# Anxiety Disorders > Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia >  >  Panic attacks when your asleep

## Chloe

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I've only just realised I've had it now that I've started sleeping over at my boyfriends house. I won't remember it 9/10 but apparently I start shaking, breathing quickly, whimpering (very cool-.-) and normally if he backs off for a few minutes and doesn't touch me cuddle me or try to wake me up I calm down. 

Today however he felt he had to wake me up and all I remember is him being very very angry  (in a dream) and then I'm being gently shaken awake and it messed me up until he left. 

Don't know what brought this on how long I've been doing it for or anything, any one else have any experience or ideas

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## Monowheat

I've been told of it happening once. I was apparently shaking and whimpering too. My fiancÃ© didn't wake me, he gently stroked my hair and cuddled me instead. I must have half woken up as I remember the feeling of having my hair stroked, something he rarely does. So rarely I thought that was a dream.

As far as we know I haven't done it since.

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## Chloe

He's told me it happens a lot when I'm with him (same story for the panics) and that I only wake up scared (like today) or he has to take a step back and let me calm myself down however how often they occur without anyone there I don't know although I do wake up sometimes gasping for breath which may mean I've panicked but other than that I don't know

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## cathering

this is normal if you have gone through trauma... like if you were nearby the twin towers or a plan crash etc it is normal to maybe have these sort of dreams... nightmares are normal for most healthy people even when stressed ... they reflect much about our sub-conscious life and his anger might just be more your fear of his response or your own anger (even if it is that he woke you) or something different has happened....

check your medications out ... if its a brain or neurological thing or psychological thing etc... 

I woke some night in pain unable to breath and have snoring which is unlike me to snore unless i have a flew or cold...and sore through but i have been working hard down in the dust bowel where the termites have been so therefore some bacteria and grit can get up the nose so i try to blow it out while in the shower and snort a bit ... and drink heaps of water... and considered a face mask but its not pleasant anyway.

medications and food allergies or food intolerance or chemical can do these things as well... 

maybe see a sleep specialist or even get a full immunology test done with allergic signals to common things like cat and dog fur, dyes, dust mites ... creams etc.. or asthma.  

I think panic attacks do happen cuz the other morning i felt my heart racing and i was half asleep and half away and trying to tell my mum something and mumbling and moaning.... anxiety, stress and lifestyle can cause these things as can disease or genuine heart illnesses, but also dreams or nightmares and anxious thoughts can occur to us during sleep causing a panic attack ... and its either the feeling (ie emotion or physical sensation we are aware of it we wake enough to recall them).... if you are really worried go to the doctor and have an ecg done etc. it will show any irregularities ...

i have had a few ecgs and complaining of chest pain on and off and i have been told everything is o.k ... but i still worry and am a hypochondriac so therefore i don't believe everything they tell me....

light exercise and reducing stress and watching diet might help and also planning your sleep for the night can help like... relaxation music or aromatherapy oils on your body or room fragrance... lavender is always a popular calmer... as is geranium and orange or chamomile ... good air ventilation and trying to find peacefulness ... 

talk it over with your gp or specialist if you are worried ... I spoke to my gp and he tells me to stop worrying but i am a natural worrier... 

make sure you eat some healthy heart foods too... like nuts, and avocado etc... drink a good amount of water and maybe have some by the bed at night...

remind yourself that if it is a dream or a thought pattern bought on by a dream during rem sleep... and you know you are sleeping but the feeling comes over you all the same.... it can still be a panic attack and the adrenals releasing hormones .... it maybe a reaction to something outside you are sub-conscious is aware of but you are not as aware of it til you notice it. 

if you get it a lot take action and go to hospital. 

I am supposed to have a heart stress test done soon and here they are about $400 that along brings on anxiety for me... and no private health fund cover any of it but medicare covers some... its crazy private health funds should cover more .... your heart health is important. try not to stress ... (easy said then done)....  


it is a frightening senseation i just about had to push my mum over to try wake her to tell her i thought i had a stroke or what they call tia A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) happens when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted for a short period of time, often called a mini-stroke.    after I had ciprimil I work with blured vision not able to see well in a state of delirium and fear like i was going into a coma and felt strange in the brain... and then got a phobia about falling asleep it was not until another 6 weeks til my GP Dr K realised I was not sleeping for over that time and just getting little cat naps in here and there but awake most of the time.... i have been told i have some minor issues... and that worries me... 

the heart can be much the same as blood flow with the brain... so get it checked out if you are worried... i have seen a neurologist and i still don't believe him or the cardiologist or any of them but i try to believe them and put my faith in the science of the pathology tests and the results of ecgs and bloods etc... however that does not mean you can't have some problem... 

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/b...chaemic_attack

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/b...s/panic_attack

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/b...pitations?open

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/b...s/Heart_murmur

so beware of stimulants in foods and drinks and in the air... and also you can have a family blood histology check of blood clotting... it might cost a little but worth it... some medications can make this worse. 

I know i intent talking this over more with my GPs and Specialist. 


you can see how the symptoms are rather similar ....

learning to breath deeper and calmer in the diaphragm like babies breath is a good thing to practice which i used to have to do this a lot when learning singing... 

for some reason i always go into heart panic mode at the checkout handing over my card to pay for something... or when I get really worried about my health or my cats or families health issues etc...

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## millielaura

Yes I definitely do, sometimes I wake up several times a night feeling dizzy and anxious and have woken up panicking xxx

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## Chantellabella

I'm constantly waking up in a panic. It really rattles you.

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## millielaura

I think it can be normal if you suffer from panic attacks Chloe so try not to worry to much about it. I've noticed mine usually happens more when I'm anxious during the day in general so think I am just waking up with panic attacks. Or my brain interprets a symptom in my sleep and I freak out and wake up in a panic lol xxx

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## firefly

*i def relate to this i wake up in  a panic a lot and scared for no real reason scares the crap out of me takes me forever to fall back asleep*

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## sanspants

I wake up in a panic every day before work, and have done so every day for 11 years, so I'm as used to it as a person can get. It's the only time I experience any panic symptoms, but I've had girlfriends who have panic in their dreams and seem to go through it in their sleep. Usually hand-holding helps  ::):  I think some people just need more supportive touch than they get.

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## Antidote

Isn't that just a bad dream? I've seen two partners whimpering and twitching in their sleep. I only wake them up if they seem to be really distressed. Personally I have had panic attacks at night but I woke up and then I panicked. So I was conscious of it. I think if you're asleep it's not a true panic attack.

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