out. Keep ice packets ready to go in your freezer. Apply them to your back or neck. Sip a glass of chilled water slowly. Feel the “cooling” sensation as it overtakes your body.
Go for a walk. A bit of light exercise might help your body soothe itself. Ask a friend to walk with you if you can. The additional distraction will be welcome relief.

Long-term treatments

If you have regular panic attacks, you may want to talk with your doctor about treatments that can help you reduce the attacks and prevent them from happening in the future. These treatments include:

Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy. During sessions, you will work with a therapist to understand possible causes for your panic attacks. You’ll also develop strategies to help you ease symptoms quickly if they happen again.
Medication. Your doctor may prescribe certain medications to help prevent future panic attacks. If you do experience a panic attack while on these medications, the symptoms may be less severe.

When to See Your Doctor
These signs might indicate it’s time to talk to your doctor about your panic attacks and possible treatments:
you’re experiencing more than two panic attacks in a month
you’re having difficulty sleeping or resting for fear of waking up with another panic attack
you’re showing signs of other symptoms that might be related to the panic attacks, such as anxiety disorders or stress disorders

If you wake up with a panic attack, it’s natural to feel very disoriented. The symptoms may seem overwhelming.

You may have difficulty knowing if you’re dreaming or not. You may even think you’re having a heart attack. Symptoms like chest pain aren’t uncommon.

Most panic attacks last no more than 10 minutes and symptoms will wane throughout that phase. If you wake up with a panic attack, you may be nearing the peak of the symptoms. Symptoms could ease from that point.

It’s not clear why people experience panic attacks, but certain triggers may make the chances of waking up with one more likely. You may have just one panic attack, or you may have several.

This is a treatable condition. You can take steps in the moment to ease symptoms. You can also work to prevent future panic attacks with therapy and medications.

What You Need to Know About Waking Up with a Panic Attack

If you wake up with a panic attack, you might be experiencing a nighttime, or nocturnal, panic attack.

Like daytime panic attacks, you can take steps to relieve the intense distress or fear and other symptoms.

If these happen regularly, you might be able to find treatments that can help stop panic attacks altogether. Read on to learn more about panic attacks that wake you up.

The primary symptoms of a panic attack at any time of day can be divided into three categories. In order to be a panic attack, you must experience four or more of these different symptoms at once.

Physical symptoms

sweating
chills
nausea
heart palpitations
feeling faint or unsteady
trembling or shaking
feeling dizzy or lightheaded
shortness of breath
chest discomfort or pain
sensations of tingling or numbness
hot flashes or chills

Emotional symptoms

having a sudden fear of dying
fear of losing control
fear of being under attack

Mental symptoms

feeling smothered or choked
feeling disconnected from yourself or reality, which are known as depersonalization and derealization

It’s unclear what causes panic attacks, or why 1 in 75 people develop the more chronic condition known as panic disorder.

Researchers have identified underlying factors that might increase your risk for a nighttime panic attack. Even still, not everyone with these risk factors will wake up with a panic attack.

Here are the potential triggers for any type of panic attack.

Genetics

If you have family members with a history of panic attacks or panic disorder, you might be more likely to experience panic attacks.

Stress

Anxiety isn’t the same thing as a panic attack, but the two conditions are closely related. Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or highly anxious can be a risk factor for a future panic attack.

Brain chemistry changes

Hormonal changes or changes from medications may impact your brain’s chemistry. This may cause panic attacks.

Life events

Upheaval in your personal or professional life can bring about a great deal of worry or concern. This may lead to panic attacks.

Underlying conditions

Conditions and disorders may increase the chances of a panic attack. These may include:

generalized anxiety disorder
acute stress disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder
obsessive-compulsive disorder

Individuals with specific phobias may also experience panic attacks that wake them up.

Previous panic attacks

Fear of having another panic attack may increase anxiety. This could lead to sleep loss, increased stress, and higher risk for more panic attacks.

Treatment in the moment

If you’re experiencing a panic attack, these steps may help ease symptoms:

Help yourself relax. Instead of thinking about the rushing feelings you’re having, concentrate on your breath. Focus on taking slow, deep breaths. Feel the tension in your jaw and shoulders, and tell your muscles to release.
Distract yourself. If the symptoms of the panic attack feel overwhelming, you can try to distance yourself from the physical sensations by giving yourself another task. Count backward from 100 by intervals of three. Talk to a friend about a happy memory or funny story. Focusing your thoughts away from the sensations in your body helps them ease their grip.
Chill out. Keep ice packets ready to go in your freezer. Apply them to your back or neck. Sip a glass of chilled water slowly. Feel the “cooling” sensation as it overtakes your body.
Go for a walk. A bit of light exercise might help your body soothe itself. Ask a friend to walk with you if you can. The additional distraction will be welcome relief.

Long-term treatments

If you have regular panic attacks, you may want to talk with your doctor about treatments that can help you reduce the attacks and prevent them from happening in the future. These treatments include:

Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy. During sessions, you will work with a therapist to understand possible causes for your panic attacks. You’ll also develop strategies to help you ease symptoms quickly if they happen again.
Medication. Your doctor may prescribe certain medications to help prevent future panic attacks. If you do experience a panic attack while on these medications, the symptoms may be less severe.

When to See Your Doctor
These signs might indicate it’s time to talk to your doctor about your panic attacks and possible treatments:
you’re experiencing more than two panic attacks in a month
you’re having difficulty sleeping or resting for fear of waking up with another panic attack
you’re showing signs of other symptoms that might be related to the panic attacks, such as anxiety disorders or stress disorders

If you wake up with a panic attack, it’s natural to feel very disoriented. The symptoms may seem overwhelming.

You may have difficulty knowing if you’re dreaming or not. You may even think you’re having a heart attack. Symptoms like chest pain aren’t uncommon.

It’s not clear why people experience panic attacks, but certain triggers may make the chances of waking up with one more likely. You may have just one panic attack, or you may have several.

This is a treatable condition. You can take steps in the moment to ease symptoms. You can also work to prevent future panic attacks with therapy and medications.

causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment - medalvian

Skype or WhatsApp consultation available.

A panic attack is a sudden, uncontrollable attack of severe, “peak” anxiety that has no real and justified cause. This condition is accompanied by intense fear and bodily symptoms - palpitations, shortness of breath, heaviness and pain in the chest, excessive sweating, trembling in the body.

Such attacks can occur not only during the day, but also at night. There is no mind control in sleep - anxiety can manifest itself in threatening, frightening dreams, or it can manifest itself as a panic attack. During the day, a person keeps all emotions in himself, and at night the control weakens, and an attack occurs. Panic attacks in a dream have a certain danger to human health, do not neglect and underestimate the possible adverse effects. Quality sleep is a necessary condition for the full restoration of physical and mental strength. During an attack, there is a sharp awakening with a painful feeling of anxiety and fear, accompanied by all the same bodily symptoms: heart palpitations, shortness of breath, heaviness and pain in the chest, excessive sweating, trembling in the body. Several such nights - and this will lead to a deterioration in general well-being, irritability, decreased performance, i.e. quality of life will be lost.

Panic attacks during sleep cause insomnia. It seems to a person that if he does not sleep, then this will help to avoid an attack. Going to bed is delayed for various reasons. The very thought of going to bed soon causes anxiety and fear.

Such seizures can occur in children, adolescents, and adults; people who have a more sensitive emotional system are most susceptible to them. It is not always possible to immediately recognize that this condition is precisely a panic attack in a dream, but the fact that the quality of night sleep suffers is a serious argument for consulting a psychiatrist, psychotherapist.

This condition has a close relationship with both biological and psychological causes; it is a disorder that requires professional help from a psychiatrist, psychotherapist.

Causes

Biological causes may be due to the fact that the endocrine glands begin to release a large amount of adrenaline into the blood. This hormone is normally produced in extreme situations that threaten human health or life. It is he who influences the acceleration of all physiological reactions, that is, the heartbeat quickens, the sweat glands and lungs begin to work hard. This is how the body prepares to defend or flee from a deadly threat.

But why does this hormone begin to be released during sleep, when a person is safe and not in danger? The answer to this question is not completely clear yet. Most likely, there are individual psychological reasons here - for example, increased personal anxiety as a character trait: most often seizures occur in suspicious, emotionally vulnerable and anxious people. It is they who are most prone to self-flagellation and long experiences of life events; and / or negative experience of relationships in the past, in which a person acquired such qualities as distrust, suspicion, lack of internal, psychological permission to relax (“you cannot lose control for a minute, you cannot relax - otherwise something irreparable will happen”).

Provoking factors for panic attacks at night during sleep are:

Chronic alcohol consumption or excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages before bedtime.
Severe stress.
Childhood psychological trauma.
Hormonal disorders.
Exhaustion of the nervous system due to constant experiences, stress.
Hereditary predisposition to anxiety disorders.
Traumatic brain injury.
Labor activity that is associated with constant emotional stress or risk to life.

According to statistics, about 50% of people diagnosed with neurosis or vegetative-vascular dystonia suffered from nighttime panic attacks.

Symptoms

Panic attacks occur during deep sleep, between 2 and 4 am. In rare cases, this condition occurs immediately after falling asleep.

In sleep panic attacks, symptoms include the following:

abrupt sudden awakening from a feeling of anxiety and intense fear;
lack of air;
difficult shortness of breath;
increased sweating;
tachycardia;
increased blood pressure;
sensation of paralysis or stiffness of the body;
dizziness;
chest pain;
chills, numbness of extremities.

In time, a night attack lasts from 10-20 minutes. Due to paralyzing horror, a person is unable to call for help. Sometimes awakening comes from one's own cry. The darkness in which a person finds himself only aggravates his condition. Therefore, in panic attacks at night during sleep, the symptoms are more pronounced than in daytime attacks.

In the first 5-10 minutes after a sudden awakening, there is confusion and disorientation in space. Then comes awareness of the situation. A person tries to calm his pulse, and calm down. Feelings of anxiety and fear can be disturbing for several days, intensifying in the evening. This is due to the fear of falling asleep and again falling into an insurmountable nightmare.

Panic attacks during sleep are also symptomatic of intrusive thoughts (so-called obsessions). There is a fear of serious illness, death, heart attack in a dream. Without proper treatment, seizures can become more frequent and occur every night.

Help with panic attacks

A person suffering from panic attacks at night cannot correctly assess his condition. Often, waking up with a feeling of fear and anxiety is perceived as an ordinary nightmare, so they are in no hurry to seek help. But such episodes are becoming more frequent, and the state of health is worse. When panic attacks occur in a dream, treatment should only be prescribed by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist. At the initial consultation, the doctor collects an anamnesis. Only sincere answers and a confidential conversation with a doctor will help to correctly diagnose and select the optimal therapy. The main goal of conversations with a doctor is to learn to quickly recognize your panic attack and, over time, learn to cope with it, learn to help yourself, gain personal experience of successfully overcoming, coping, and thereby minimize the risk of its reappearance.

Sleep panic attack symptoms and treatment are interdependent. With a high level of anxiety, as well as with severe or frequent attacks, a course of anti-anxiety (anxiolytic) drugs gives a good effect. Medications are selected individually, and only with the consent of the patient.

If you have a panic attack in your sleep, how to deal with it without pills?

At the beginning of the disease, relaxation and muscle relaxation techniques help to quickly calm down and bring the nervous system back to normal. This is taught in psychotherapy sessions. Breathing techniques, therapeutic hypnosis, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy are also effectively used.

Individual and then group psychotherapy is an important step in the treatment of panic attacks. A person needs to understand, understand what his individual causes of anxiety attacks in the daytime are made up of. Learn to respond appropriately to various stressful situations. Find your individual regimen, which is a healthy lifestyle, clearly follow the recommendations of the attending physician. Only in this case the prognosis will be favorable.

at bedtime, during sleep, after sleep.

Sudden panic attack can occur at night - before bedtime, during, and also in the early morning after sleep. Panic attacks during sleep accompany the same symptoms as daytime vegetative crises: in addition to a strong sense of fear, a person experiences suffocation, as if he does not have enough air, his heart rate increases, tremors appear in the limbs, less often - numbness, chills run through the body, and cold sweat, often against the background of an attack, an upset stomach occurs, and the feeling of anxiety increases. A person has a desire to go out into the air to “breathe”, call an ambulance, or even remain motionless under the covers, waiting for an attack of “horror”.

Often, panic attacks during a night's sleep are confused with a heart attack, with a normal reaction to a nightmare, or even with a slight clouding of the mind. However, the fact that a person cannot fully rest and sleep during a night's sleep is clear evidence that the balance between the mechanisms of excitation and inhibition, for which the vegetative part of the nervous system is responsible in our body, is disturbed. At the chemical level, this process in the human body is manifested by an imbalance between the production of adrenaline, norepinephrine and acetylcholine. The production of the latter becomes insufficient to “extinguish” the exciting effect of adrenaline on the body, which is why the above-described state occurs.

It should be noted separately that caffeinated drinks consumed in the late evening or early morning also often cause a panic attack in patients with impaired functioning of the autonomic nervous system.

Panic attack before sleep

Panic attack at night is often manifested by insomnia. The patient cannot sleep for hours, experiencing ever-increasing anxiety. This state develops into a feeling of intense fear up to the fear of going crazy and even dying.

Anxiety can occur for no apparent reason, but more often it is caused by important events of the day ahead: a significant meeting, speech, exam, trip, etc. The attack is accompanied by obsessive thoughts: what if something does not work out? What if I get into an awkward situation? suddenly I feel bad?

Any stressful factors can serve as an additional catalyst that triggers the mechanism for the development of a panic attack at night. Thus, an unstable psycho-emotional state caused by problems in the family, at work, with money or health also creates favorable conditions for the development of night attacks. In this case, the patient is visited by obsessive thoughts related to the current state of affairs.

The patient himself may associate his “nervousness” and irrational behavior with increased emotionality and anxiety characteristic of him “in life”, and for a long time ignore his painful condition or alleviate it with the help of sleeping pills or antidepressants.

Undoubtedly, the personal qualities of a person, such as increased anxiety or emotional sensitivity, become the soil on which a disorder of the autonomic nervous system can develop. However, this is not a reason to ignore such manifestations of this disorder as panic attacks, since by letting the disease “take its own course”, we exacerbate its harmful effects on our entire body.

Thus, with a milder form of autonomic disorder, the patient may experience stomach problems only directly during the moments of his nightly "experiences". However, in a patient whose disease is already at a more advanced stage, gastrointestinal upset is observed constantly, including in the daytime, even with the slightest mental, emotional or physical stress. That is, the body cannot withstand the systematic load at night and the lack of proper rest during the night's sleep, the “spring” of the ANS, which is responsible for excitation and inhibition in our nervous system, eventually completely fails and autonomic nervous disorder progresses. Therefore, it is important to prevent the development of a disorder of the autonomic nervous system as early as possible.

Panic attack in sleep

In the middle of the night, people with disorders of the autonomic nervous system are often disturbed by sudden awakenings, which seem to “throw” a person out of sleep - “as if from a push”. Abrupt awakenings can be accompanied by so-called "nightmare" dreams, which are often perceived by the patient as the main cause of fear, increased heart rate, chills, sweat and other symptoms, which are actually direct symptoms of a panic attack at night.

"Nightmares" often accompany a panic attack in a dream and are direct evidence of an autonomic disorder of the nervous system. This phenomenon is also associated with excessive production of adrenaline in the blood even at a time when our body is trying to tune in to rest: the harmonious unity of the chemical processes occurring in our body is disrupted, and sleep is abruptly interrupted.

Panic attack after sleep

Panic attack may occur in the early morning. Long before the alarm should go off, a person suddenly wakes up from a strong sense of unreasonable anxiety and can no longer sleep. The attack is accompanied by obsessive thoughts and feelings of "brokenness", fatigue. The person does not feel rested, but can no longer fall asleep. Symptoms of a panic attack after sleep: a person wakes up abruptly in a strong agitation, reaching the fear of death, feels chills or, conversely, a flush of heat, a rapid heartbeat, trembling in the body, headache, nausea or diarrhea are possible.

A person who has suffered a panic attack before, during or after a night's sleep experiences a breakdown in the morning and throughout the day, loses interest in life, he has a fear of leaving the house, going to work or school, that is, new panic attacks.

Learn more