Does anyone get night time severe anxiety?
What is it, why does it happen?
It comes every night.
A sheer overwhelming horrible anxiety builds up in my chest until it reaches a crescendo and the physical feeling of pain and terror wakes me up from a deep sleep. It's a physical feeling in my chest. Then once I've been woken, within a split second my brain starts frantically panicking and I feel a deep sense of doom. I lay in bed frightened and scared and highly anxious.
Then my brain starts scanning for what's happening, searching for what it is that's happened to make me feel so desperately and severely anxious..... .and it can't find anything. Nothing. Nothing has happened. I went to work yesterday and it was a normal day. DC are safe and sound asleep in bed. DH is asleep, fine. Everyone is well. We have a nice normal weekend planned.
So why is this happening?
I just want to feel happy. Not like something terrifying has happened.
I'm 50. And all I want to be is asleep. I'm so tired every day from waking up in the night frightened.
I had a very unstable childhood full of emotional upset and felt nervous and worried al the time as a child. It's like that feeling all over again but massively, dramatically magnified. I was better through my 20s, 30s and 40s as I was so happy to be leading my own independent life away from what made me feel sad and frightened as a little girl. Why has it suddenly struck again now I'm 50? Why is it so severe? And why does it happen at 3am or 4am every night? I don't get back to sleep again as I have to get up at 6 anyway so I feel exhausted every day. I am so desperately tired I could cry😣