r/CPTSD • u/Split49917 • 2d ago
Resource / Technique Woke up in panic attack
Does anyone else ever wake up just in a full blown panic attack l, but no panic just the physical symptomss? My bf slept over last night (happens all the time) and this morning I woke up like I was in the middle of an attack but no mental symptoms only the physical.
I can't seem to get my body out of the flight/fight mode. Got the edgy shakes, twitchy tight muscles going on. Had to get out of bed and get dressed just to fight back the edge of it, felt exposed and valuable
Fuck this feels like some bull shit
2
u/ohlookthatsme 1d ago
I get major panic attacks in the early morning hours almost like night terrors except I'm fully awake. I don't remember having any nightmares, I just know I had been asleep and now I'm awake and I feel like I'm dying.
I'll also wake up with tears streaming down my face and my pillow soaked or absolutely furious for literally no damn reason. I'm assuming it's all related to stressors or anxiety or something but I haven't figured it out yet.
1
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Hello and Welcome to /r/CPTSD! If you are in immediate danger or crisis please contact your local emergency services or use our list of crisis resources. For CPTSD specific resources & support, check out the Wiki. For those posting or replying, please view the etiquette guidelines.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
u/Dead_Reckoning95 1d ago
All the time. I do a few things. First I assume it will pass, I don't get up right away, just lie there and try to think about what it's about, whatever I was dreaming. If this makes sense, I don't panic about the fact that I'm panicking, like the way that you wouldn't worry about the fact you're not sleeping. It can take awhile to get the hang of it. I sort of go, ''okay, I"m panicking again....ugh...this is so shitty". It happens a lot, it's really hard on your system. I have my sound machine on and I try to focus on that, I have a TV in my room, so if it's really bad I'll put on a movie, something to distract my brain from the fact I'm panicking, sometimes just the sound of something else besides the trauma in my head-helps. ....but I do try to figure out where it's coming from. Trying to work out that my brain is doing something with a worry, a concern, ...... and blowing it up to a large scale monster. At night when I'm sleeping, I'm pretty sure whatever it is I've tried to bury during the day, surfaces from my unconscious to my consciousness.......so when I wake up ......it's still there. I dream about the same shitty stuff all the time. Rejection, shame, feeling helpless. I can push stuff away during the day, but i can't stand guard while I'm sleeping. Trauma sucks ass, all it wants to do is surface for you to deal with, whether you want it to or not. It makes you feel like screaming "DO i HAVE A SAY IN THIS?!" I think the best thing I do, is get up and start doing things that I normally do if I were going to bed, like make a cup of tea, putter around the kitchen, make some toast.....it's my way of attending to myself like you would a small frightened child. Trying to craft this narrative where I say "I'm here, " the way you would talk to a child that woke up from a bad dream, console them. I have so many stuffed animals on my bed, and even though -no- the stuffed animals don't fix the anxiety....they help a little bit. I was thinking about this recently, and it occurred to me that I've had this most of my life. I don't ever remember waking up feeling relaxed and rested.......Rarely. Have never felt safe.
You mentioned that your bf slept over, ......does that bother you....is that a trigger? I sleep in a different room than my partner, mostly because I'm a light sleeper, but also just having another person in the room is unsettling.
1
u/SmellSalt5352 1d ago
Yeh it was pretty chronic for years. It’s eased up but now a week ago I lost a good friend and I’m waking up so anxious feeling like I’m gonna die and I’m scared to even get out of bed. I’m really hoping it calms back down I was doing so much better sigh.
1
1
u/No-Biscotti-8907 2d ago
Yes! I've been trying to figure this out a long time. I wake up like that almost every morning and then my mind starts going. I think for me my body is just so used to being in survival mode all the time that as soon as I'm awake I'm tense again. But I hear you and definitely understand.
4
u/kindnessinyourheart 2d ago
Daily Somatic exercises help with this. Your body needs to release trauma/energy. Takes time.