Feeling the strongest case of anxiety I have ever had and I'm getting scared.

Mental health
1

Hey forum,

i I was just wondering if I could share what's been happening with me lately and see if any one has had anything similar?

Over the last few nights I have had a weird problem while I'm trying to sleep. Heck I'm not even sure if I am sleeping during this most of the time. As I sleep or fall asleep or lay awake (again I'm really not sure what is happening to me) I start to feel an overwhelming sensation of tingling on my skin. It's kind of like a floaty feeling but incredibly uncomfortable. It is then followed by me struggling to get air. Often it would be me waking up gasping really loudly for air not really sure what is going on and the tingling would disappear. But then as I put my head back to the pillow it starts again.

As I try to go back to sleep different things start happening to my body. I feel like I might faint in my sleep but I googled you cannot faint when you are lieing down so that gives me a little bit of comfort. I feel my self go into panic attacks and I just lay there. Trying to calm my self down at this point (again not sure if I'm a sleep or not) sometimes I doze off sometimes I am awake but I start to hear everything really loudly. Kind of deafening.. Such as birds or cars going past the street. I heard a motorcycle once and swore it was in my room.

i don't understand it. I wake up so drained. Moody. Unhappy. Wanting to go back to sleep in the morning and just struggling to get a hold of this. I am 24 and suffered from anxiety over the last 2 years but the last couple of days have been pretty much unbearable and I guess I just want to know if I am ok.

thank you to whoever reads this.

Michael

2

Michale what are your thoughts about while all this is going on?

For example ..

A. Nothing to do with the symptoms but other worries?

B. Racing thoughts about why I can't sleep etc?

Regards Karl

3

Hi Michael,

I don't know if I can be of any help, but I think I may be going through something a little similar. I've never been diagnosed with anxiety, but the past 3 months have been incredibly tough for me!

I wake up in my sleep and I feel paralysed... My heart is pounding away, I can't move. I had one case like you, where I woke up the next day and I was unsure if it actually happened or I dreamt it. I often wake up in the night dripping with sweat, and shaking, and struggling to breath.

I've been seeing a specialist for my heart, hoping to rule out any cardiac problems as I've never been an anxious person. I only get this feeling in bed when I sleep, and sometimes I won't sleep till 5am... I've become constantly tired and completely drained, I guess you can relate.

So I guess I don't have much advice, but to just stay strong! And you aren't the only one. I find it easier sleeping with someone as they can calm me down when I wake, knowing they are nearby or in the next room really helped me.

I think for me, I'm trying to rule out every heart problem, I've actually got a heart monitor on now, but it's so worrying. For me is happened every other night or so for the past 3 months, for me it was learning to embrace it, know it ISNT harmful and cannot kill me.

The amount of times I went to the hospital desperate for answers in complete tears because it was taking over my life.

And I couldn't work out why it only happens at night! I can relate, and I hope you know your not alone.

I have a constant ringing in my ears, which is a sign of anxiety, I don't know if you have this.

The only advice I can give, is if your worried get checked out, and then take the advice, and just let it happen, it's what I've learnt to do. Anxiety cant hurt you! It's just getting used to it...

I have 24/7 pain in my chest, like a burning sensation and for me it just meant getting used to the pain. It's a safe pain and can't harm you.

I hope I've been even a tiny bit helpful, theres loads of people out there going through the same thing, and I guess it's just reassurance.

I hope you are okay, stay strong 😊

Ellie

4

My heart goes out to you guys.  It's bad enough when anxiety interferes with our daily lives, but it makes it so much harder when you are utterly exhausted and you still cannot sleep.  I now take 50mg of Quetiapine before bed to help me sleep but before I started taking it, I just could not quieten my mind enough to fall alseep.  I would clock watch all night.  You guys seem to have actual physical symptoms which would make it so much more worse.  I assume you have both gone to the Doctors to rule out things like sleep apnea?  I hope you both find answers.

5

Hey Karl,

Thank you for your reply.

my thoughts during are just that they are going to go away I try to sleep through it. Maybe that is why I never really know if I'm a sleep or not.

I don't get frustrated about the fact I can't sleep just about the fact I know what's going on or I think I know what's going on and can't stop it. My girl friend lives with me and I'm sure I have woken up and spoken to her about it but she is adamant we never discussed it. I sometimes think that it could be it you know that I'm having a heart attack or a stroke and it might be the end so I should just get comfortable. Weird thinking I know but it's the only way to cope with how intense it gets sometimes.

its normally in the morning when everything hits me hardest. Replaying everything that happened in the night and then anger sets in..

 

6

Hey Ellie,

thank you for your response.

im trying to cope with it but sometimes it's just too much. I gave up smoking because it often gave me the build up to panic attacks. but the skin tingling is the most horrible feeling. I don't get the ringing in my ears but it's normally like the sound of cars getting really loud or birds or trains. Anything outside really. 

Your response means a lot to me. Did you go to the doctors to get checked and what did you say to them? I feel really foolish going and asking for help. I don't know what they will say and I guess I'm a little scared to be judged by my gp.

once again thank you so much for your reply

7

Hey Skyebeth,

Thanks for responding.

does sleep apnea directly coincide with anxiety? 

8

Michael, I have no idea but I think it can be brought on my certain medications.  Chat to your GP just to make sure it's not your anxiety.

9

Hey hey ☺️

I forgot to say, I take BACH RESCUE REMEDY before bed, it's a natural remedy you can buy over the counter and it really helps me sleep! It's like a liquid and you take a couple of drops, it's a natural remedy as I'm not a fun of pumping my body with pills, it helps me drift off to sleep.

Don't feel silly getting help, I went to the hospital 10-15-20 times before I got any help, I at least went 3 times a week, I called an ambulance twice cause my heart rate hit 200. I felt ridiculous, they ended up knowing my name at the reception, but I didn't know what else to do, they would never tell me it was a panic attack, they'd just tell me they would refer me to a specialist... I waited 3 months for an appointment. The specialist then said they think I have heart arrhythmia but can't find anything.

I think it's anxiety and panic, but nobody will diagnose me, they just keep giving me different medicines, for a million different things. None of which I have taken, simply because I don't believe in medication.

My mum is a therapist, and I'm having some therapy, not CBT, just normal therapy, to help deal with things.

Yoga really helped me, I go once a week and helps me to manage my breathing, and gives me a chance to get away and have time for myself.

But as like you, nights are my worst. I could not get to sleep till 4-5 some times and If have work at 8. I would be like a zombie lol.

Seek help, because all I can say is that it's the best thing I've done. I've had X-rays and scans etc, just for reassurance. Knowing my heart is perfect and healthy keeps me reassured. I've now gone private health care as meant to be going on holiday in 3 weeks and I think my dads a bit worried lol. If nothing comes of it for you, then at least you are reassured.

I felt ridiculous every time I went to the hospital, my heart would be beating away at 130-140 but it was okay once I knew nothing was wrong with me.

Try the sleeping remedy I mentioned, and even mention it to your GP, knowing something is normal and okay will really settle your mind, as did mine.

Hope this helps

10

By the way, I get a coldness in my left arm, like my whole arm feels cold, and I get pins and needles in my hands a lot. Forgot to mention, the coldness in my arm worried me, but I asked a doctor and he told me nothing to worry about, could be muscular.

11

Have you spoken to your doctor about how things are now? I know it's a dumb thing of me to ask, but I just wondered.x

12

Hi Michael,  I have just seen your post and my jaw dropped! I was actually on here looking for anyone with sypmtoms similar to my own as I suffer from anxiety which causes me no end of problems, but it was your above description that grabbed my attention.

A number of years ago I was suffering frequently with this very same thing. I too had weird sensations in my face ( it was like lots of hot trickles moving down my face and into my nose) and I too felt like I was going to faint - even though I was lying in bed with my eyes closed! And it also felt that my mind was racing away from me at a million miles an hour (even though I wasn't actually 'thinking' anything!). And I also felt that I wasn't actually 'breathing'. Like I had no sensation of breathing. And this all happened when I was trying to get to sleep.

I was also getting alot of panic attacks at this time. 

However, at the time I had a huge amount of other problems as well, including palpataions, feeling like I was about to die, not being able to 'wake up' or move or open my eyes. This went on for a very long time. But it turned out that I have an under-active thyroid. It took three years to diagnose and had probably been going 'wrong' for a few before that. I was also on citalopram at the time because the doc thought I was just depressed. By the time I was diagnosed my thyroid levels were rock bottom and I was experiencing the above symptoms daily.

I just thought I would mention all this as I still don't know if the symptoms I had were due to anxiety, the citalopram, my low thyroid or a combination. It's just that when I stopped the citalopram and started on the thyroxine the symptoms eventually reduced. I have occaisionally since then experienced them but never to the same extent. Although my anxiety levels are still very high, but they have been like that since I was a child, so that isn't soley due to my thyroid problems.

I just thought my experience was worth mentioning as I don't know if you are on any meds (I think someone else here said it might be caused by meds), or just maybe it might be worth having your thyroid checked too because thyroid problems themselves can cause anxiety since it is something which affects your entire metaobolism and hence if its 'wonky' can have a whole range of nasty affects on brain and body. And I know you are young but I was around 30 when my thyroid started to fail (if not younger). Anyway, it was just a thought.

I hope the sypmtoms you are having right now don't last too long as I know just how scary and disconcerting they are.

Best wishes x