Hello everybody,
So I’ve usually been very neurotic since my childhood etc.During my high school years being isolated and not having any friends made things worse.Now that I look behind I’ve always struggled with ocd and anxiety,but for the last year it has been really bad for me.So bad that I started having panic attacks.After 2 or 3 episodes of having panic attacks I visited a psychiatrist which put me on 10mg of escitalopram(lexapro) per day and (he said tha I have general anxiety disorder)the sudden panic attacks and ocd went away gradually.But now I have this constant fear of dying,usually this happens before I sleep.I thave these intrusive thoughts of having a heart attack during sleep and dying,or having a stroke and dying from brain damage.I’ve always had some concerns about death,ceasing to exist etc.bit when I go to sleep thoughts become worse.
Sorry for the long post,from anyone in similar circumstances,how can I manage these things?
One thing about anxiety is that it directs your mind to the negative thoughts and fear. I have dealt with this for over 30 years and it took me that long to realize what a hold fear can have over us if we allow it to.
always remember that our thoughts are not a part of us. They come and go all day long fleeting all over the place but they are not based on fact or reality. there was an audiobook I listened to which was very helpful and it said that it’s very important to separate feelings from reality or fact. He said a lot of us in fact many of us do something called fortune telling and when it’s related to anxiety, it means that we project what might happen in the future based on fear and not fact. your thoughts about dying in your sleep, having a heart attack etc. are thoughts based on feeling and an example of fortune telling.
look at the facts. I am going o assume you are a healthy person and you are young.
The fact is your odds of having a heart attack during your sleep or a stroke are practically nothing. unless you have some underlying condition, you can put that thought out of your head. I know it’s easier said than done but I had to get really tough with myself and stop those thoughts right in their tracks!!
when you keep allowing those thoughts to go to the negative and fearful, you are training your brain to automatically go there. You can reverse it! It’s a gradual process but if you keep doing it over and over, eventually you actually make new positive physical changes in your brain. and that is a fact.
the odds of you dying in your sleep are just about zero. . That is also a fact.
counseling can be a great help and can show you how to manage all of this. It’s very difficult to do alone. I’ve tried it for years and once I got some regular ongoing counseling, I was able to put the tools together. You can’t allow your mind to go negative. And also why worry about it anyway? I realized that worry got me absolutely nowhere. In fact it took away from my life. It took away years of my life for absolutely no reason! Nothing bad ever happened and all that time and I cannot get back any of those days!
Do you things to improve your life, not detract from it. Ask yourself every day what you did for yourself today.And what you did for somebody else.
My advice for you is to Wake up every morning with an attitude of gratitude. Tell yourself the things you are grateful for every single day even the smallest things. do you things to improve your life, not detract from it. Ask yourself every day what you did for yourself today. and what you did for somebody else. appreciate every single day. and remember most of our thoughts are illusions. All the worst case scenario’s, all the fortunetelling, all the what if‘s.
and when you worry about not existing, you have to realize that the vast majority of people do live a long life. And of course there are exceptions. But if you are a person of faith you know that we are only on a journey here. It’s not our final destination. this is not our permanent home. Just a journey. That alone puts my mind at peace. there is a book called finding a quiet which is really great about a man’s journey with anxiety and how he found peace. He was a man who had cancer and was still joyful.
and when you go to bed there are some great meditations for anxiety, panic, depression, etc. on YouTube. Some of those are so soothing I fall asleep before they are over. One called detachment from overthinking is good, another one is called it’s OK by Lauren O.there are hundreds of them. but I really do recommend counseling for anxiety. Anyway you’re going to be OK. There’s a saying that goes …Don’t believe everything you think. so true! Take care 
thank you it really helps a lot,
the thing is,I’ve noticed with me is that during morning or during daytime I do not tend to give attention to my thoughts,this happens only during bedtime.I give meaning and become illogical to my thoughts and even if they stop,my physical sensations of anxiety(cold feet,hands,pounding heart etc.) still disturb me.I guess I need to not give in to my thoughts even during nighttime.
But thanks again🤗
Hi Kris,
I have the SAME exact thing. I was recently diagnosed with panic attacks and Costo ( a bone inflammation issue that can mimic a heart attack) I’ve been struggling but it’s true, when we channel our thoughts to positive it makes a difference.
I recently started group therapy & regular therapy. I refuse to take meds bc I want to try the holisitic route. My GP suggested valarian root. Also, keeping yourself busy helps too. My health is my number one anxiety. Trying to find different methods to help me.