Night Anxiety - Signs, Symptoms and Top Methods to Prevent Anxiety at Night

If you suffer from night anxiety, be aware - you are definitely not alone. 50% -70% of anxiety and panic disorder sufferers have reported having night anxiety attacks as well. You would think that anxiety and stress could at least give you a break at night - but no. Maybe you are worried about losing your job. You go to bed, but toss and turn for an hour. Finally you get out of bed at 2 A.M with full blown anxiety or panic attack.

How You Become Afraid of the Night

Your anxiety quickly spreads to other areas: a nine o'clock doctor's appointment, the urgent tasks you didn't get to accomplish today, and the presentation you're going to blow if you don't get some sleep. Awful thoughts fill your head:..."I'm going to be a wreck tomorrow", "This thing will drive me crazy"..."Am I going to die tonight?"

After a few nights of these repeated thoughts, you start being afraid of the night starting with early evening. It is a hopeless situation.

My Little Story

I used to be sure that I am going to die. With what was racing in my mind, there was no way to drift back to sleep if I could go to sleep at all. The quiet of the night, the isolation and "night sounds" were daily triggers to my night anxiety. I couldn't sit still, but I didn't have much energy to move. I could pace around for hours thinking how I am going to lose my mind. I didn't have a spouse or anyone else to lean on.

Over the years I found just a few methods that gave me some relief from night anxiety, I wanted to share them with you:

The Best Methods to Fight Night Anxiety:

1. Avoiding prescription drugs - I have tried that out - and it gave me a little relief - but the goal is to get through night anxiety without creating another problem - chemical dependency. Besides, these drugs will never cure the condition, only temporarily relieve symptoms.

2. Avoiding Caffeine, nicotine or wine in the evening- these only made the problem worse. I actually tried living with or without them and witnessed the difference. These can actually make your attacks worse and caffeine can actually give you insomnia, thus you can't sleep at all.

3. Drinking valerian or St.John's wart tea - actually helped me (sometimes) prevent night anxiety.

4. Avoiding bad night habits - Don't look at the clock! Ever!

Turn the clock around to face the wall, or hide it in a drawer or under the bed. I was constantly checking the time and that reinforced my thought that I'll never get back to sleep.

Don't stay in bed more than 15 minutes. I used to do this to remind my brain that the bed is the place to sleep - not the place for stressing, worrying and obsessing. Night anxiety should not happen in bed.

Don't go back to bed too soon. I only went back to bed when I felt I could fall asleep right away. I watched, on purpose, a boring TV show or read a boring book.

Before going to sleep, try to watch something funny on TV. Never an action film or sad drama. Something light, funny and even stupid. Give your brain a break and a chance to escape from everyday worries.

The Happy End: How Did I Put Night Anxiety behind Me

Anxiety did not "attack me" only in the middle of the night. It was happening all the time, out of nowhere and without apparent reason. I finally acknowledged that I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and while these methods were very good, I wanted to go to the core and cure the condition - not just the symptoms. That was the first day of the rest of my life.

Anxiety Stress Disorder - How Stress Can Lead to Anxiety!

We all feel stress and get anxiety attacks from things that happen in our everyday lives. We might be worried about the impression we may give on a first date, we might be scared of botching up an important presentation or we might feel the hassles of preparing for a wedding. But while we do overcome these challenges easily, there are times when we cannot deal with life's different stresses properly. There are also days when we might get a severe anxiety attack over simple things like an exam or a looming deadline. When we start feeling extreme stress over little things and begin to exaggerate situations too much, we might be developing an anxiety stress disorder.

Anxiety should not be something to be afraid or frightened of. Its a normal response to stressful situations. But certain traumatic events or chemical imbalances in our brain can cause us to overreact or unnecessarily worry about mundane things and if this happens regularly, it could lead to an anxiety related stress disorder.

People who suffer stress often experience symptoms of anxiety: from heart palpitations to sweating with clammy hands and feet to feeling fear or dread. But all these symptoms are compounded and happen even when faced with events which they really should not worry too much about. Those who suffer from anxiety and stress because of traumatic experiences such as a car accident or child abuse, for instance, may feel all the symptoms of panic attacks when in the presence of any vehicle or if they see the same shirt that their abuser often wore. There are times, too, that the anxiety stress disorder becomes so severe that people who suffer from this disorder start feeling detached from life and reality. They become numb to emotions and the world to the point of becoming listless and unresponsive when they experience a panic attack.

The best method to treat people suffering from anxiety and stress is a combination of the proper medication and therapy. Different medication, such as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) or tricyclic antidepressants can help by balancing out the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are responsible for triggering certain emotions like joy, anger and fear, and in most cases, the anxiety stress disorder is caused by an imbalance of these neurotransmitters.

Proper therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, can help patients who experience stress and anxiety attacks often to deal with life's challenges properly. This type of therapy teaches patients to change their patterns of thinking and perceptions of different stressors. It also helps patients learn how to deal with these stressors properly and realistically.

There are also different, simple ways by which the severity of an anxiety attack can be lessened. Meditation, regular exercise, a good night's rest, proper diet and reducing the intake of caffeine can all contribute to the healing of those who suffer from Anxiety Stress Disorders.

Anxiety Nausea - Reasons and Treatments

Suffering with anxiety nausea is difficult for people with a panic attack disorder or an anxiety disorder. Most of the advice we all get from non-sufferers is to eat a saltine or just calm down already. If you have anxiety associated with nausea, calming down, or eating a saltine doesn't always work and is often not very good advice from someone who has never been in panic mode where you feel out of control. Some people are simply prone to anxiety disorders and the stress of everyday life or anxiety fear can bring on all sorts of panic symptoms, one of them being nausea. Emotional stress, worrying, and fear of the unknown are some of the biggest reasons a person can become nauseous. Chronic stress often leads to anxiety and stomach disorders are common problems.

While anxiety suffers realize there are many signs and symptoms of this disorder, once the symptoms start, the anxiety of being nauseous can actually make it worse. An anxious person who is nauseous and can't relive the feeling may end up vomiting. Vomiting can lead to dehydration and that is something no panic attack suffer needs on top of all the stress we are trying to keep controlled. The reasons for anxiety nausea are many, especially when they are associated with panic, fear, or stress.

There are effective treatments for nausea that will work even if you are panic-ridden or have emotional stress. Anxiety nausea treatments can range from relaxation techniques to over-the-counter medications. Many suffers are already taking medications of some sort and perhaps don't want to add to their nausea problem by taking more. Or, sometimes the medications you are taking for your anxiety can cause nausea. Don't fret, we found some good recommended treatments for your nausea that will work if you are in panic mode.

First, always make sure to keep some acidophilus on hand in your refrigerator and at the first sign of nausea take two or three capsules right away. Next, place a nice plush washcloth in cold water and apply to the back of your neck. Try to lay down by an open window and breathe in fresh air while you keep the washcloth on the back of your neck. Everyone who has a panic disorder with nausea knows that it is very hard to relax, but with some concentration, you can relieve your anxiety nausea with this simple trick. Close your eyes and try to concentrate on relaxing each muscle from your head to your neck to your shoulders and all the way down to your feet as you count backwards from twenty-five. Don't rush it and if you need to, begin again.

Most panic attack suffers will find that the acidophilus will start to work and the cool washcloth and fresh air will help you with your relaxation exercise. Relieving anxiety nausea during a time of stress or panic can be done easily with a little concentration and help from a natural supplement probiotic. Finally, try to remember that anxiety and panic disorders are not uncommon and many people are affected by these syndromes. Seek out advice from good and supportive family and friends to achieve success each time and rid your body from anxiety nausea.

Tips for Parent: Anxiety Treatments for Children

Anxiety, just like any human disorder has to be treated. For an anxiety treatments for children to effectively work, the root cause of the problem must be first determined. There are many causes of anxiety disorders but it is relatively easier to determine their causes in children. Children can be interviewed or talked to by parents and therapists to discover the origin of their depression. Once the symptoms of the anxiety disorder manifest in the individual, thorough assessments can be made by investigating the circumstances and factors that led to the disorder. In children, this is not very difficult because the scope of influences affecting them is narrow. Aside from their situation in the family and school environment, their acquired living habits are fairly determinable especially if the parents cooperate.

Once the causes of the problem are determined, the right anxiety treatments for children can be prescribed. Children are impressionable and can easily be taught. Anxiety is an emotional problem and children can learn the skills needed to cope with it. Children suffer anxiety for a variety of reasons. Feelings of inadequacy, pressure from parents to perform well in school, being separated from parents and fear of some animals like lizards, snakes or spiders can cause severe anxiety. For all these reasons, the corresponding response can be taught to the affected children encouraging them to recognize and overcome fear.

Of course, psychotherapy treatments done by a professional is a better option if symptoms have already manifested and there is already some difficulty of handling the changes in the behavior of the affected children. The therapy can be done on a one-on-one basis or through group therapy. The observation that treatment by group therapy has better results is gaining ground. Children in group therapy seem to react better and more effectively learn from each other in understanding the lessons taught. Exercises like role model playing and talking about each individual's anxiety experience build more confidence because of the interaction within the group.

Another effective anxiety treatment is the one that can be administered by the parents and members of the family. Here, the love and affection shown by the parents and other members of the family reassure the affected children and give them confidence to overcome their fears. Some children suffer anxiety from constant separation from their parents. When children are left by themselves by parents who sometimes have to work in far places, they are subjected to stress and develop anxiety disorder symptoms. In cases like these, older members of the family like uncles or aunts can play the role of parents and explain to the affected child the situations that cause the problem. They can also teach the child the right actions and reactions of a child when left alone with a sitter and their parents are not there. The intimate bonding with parents and members of the family makes the anxiety treatments for children better.

Medication is seldom used in anxiety treatments for children. While some medicines give relief to the symptoms to anxiety, they are rarely used by therapists on young patients. They can cause addiction and some side effects are not well tolerated by some children.

Anxiety Disorder - A Brief Introduction

In a medical terminology, anxiety disorder usually refers to a state of nervousness or uneasiness. Anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health disorders. It is basically defined as a critical disturbance in the mental state that can ultimately lead to chronic anxiety. It usually arises due to work pressure, highly constrained work schedules which tend to disturb the mood or behavior of a person. However, if proper anxiety treatments are not followed well in time, it can even harm the mental state of a person.

A person suffering from anxiety disorder often experiences a long-drawn-out feeling of distress or fright and discomfortness. This disorder can further create a bad impact on relationships with friends, family and the colleagues.

Various Symptoms / Signs of Anxiety disorder:

So far researchers have conducted an in-depth study to determine the precise reason for anxiety disorders. Finally, they have concluded that this trouble mainly arises due to the biological factors along with various personal situations faced by an individual. This disorder not only affects the individual's behavior, thoughts, action, emotions but also the physical health. It is so common that individual anxiety disorder can be seen. Moreover, an individual can suffer even more than one anxiety disorder at a time. Anxiety disorder is accompanied by a series of other troubles as well including depression, substance abuse or eating disorders.

Various symptoms/signs of anxiety disorder include:

Panic Disorder: Panic disorder is basically a type of anxiety disorder. Such a type of disorder is usually experienced in the unexpected panic attacks that come along with the feeling of fear. This attack can also affect the physical health of a person, thus resulting in breathing problems, severe pain in chest, heart strokes, and fear of death as well as acute pain in the abdomen.

Agoraphobia , with or without panic disorder: This is basically a condition in which a person fails to avoid or escape from a panic attack. OCD or Obsessive 'Compulsive Disorder: This is an uncontrollable condition in which an individual suffers from constant unnecessary thoughts, commonly termed as obsessions and compulsions (or rituals). A typical instance of obsessions includes doubtful temperament, serious concerns regarding contamination and much more. The various instances of compulsions include counting, checking and the systematic organization of things.

PTSD or Post-Traumatic stress disorder: Post-traumatic disorder is usually the consequence of a horrible or a terrific experience that might have took place in one's life. Most often the victims of war, natural disaster or child abduction may experience this stress disorder. The general symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, rudeness in temperament, feelings of fear as well as frustrations.

Phobias:

Such an anxiety disorder is usually categorized into two groups:

Social Phobia: It is also sometimes termed as social anxiety disorder, in which a person fears to deal with social situations. Not only this, but he may also feel conscious & embarrassed to deal with gatherings and also fails to lead a normal life.

Specific Phobia: In this type of anxiety disorder, a person is often beset with unreasonable fears that are quite impossible to control. The extreme stage of specific phobia is one when a person designates his fear as illogical one. The typical instances include terror of heights, open spaces as well as the fear of flying.

GAD: An acronym GAD stands for Generalized Anxiety disorder. The general symptoms include headache, loss of fatigue & nausea. The exaggerated worries related to daily routine activities & events disorder are the main reason behind this type of anxiety disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

It is only when we struggle with, or run away from our anxieties, that they gain momentum. We can only be victims of fear if we allow ourselves to be.

"Do the thing you are afraid to do and the death of fear is certain."

- Ralph Waldo EmersonI want to tackle the side-effects of panic attacks. Most people who experience frequent panic attacks describe a lingering background generalized anxiety that stays with them long after the panic attack is over. Panic attacks are not spontaneous, random experiences. They are rooted in an underlying general anxiety that acts as the feeding ground for them to occur. Some people claim the attacks come totally out of the blue, but in fact on closer examination the person is usually already feeling an above average level of generalized anxiety before the panic attack begins. It is this generalized anxiety that we are going to tackle in this chapter.

People describe the generalized anxiety like a knot in the stomach accompanied by recurring fearful thoughts. This condition is referred to as Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD. This generalized anxiety disorder is the breeding ground for future panic attacks, and it is important that it be addressed and eliminated so the individual can go about daily business unimpeded by the uncomfortable stress sensations.

If we create a scale of anxiety from 1 to 10, a full blown panic attack would register at 10 and total, blissful relaxation at 0

In a typical day, the average person in a metropolitan area might have a stress/anxiety rating of somewhere between 4 and 5. In comparison, people who experience panic attacks would say they reach the top of the scale (9/10) during the panic attack and do not fully return to feeling normal for quite some time. What is of particular concern is the fact that a large percentage of people never fully return to normal levels. Many individuals who experience frequent panic attacks often report that they feel themselves to be in a constant state of generalized anxiety, floating between 6 and 7 almost everyday. They wake in the morning with the anxiety and go to bed with the same feeling of unease. It is almost as if their body is stuck on a permanent setting of high anxiety. This constant generalized anxiety makes them feel jumpy, irritable, and physically unwell. The body becomes tense and uncomfortable and the mind obsessed with the anxious sensations. This permanent tension in the mind and body leads to troublesome sensations such as

• Nausea
  


• Dizziness
  


• Exhaustion
  


• Vision problems
  


• Cramps
  


• Intrusive thoughts
  


• Feelings of unreality and depression
  

This condition (Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD) is frequently connected to the experience of panic attacks.

Generalized Anxiety DisorderIf you have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, do not convince yourself that you have a clinical illness. You do not. This disorder does not mean that you have a physical or mental illness. Your brain is fine; your body is fine. If I had editorial authority over what was printed in text book psychology, I would eliminate the use of the term ¡§disorder.¡¨ The term is over prescribed and misleading. It conjures up ideas of chaos and a total breakdown of mental function. That is not the case. GAD is a behavioral condition that is habitual, and it can be reversed easily by following a series of steps. You can return to a more relaxed level of living if you follow the steps and psychological techniques I am going to outline for you below.

Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Once people practice the One Move technique for the elimination of the panic attacks as explained in my course, the intense fear surrounding the anxiety collapses in on itself. As the panic attacks become less frequent, the generalized anxiety begins to evaporate as a state of solid calm returns.

If however, after a period of time you feel your generalized anxiety level has not dropped then you can begin to implement the following steps to treat the lingering anxiety. It may also be the case that you have never experienced "panic attacks" per se but have a constant problem with general anxiety. If that describes your situation, then the following information is of particular relevance to you.

http://www.panic-and-anxiety-attacks.com/generalized-anxiety-disorder.html

This article is copywritten material. Any requests for reprinting this article must be made to Joe Barry McDonagh

Anxiety Disorders - Agoraphobia

I talked about panic attacks a few days ago, and mentioned that I would like to cover some of the other anxiety disorders to help people recognize and become more aware of what they are experiencing in hopes to better manage their anxiety.

Today I would like to touch on Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is probably the most common of the anxiety disorders. Common situations usually involve crowded public places, like shopping malls, buses, and Nature pic 1restaurants, or enclosed places such as elevators.

People who suffer from agoraphobia try to avoid places or situations where they feel trapped and what feels like there is no escape. For me it was at work. I worked in an office within a small office cubicle. Every morning I would slide into it trying not to be noticed. I felt though that all eyes were on me and that people knew I was in fear. This went on for it seems like an eternity. Eventually I became so self conscious of every little thing I did I could barely function. I fought it too long and eventually broke down to the point of being hospitalized and I could not work for months after.

Agoraphobia doesn't develop overnight. It starts with a panic episode of some sort and then gradually builds up in your mind to the point where you consciously start to try to avoid places like this.

Agoraphobia like all anxiety disorders should be dealt with as soon as consciously possible. If you are having similar feels like I addressed in this article. Get help immediately before it gets to the point where you can't function. See a doctor or physiologist first. It will feel better to talk about what is going on in your mind and body. Your doctor may prescribe medication, but there are some great natural techniques available to us now that helps us to deal with this problem quickly, and to start living a normal life again in a very short amount of time.

There are plenty of natural techniques available to explore. I highly recommend getting started researching today. Don't delay getting your life back.

I would love to hear of your success stories, so please send your comments and emails. To your health,

Terry Poster