Most people know that panic attacks generally occur during the daytime hours. But panic attacks actual occur at night as well. There is hope through treatments geared toward panic attacks in the overnight hours. How can you have a panic attack at night?
People can wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning with panic attack symptoms. There is no specific reason why, but sufferers will often wake up in a panic. People wake up feeling dizzy, lightheaded or even having chest pains. Their heart may be racing and breathing becomes a problem. A person may feel like they need to escape from the setting or they may feel like they are losing control of themselves; perhaps even dying. This is perhaps one of the most terrifying experiences a panic attack sufferer can undergo.
What Causes Nighttime Panic Attacks
So what is the treatment for panic attacks when sleeping? The treatment actually isn’t much different then dealing with daytime panic attacks. The difference between night time attacks and daytime attacks is that it can be very difficult to find out what stressor is causing a night time attack. Many times nighttime attacks are the result of stress from work or a traumatic situation such as a death in the family, car accident, child-related accident, etc. The thing to remember with any panic attack, day or night, is to stay calm in both mind and body.
Preventing Nighttime Panic Attacks – Three of the Best Treatments for Nighttime Attacks
Treatment 1 – Self Massages
Giving yourself a massage is actually a great treatment for night time panic attacks. It is also a good idea to have a massage first thing in the morning. When a person has a massage, their body becomes further relaxed, which allows them to handle stress that creeps up into their sleep whether it’s through dreams or their subconscious.
Treatment 2 – Relaxation Tips
Deep breathing relaxation techniques are also a good way of helping someone with nighttime panic attacks. By learning to breath correctly a person utilizes the diaphragm more than their chest. Air is breathed in deeply and breathed out the same when breathing properly. When a person is able to do this, they’ll focus on their breathing instead of the things that are stresses them out. This treatment for panic attacks when sleeping, when done right before bedtime, allows them to stay relaxed throughout the nighttime hours.
Treatment 3 – Meditation and/or Prayer
The third way to treat panic attacks at night is to meditate before going to sleep. Why does this help? This makes you more relaxed and also puts you in a positive frame of mind before getting into the bed.
For more information on nocturnal panic attacks, Anxiety, Panic Attacks and related mood disorder issues visit Anxiety Panic Resources – get our free Downloadable 40-Part Video and MP3 Audio Mini Course.
categories: panic,anxiety,stress,fear,stress management,mental health,depression,mood,disorder,cures,remedies,wellbeing,diseases,mind