Nocturnal panic attacks

[mightyducks]

Anyone else suffer with these? I used to suffer with them on a semi regular basis and thought they’d stopped but last night it came back with a bang , as I fall asleep I suddenly jolt awake with me gasping for breath , heart racing and feel like I’m dying, it really is a horrible experience. It takes ages to calm down and then I can’t sleep afterwards

Yes I do. I think it’s related to work stress. I just try very hard to calm down and they go. When they started I actually made my husband take me to A&E convinced I was dying. It could also be a perimenopause thing for me.

I am so sorry you are going through this. It’s debilitating . I used to have them regularly and was scared to fall asleep. For me it’s stress that brings it on. I did go for CBT for my panic disorder and daytime panic attacks, it did help massively.
I hope it gets better for you.

Thanks both, it really is horrible , weirdly I’ve found they don’t happen if I don’t use a pillow so I’m pillowless again!

That is strange! I only use a low one because of neck pain so might try it!

I get this, I've had it on and off for years, related to stress and anxiety. I scroll my phone until I fall asleep and drop it, which stops me thinking about whatever is worrying me, although this means I don't get anywhere near enough sleep. The only fix for me is when life is calm and nothing particularly bad is going on but those times seem few and far between for me. Sorry to everyone else that's suffering from this too, it's awful.

I developed asthma in mid life and I thought it was panic attacks. Worse at night. Reflux contributed.