It's the middle of the night.
You are in a deep sleep when all of a sudden you jolt upright and are instantly awake.
Although you are awake there is a feeling of being confused and disoriented.
You may be experiencing shortness of breath or a feeling of suffocation.
The pounding of your heart feels very strong and you may be sweating or have the feeling of being extremely overheated.
The sense of impending doom is quite intense and your fear may seem unquestionably real.
These are just some of the physical and mental symptoms of those who struggle with nighttime panic attacks.
Approximately one half to three quarters of all the people who suffer from anxiety disorders will experience nighttime panic attacks.
These incidents can be particularly disturbing because the sufferer is totally caught off guard.
These occurrences are not generally associated with nightmares or dreams.
Although some people may remember feeling anxious before drifting off to sleep, most have not noticed anything out of the ordinary.
One of the main variances from a daytime anxiety episode is the interruption of sleep.
After awakening with a nighttime panic attack and dealing with the mental and physical reactions, it is sometimes very difficult to get back to sleep.
In my own experience, another milder attack would sometimes occur after I dozed off.
These nighttime panic attacks occur more frequently in women than men and tend to run in families.
This genetic connection is not really understood by doctors.
The anxiety episode most often transpires during periods of prolonged stress when the body and mind have been under pressure.
As with any type of anxiety disorder, it is always best to check with your doctor and undergo a thorough physical exam.
The purpose is to rule out any medical condition that may have similar symptoms.
Heart problems and thyroid conditions can many times have much the same symptom list as panic episodes.
It is also important to eliminate sleep disorders such as sleep apnea as possible causes of nighttime panic attacks.