You awaken suddenly in the middle of the night. You are sweating profusely and filled with anxiety and fear. You are having a panic attack. But in the middle of the night?? I normally have panic attacks during the day, that’s when I have the most anxiety, shouldn’t I be at peace in my own bed, in my own home, while I’m sleeping? What is going on? Does this mean my panic attacks are more serious than I thought?
No, they’re not more serious than you thought. Panic attacks at night should not cause you more worry. In fact, fifty percent of all people who experience panic attacks have also experienced them at night. Although it is true that most panic attacks happen during the day, so you may be a bit anxious when first experiencing a panic attack at night. But it’s normal and certainly not as uncommon as you might think.
Even today, experts aren’t sure what causes panic attacks at night. It could be physical and it could also be mental. A panic attack at night though, is essentially the same as one during the day. If there is any difference in cause, it may be something about your sleep situation and environment that may be causing the attacks. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes it is the general anxiety and stress that’s causing your panic attacks during the day that’s also causing your panic attacks at night.
If you’re having panic attacks at night, there really isn’t much you can do to prevent them. During the day, you’d be able to feel some anxiety coming on beforehand and you sometimes have an opportunity to either do some relaxation exercises, or maybe even take some type of relaxation herbs or medication to prevent your panic attack. The problem with panic attacks at night is that you don’t have this same opportunity. You simply wake up in the middle of the night in the midst of your attack. Therefore the way to deal with panic attacks at night is primarily constrained to coping during then attack.
1. The first thing you want to do is realize you’re just having a panic attack. Know that you’re not going to die and that it’s a simple panic attack that will pass. Don’t feed the fear, the worry, and the anxiety by freaking out. Just realize you’re having a panic attack and label it as a harmless thing that is simply uncomfortable and that will pass.
2. The second thing you want to do is to calm yourself down after the attack has passed. Many people have a lot of difficulty getting back to sleep after having a panic attack at night. This is due to a combination of adrenaline that has just been pumped into their system and freshly reinforced anxiety and fear that another panic attack will occur if they go to sleep again. And all this worry does is make a panic attack more likely. That’s why it’s so important to relax yourself after an attack and not focus on another one happening. In fact, don’t treat the panic attack you just experienced like a big deal. After it is over, focus on relaxing yourself and putting yourself into a completely different mood than the panic attack just put you in. Practice a few relaxation exercises, maybe even read a chapter from a novel. Get back into that comfortable place that is so enjoyable to be in right before you drift off to sleep.