Panic Attacks Help – Getting to sleep at night

Most of us will at some stage or another have trouble getting off to sleep and providing you are not suffering any physical pain the problem will normally stem from worry. If you have searched for panic attacks help in the past, you will no doubt have come across discussions concerning this problem, you may also have noticed that there is not much advice out there when it comes to getting help. So let’s take a closer look.

As previously discussed if you suffer from frequent panic attacks, or some form of General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) then it is quite on the cards that you will have problems getting off to sleep at night and for some, this may even be a major problem. So let’s take a look at what’s behind anxiety attacks and sleep problems and how best to cope with them.

Some people say they need eight hours sleep a night others ten, many prominent people in history have survived quite easily on three or four hours a night. The main thing to understand about sleep is that it has nothing to do with the amount of sleep you get and everything to do with the quality of that sleep. So whether it’s four or eight hours, you must make sure it is quality sleep and that entails taking a much closer look at any anxiety disorder you may have.

If you are having continual problems with getting to sleep the first thing you should remember is that not getting to sleep soon becomes a self fulfilling prophesy and turns into a worry all of its own. What I mean by this is that the fact you are having trouble sleeping means you will worry about not getting enough sleep, this worry will cause anxiety and the anxiety will cause you sleepless nights. A vicious circle indeed.

So the first thing you need to change is your attitude to sleep, by that I mean that when you go to bed don’t automatically assume you will or indeed will not go to sleep. Instead understand that these thoughts and worries are the causes of the anxiety that you are feeling and approach bedtime with an attitude that say’s “ ok, I’m going to bed and maybe I will sleep, if not immediately then eventually, so I will just be relaxed about it”. The best advice I can give you when looking for any kind of panic attacks help, and I really cannot stress this enough, is the importance of always letting things be OK just as they are. You may prefer it was somehow different, but simply accept the situation for what it is and don’t allow yourself to become stressed out over it.

Another good way to help you get into a sleepy frame of mind is to “write your worries away”. Let’s explore this further. Keep a notepad or a diary by your bed and if you have anxious thoughts which you think are keeping you from going to sleep, write them down and I mean everything. If you are going to be awake then you may as well make good use of your time, so start to write. This may seem difficult or awkward at first but start anyway. Write in the style that you are thinking, such as – “I am feeling very anxious at the moment (note the time) regarding ....” – then proceed to think about your problem and write down your thoughts. Remember what we discussed in previous posts that the only way to curb your levels of anxiety is to face up to your worries? Well writing these thoughts down is a great way to do this, with the added bonus that you can review them the next day.

Panic Attacks at Night

We have previously discussed General Anxiety Disorders (GAD) and in the main we have generally referred to them with their relevance to your daytime activities. A similar experience is often had by people when they are trying to get to sleep, only in this instance the problem manifests itself in physical form and this physical manifestation goes by the name of hypnic jerk or hypnagogic jerk.

Maybe you have experienced the sensation of dropping off to sleep and suddenly being back awake, literally with a jolt, almost as if you have just received an electric shock. I know when this first happened to me I was terrified, I really thought that there was something seriously wrong with me and was scared to even close my eyes again.

If this has ever happened to you the first thing to do is not to worry about it as it is completely harmless, just a little unsettling. It is more common than most people think and because people do not understand what it is, it can often be the catalyst to trigger a full blown panic attack. In fact we don’t know much about what causes it but it is thought that one possible answer is that as we start to sleep our bodies begin to relax and in particular our muscles start to relax. At this stage we are only in the early process of going to sleep and our brain, being ever vigilant, misinterprets what is happening and thinks we are physically falling and simply triggers the jolt to make us alert. It is the “not knowing” that causes the panic attack, so now, with the knowledge that this reaction is quite normal you can calm down and simply let it pass and if it should repeat itself, again don’t worry it is not going to cause you any harm.
Rob