My nocturnal panic attacks were so frequent I could have said they were part of my daily routine.
Just a little nightcap of torture before finally settling back down into a dreamless sleep.
I would go to bed every night knowing that a sleep panic attack was laying in the mist waiting to spring upon me.
The worst part about sleep panic attacks is your feeling of complete helplessness.
Granted I suffered from panic attacks much of my life so it was only natural nocturnal attacks would follow.
But this was different.
When I would experience panic attacks during the day, I immediately understood what was happening.
I could prepare my body for the attack and calm it down using techniques I had learned over my years of anxiety struggle.
Once my panic attacks started at night, I was in new territory.
I had to change my tactics and learn a new way to take control once the sleep panic attack hit.
When you wake from a nocturnal or "sleep" panic attack, you suffer the same symptoms you do during the daily ones.
However, the unexpected nature of the nighttime attack takes you off guard.
You must immediately brace yourself and recognize what is happening.
The symptoms are the same:
- Pounding heartbeat
- Numbness of the extremities
- Complete and utter fear
- Shaking and disorientation
- Dizziness
- Fatigue with restlessness