Causes of occurrence and specific methods of getting rid of night panic attacks. What causes a panic attack at night?

Heart rhythm disturbances may be the first signs of heart disease. Therefore, when a patient at an appointment complains: “I wake up at night with a strong heartbeat and a feeling of fear,” this is a reason for the doctor to prescribe a serious examination. In addition to heart problems, causes of palpitations at rest may include:

• Endocrine disorders;
• Diseases associated with the nervous system;
• Psychological problems (panic attacks);
• Chemical poisoning;
• Closed injuries;
• Reduced hemoglobin level.

Palpitations are only a symptom. The problem must be solved by knowing the exact cause. If the problem is in the functioning of the heart, then the main reason is that the heart muscle does not relax well and does not fully contract, so its cells do not have time to recover. This manifestation is followed by other unpleasant sensations: nausea, lack of air, perspiration. A person may suffer from a feeling of fear that his heart will stop. Often psychological diseases are mixed with cardiac diseases.

What could it be?

Tachycardia (severe rapid heartbeat) is often taken lightly. If such sensations occur frequently, you should contact a cardiologist. If the attack occurs suddenly while the doctor is on the way, you can do the following:

• Take validol under the tongue;
• Release your neck from the collar;
• Drink a soothing tincture of valerian, motherwort or Corvalol;
• Cool your forehead with an ice compress;
• Closing your eyes, press hard on them for ten seconds and release, repeat this three times;
• Take a deep breath, hold the air and push for three minutes;
• Try to cough hard.

But if due to loads, alcohol intoxication or emotional shock, tachycardia occurs temporarily, you can help yourself. Such help comes down to changing habits:

• Don't overexert yourself physical exercise, but also not to neglect them;
• Minimize emotional overload;
• Breathe clean air in nature more often;
• Avoid overeating;
• Do not drink caffeinated drinks more than once a day.

But it happens that a rapid heartbeat and a feeling of fear have nothing to do with heart problems.

Panic attacks

These are sudden attacks of severe anxiety. A person may wake up at night from lack of air, heart pain or numbness in the limbs. This state is always accompanied by the fear of losing consciousness or reason. There may be a fear of dying. A panic attack develops if a stressful situation drags on and causes fear. If panic attacks occur at night, the provoking factors could be serious changes in life, for example:

• Sudden death of a loved one;
• Moving to another place of residence;
• Change or loss of job;
• Losing a beloved pet.

First of all, young people under 30 are at risk, since panic attacks often occur with a busy lifestyle, little rest and a hangover. Much research is being done to determine the trigger mechanism. Experts argue about this, but more and more specialists associate this condition with a disruption in the interaction of the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions autonomic system and central nervous system. Such attacks can begin once a week and reach several times a day. First, a person has fear of the situation, and then there is a reaction internal organs, such as: palpitations, intestinal upset, shortness of breath. Therefore, you should not treat the heart, kidneys or intestines, but try to cope with internal fears.

In panic disorders, fear causes anticipation of the next attack. This fear occurs due to the release and chemical substances in the brain. Adrenaline is released into the blood, and the body begins to work hard, ready to defend itself from imaginary enemies. All fears are fictitious. In fact, there is no physical danger. This is very important to understand. Mild antidepressants often have a beneficial effect on the body during symptoms of panic, since a person may not immediately accept doctor’s recommendations for lifestyle changes. But medications provide short-term benefits and sometimes even interfere with coping psychological problems. Under no circumstances should you buy pills on your own or on the recommendation of friends. The doctor will prescribe them individually if necessary. Which specialist should I contact?

The psychotherapist will select effective psychological methods and it may be possible to combine them with drug treatment. The fear of never being cured only hinders recovery. Eighty percent of patients with properly selected treatment experience full recovery and reducing relapses.

A person is very vulnerable during a night's rest. He is subject to insomnia, nightmares, unexpected cardiac arrest, apnea/hypopnea syndrome and other night terrors. Often these disorders are accompanied by panic attacks during sleep. They are often confused with a heart attack, stroke, or even death.

But in reality it's sudden attacks anxiety accompanied unpleasant sensations: air deficiency, profuse sweating, feeling of electric shock or sharp fall, hypnotic convulsions. When attacks occur regularly, they are called panic disorder. This disease forces people to live in constant fear and stress, because it is impossible to predict when the next attack will begin.

Mechanism of manifestation of the disorder

Attacks at night plague about five percent of the population Globe. Many people do not turn to specialists with this problem because they underestimate the seriousness of the consequences or do not have information about this disease. Some, having read an unreliable source, call a panic crisis a mental disorder and, embarrassed by public opinion, ignore the disease without consulting a doctor.

Panic attacks are divided into three types:

• a spontaneous attack that overtakes a person during deep sleep. It occurs with lightning speed, thereby preventing the victim from feeling the approach of danger;
• situational panic crisis. It develops at the peak of a stressful shock - during a violent conflict at work or with loved ones, based on emotional stress, for example, before an exam, tests, public speaking. If a person has a seizure in this form, then he should protect his inner world as much as possible from worries, negativity, negative emotions, and vegetative crises will recede;
• formal-situational panic crisis. Appears under the influence bad habits. Formal-situational attacks can be influenced by the use of alcohol-containing cocktails, chronic smoking, passion fatty foods, fast food or coffee.

The mechanism of manifestation of the disorder is not complicated. It all starts in human brain. All organs and systems work harmoniously, but it is the brain that is the guiding center. A vegetative crisis lies in wait for an individual when the nervous system malfunctions, which sends a danger signal to the head from the information received. IN circulatory system a large dose of hormone suddenly enters medulla adrenal glands - adrenaline. This is the end result of nighttime shaking, fear, panic, and sometimes uncontrolled urination, vomiting and bowel movements.

Causes

The cause of night screams and panic is most often traumatic emotional outbursts. A person’s inner peace is very fragile, because studying the intangible is much more difficult than the tangible. Therefore, until it has been possible to bring the patient “to the brink”, it is impossible to predict what exactly his stress limit is. And in some cases, on the contrary - the unfortunate person takes everything to heart and accumulates grievances, anger, despair, complexes, broken dreams, and, ultimately, the picture is completed by panic attacks, which do not allow him to relieve himself of the load, even at night. A general factor in the occurrence of a vegetative crisis is stress, which corrodes vitality and increases general nervousness. But certain reasons also affect the development of pathology:

• hereditary predisposition;
• improper upbringing in childhood, which provoked mental trauma;
• sensitive nervous system;
• brain diseases;
• sometimes a vegetative crisis manifests itself as by-effect after taking medicines.

Fifteen percent of all those who suffer from night attacks have a blood predisposition. If the mother or father, and often both parents, have experienced heart palpitations, dizziness, and extreme fear, it is likely that the children or grandchildren will also experience seizures.

A panic crisis often haunts a category of people who have received a deep childhood shock. In childhood, such a child could be bullied by his parents - humiliated and insulted, or often used physical force against his offspring.

But, on the other hand, a night attack also visits the overly pampered infantile personalities, for which the relatives are also to blame. Overprotection leads to lack of independence in adult life, making one’s own decisions and is of an anxious and suspicious nature, which supports attacks during sleep.

Symptoms

Panic attacks start during the most active peak of sleep. It all starts at night, around two o’clock, when the body is in a state of complete relaxation. The patient abruptly leaves sleepy state, some individuals with wild imagination write off this phenomenon to otherworldly forces. The symptoms of a vegetative crisis are as follows:

• fear;
• panic;
• a feeling of the inevitability of some tragedy;
• suffocation;
• tachycardia;
• excessive sweating;
• a feeling of impending loss of consciousness.

A person believes that panic shock lasts an incredibly long time, since the sensory experience is quite unpleasant, but the attack lasts from fifteen to thirty minutes. On average, the frequency of seizures is once or twice a month.

The dangers of nighttime panic attacks

Panic attacks are not as dangerous as they are made out to be. The attacks themselves will not cause significant damage to the body, but the constant haunting fear before sleep that a panic crisis is about to begin has significant psychological consequences.

A systematic night attack colossally poisons life, and soon the patient develops melancholy, many fears, as well as mental disorders, which in the near future serve as fundamental factors for subsequent seizures. ABOUT full sleep one can only dream, because a person suffering from a vegetative crisis cannot sleep well. The quality of night's rest is undermined, and, consequently, health.

Chronic lack of sleep negatively affects the functioning of internal organs, immunity and the state of the central nervous system, and since the nervous system does not rest even when the body switches off for sleep, it is maximally depleted. It turns out vicious circle, which a seriously ill patient can break only by contacting a specialist.

How to stop a seizure and fall asleep

To overcome a nightmare panic crisis, you need the help of a psychiatrist or psychologist. A psychiatrist is required if the patient has strong mental disorders which have the potential to provoke an attack. But if on this moment If you don’t have the opportunity to go to the doctor, you can try to get rid of the uncomfortable condition yourself.

The first step is to create a feeling of safety and peace, despite the dead of night.

The simplest technique in psychology for finding peace is the physical closeness of wrapping your arms around another person and holding them close to you. Also suitable for soothing the hands of loved ones, wrapping them in a blanket and any other warmth.

Another excellent method of freeing yourself from an approaching panic crisis is to distract your thoughts on any other topic. The attack will pass if the onset of maturation is interrupted. Sexual release is also suitable for relieving tension and preventing disorder.

To all the people experiencing panic attack, it is recommended to take sedatives before bedtime. But since most drugs have a negative impact on health, it is allowed to use tablets instead of tablets. folk remedies. Grandma's recipes consist of herbal tea, a warm relaxing bath before a night's rest with essential oils, as well as foot baths and, of course, glasses warm milk. Relaxing melodies will also come to the rescue.

1 Breathing exercises

2 Relieving body tension

3 Removing tremor

4 Obsessive thoughts - out

When panic attacks occur in a new place, not everyone knows how to fall asleep in case of insomnia. Until recently similar disease did not exist, and only now, when this illness is classified as a disease, people begin to understand what is happening to them and what needs to be done.

Why do nighttime panic attacks occur?

It refers to an attack of fear and an anxious state. The body is in a stupor; it just doesn’t work to pull yourself together and understand that everything is fine. As a rule, such panic lasts 10–15 minutes, and then a state of severe weakness. The first minutes of an attack are accompanied by a peak of panic, because the attack occurs suddenly and literally paralyzes the person. Attacks do not allow a person to fall asleep, and as a result, the nervous system is shaken due to lack of sleep, which leads to the next attack, and so on endlessly.

Why do attacks often begin at night? The fact is that at night a person experiences additional stress: silence, darkness, shadows in the light of a lantern - all this makes a person draw scary pictures to himself, while the anxious state intensifies, which ultimately leads to panic.

Another reason is dreams. Nightmarish and disturbing dreams are extremely Negative consequences. Patients increase panic with fear own death, madness and other horrors that take away the breath, a person feels as if he is suffocating.

Uncontrollable anxiety at night can trigger various nervous diseases and cause chronic attacks. Therefore, a panic attack at night should not be ignored; the condition must be corrected.

Causes of panic attacks at night

An attack of fear and anxiety is a vegetative crisis, this condition is associated with:

1. With genetics. If parents had autonomic disorders or dystonia, then the risk of developing the disease in their children is higher.
2. With the characteristics of the body. Panic attacks in night period people with increased anxiety, suspiciousness and vulnerability of the psyche.
3. With stress. Mostly panic attacks in sleep come from childhood. If in childhood the child’s psyche was put under pressure by various stressful situations, then in adulthood this can result in panic before bedtime. The child's psyche is greatly hurt by parental divorce, scandals, aggressive behavior parents, etc.
4. With alcohol and drugs.

It happens that panic attacks during sleep are associated with changes in the body, this could be the first menstruation, the beginning of sexual activity, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause etc.

As a rule, a vegetative-vascular crisis, which attacks when falling asleep, is a consequence of psycho-emotional stress; in addition, it can be provoked by strong coffee before bedtime, alcohol in large quantities or waiting stressful situation, for example, before surgery, an exam or a serious interview.

If panic before going to bed occurs once, then the person himself provokes subsequent attacks, constantly fearing new attacks. Long and constant anticipation of nightmares leads to new intensified attacks.

Symptoms of a panic attack

It is impossible to confuse panic attacks at night during sleep with something else. There are several attack scenarios. The symptoms of the attack are always the same. This is anxiety and fear, the inability to sleep, while the heart begins to beat at an accelerated pace, an attack of nausea occurs, chills, it can cause a fever or, conversely, a fever cold sweat, a lump appears in the throat, and the patient often has the urge to go to the toilet.

But there are other attacks. In this case, the person falls asleep calmly, and suddenly wakes up from fear, followed by symptoms, as in the first case. Perhaps the patient begins to wake up household members and asks for help. Sometimes this helps to overcome panic - the lights come on in the house, the patient sees his relatives and hears their voices. But it also happens the other way around - the patient hides under the covers and waits for all this to end.

It is impossible to predict when panic will appear, so there is no way to prepare for an attack. Often a panic attack breaks through sleep, and a half-asleep person cannot adequately respond to events. It happens that a panic attack is confused with a heart attack, which again leads to increased fear for one’s life.

Provoking factors

More often vegetative-vascular dystonia leads to panic attacks in the following cases:

1. Sedentary lifestyle. Eliminate negative experiences and stabilize your emotional background those within their power help physical exercise.
2. Chronic lack of sleep. If a man long time cannot rest and sleep normally, then it is released into the blood increased amount various substances, including adrenaline, which provokes anxiety.
3. Taking medications. If a patient is taking medications that increase the production of the hormone cholecystokinin, then they should know that this hormone is responsible for controlling anxiety and fear.

Many doctors say that the provoking factors are accelerated rhythm life and technological progress, it was noticed that residents of small towns and villages are less susceptible to fears and anxiety.

Development scenarios

There are several scenario options for a panic attack:

1. Attacks associated with new places to fall asleep. How to avoid panic and sleep peacefully in a new place? We must try to recreate familiar conditions, for example, carry out the usual ritual before bed, you can drink milk with honey or make your bed the same way you make it at home. Close your eyes and think about home, about your cozy bed.
2. Attacks related to some important event tomorrow.
3. An attack that is associated with panic that happened in public, for example, while speaking in public, and now this event becomes a cause of anxiety and fear.

Treatment methods

If a panic attack that occurs once is repeated over time, then this already indicates a disruption in the functioning of the nervous system. The patient definitely needs qualified help. The sooner treatment begins, the faster you can balance your psyche.

Conversation with a psychotherapist

A conversation with a psychotherapist will help you understand and understand the cause of night fears; based on the patient’s stories, he will be able to select adequate treatment. Not always assigned medicines, the doctor first tries to correct the patient’s condition using relaxation techniques, as well as adjusting the daily routine and lifestyle.

What to do during an attack: recommended cold and hot shower And deep breathing. You can stop an attack if you concentrate on something, for example, counting the objects in the room, or picking up an expander and working with your hands.

Visualizations

A good way is visualization - a person should imagine himself in some beautiful place where it is safe and cozy, for example, where the wood is crackling in the fireplace, a dog is lying on a fluffy carpet, or a purring cat is curled up comfortably. You can imagine smells, for example, of freshly baked buns or the sea breeze.

If attacks have become commonplace for you, then it is clear that you will expect them every night. Therefore, before going to bed, you need to calm your nervous system, the best way is to paint with a brush, if you are not a special master in drawing, buy yourself a coloring by numbers painting. Question her right in bed, carefully and slowly, do this until you relax and want to sleep.

“Either sleep or iron your clothes...”

There is another way to fall asleep quickly - set yourself tasks that you do not want to do, and present your body with a choice: either sleep or go, for example, ironing clothes. If you feel like there is no sleep and anxiety is growing, get up and go iron your clothes. The main thing is to do exactly what you don’t really want to do.

If panic jerks you out of sleep, then these are obvious violations in mental state. Often a person becomes so frightened of his condition that he calls ambulance. It's good if they come experienced doctors who understand what is happening and reassure the patient - it’s easy nervous breakdown, and nothing bad happens. But if a doctor takes a patient to the department, this only strengthens the patient’s belief that he has serious problems and treatment becomes more complicated.

If a person suffers from panic before waking up, in the dawn hours, then most often this is explained by the fear of oversleeping. The help of a psychotherapist is mandatory, and in this case, in addition to psychotherapy sessions, the effect of physiotherapy on the nerve nodes can help.

And one last piece of advice. Fear is a normal protective reaction of the body, however, like everything else, fear should also be in moderation if anxiety states interfere with your life and disrupt your sleep, then, of course, you need to fight. They are very unpleasant, but this is not a death sentence; psychotherapy sessions will help you get rid of them and enjoy life to the fullest. You shouldn’t endure and suffer, because panic attacks are quite easy to treat.

Panic attacks at night- This sudden attacks of anxiety and fear(more often fear of death), which occur at night or during sleep and are accompanied by severe vegetative symptoms - heartbeat, feeling of lack of air, torrential sweat, dizzy. Regular panic attacks are called panic disorder .

Provoking factors include:

• severe stress, conflicts, childhood experiences and psychological trauma
• abuse of strong coffee, alcohol
• excessive physical activity, mental stress
• hormonal metabolism disorders, injuries and previous infectious diseases brain

Less common are panic attacks with two or three symptoms, the so-called minor attacks. They are not accompanied by a feeling of fear and imitate other diseases - heart pathology, glandular dysfunction internal secretion(for example, the thyroid gland).

Such patients for a long time are observed and treated by therapists, cardiologists and neurologists with a diagnosis of VSD or neurocirculatory dystonia. If treatment from other specialists helps poorly or has no effect at all, you need to see a psychotherapist .

Panic attacks during sleep

Panic attacks differ from nightmares in the time they occur. Night dreams occur in the second half of the night in the phase REM sleep, a person often remembers what he dreamed. Nocturnal panic attacks are not associated with dreams and most often develop from twelve at night to four in the morning.

Panic attacks during sleep have serious negative health consequences and general well-being person. Attacks prevent the body from resting, disrupt falling asleep, and lead to lack of sleep and constant fatigue.

Panic attacks at night are impossible to forget. A person begins to live in constant fear that this will happen again, and is afraid to go to bed.

Repeated attacks of anxiety and fear at night should alert you and cause you to contact a specialist. Over time, attacks occur more frequently and their duration increases. For example, if at the beginning of the disease there are 1-2 panic episodes every two to three months, then without treatment, attacks can develop daily.

Treatment of nocturnal panic attacks

What to do to get rid of panic attacks in your sleep? Panic attacks are treated with a combination of psychotherapy and taking medications. Treatment has two main directions:

1. Learn to stop attacks.
2. Don't allow them to repeat.

You can stop an attack - that is, quickly stop it and get rid of symptoms - with medication or non-drug. At the request of the patient, the doctor can prescribe an anti-anxiety drug (anxiolytic), which in a few minutes brings the nervous system into a relaxed state.

The patient needs to learn non-drug relaxation techniques during sessions individual psychotherapy. This is thought control, self-hypnosis and correct breathing. Modern relaxation techniques include Biofeedback therapy .

To get rid of panic attacks at night forever, you need to understand their causes. This may require several therapy sessions, and the patient must be willing to make efforts, change, listen carefully to the therapist and strictly follow his recommendations. In this case, the prognosis will be favorable.

Panic attacks at night during sleep are characterized by sudden awakening, causeless fear, a feeling of anxiety that comes in waves. Sometimes a person breaks out in a sweat and his limbs shake. Unreasonable awakening, stiffness, fear are signs of an unbalanced nervous system. Attacks often begin in young people under 40 years of age, but sometimes appear in older age. They are usually recorded between 2 and 4 am. At this time, the physiological activity of the body is minimal. After such an attack, a person gets up and cannot fall back to sleep.

Signs of night panic

Panic attacks at night have symptoms similar to depression. This is why doctors often conduct differential diagnosis. Common signs include:

• failure heart rate(tachycardia);
• feeling of suffocation;
• promotion or sharp decline temperature;
• weakness;
• chest pain;
• gastrointestinal disorder;
• partial or complete paralysis of the body;
• memory losses.

Patients complain of wild fear, confusion, loss of orientation in space. They breathe quickly, walk around the room, sway. Relatives may take this for heart attack and call an ambulance. But the diagnosis is not confirmed upon examination. The total duration of a panic attack is 10–30 minutes, after which the panic stops and the heartbeat returns. If attacks occur for several months in a row, it makes sense to seek medical help.

Why do nighttime panic attacks occur?

There is no doubt that panic attacks are a sign of a weakened nervous system. But on empty space they do not occur, which is why doctors first find out the cause. There are several triggers:

• experienced or prolonged stress;
• alcohol or drug addiction;
• dangerous work (at risk are military personnel, miners, metro drivers);
• diseases suffered with severe intoxication;
• increased impressionability;
• syndrome;
• hormonal imbalance, due to which the body loses calcium and serotonin.

Young nursing mothers and pregnant women are also at risk. In addition, teenagers who experience hormonal changes fall into it. But doctors do not consider nightmares to be the cause of attacks, although they can still provoke them in a number of people.

Panic attacks that occur every night indicate a person’s obvious overexertion, which can provoke other health problems. Neglected cases lead to decreased self-esteem and ability to work, and loss of interest in life. This is why doctors consider it important to combat nocturnal panic attacks, especially since sometimes it is easy to do on your own.

Important! Children suffer from anxiety attacks very often. They wake up in the middle of the night, screaming and crying. Most often, children growing up are susceptible to this. dysfunctional families, where parents quarrel and make scandals. The most vulnerable age is 3–5 years, after which the child’s psyche usually becomes more stable or retains hysterical traits for life.

Ways to combat attacks

Most effective method– use herbal-based sedatives. This is Novopassit, Fitosed. Strong tranquilizers are prescribed only in the most extreme cases. Before going to bed, it is important to exclude any irritating factors– TV, gadgets, active games. A great way is a bath with oils and herbs. Water relieves tension, eliminating the negative energy accumulated during the day. Other simple activities can also help you calm down during a panic attack.

What to do if you have a nighttime panic attack:

1. Do breathing exercises. Even if the attack comes suddenly, it is important to concentrate, start breathing evenly and often, alternating deep breaths with short exhalations.
2. Take 10 drops of valerian (motherwort) with lukewarm water.
3. Try to tense your whole body, squeeze your muscles, and then suddenly relax.
4. If a child has a panic attack, there is no point in trying to force him to calm down. The best way- hug and caress. Neurotic pathologies V childhood can remain for life, so parents should never “treat” their children with prohibitions or threats.

Help for adults, in addition to the above measures, includes psychotherapy: psychoanalytic measures, behavioristic techniques, group classes in the form of games, individual consultations.

Prevention methods

The first and most important advice may seem banal: you should reconsider your values, try to perceive problems more simply, avoiding stress and unnecessary worries. Great value has a way of life. People who eat right, don’t abuse alcohol, and play sports almost never have attacks.

The following also help maintain your condition:

• cold and hot shower;
• swimming;
• good microclimate in the apartment (the room should be slightly cool before going to bed);
• high-quality, moderately hard mattress and comfortable pillow;
• going to bed no later than 23:00.

Many people praise warm foot baths with lavender ether, as well as infusions of linden, mint and lemon balm with a small amount honey You should definitely walk for at least 30–40 minutes before going to bed, trying not to skip walks in any weather. If possible, go on vacation at sea at least once a year. Such trips are especially important for children with an active psyche. And, of course, you shouldn’t overeat before going to bed. The body must recover without bothering with the work of digesting food. Such simple tips They will definitely help you get rid of anxiety and make your life quality.