Breaking the Anxiety Over Tinnitus Cycle (Worst in the Middle of the Night)

I don't know about anyone else but the middle of the night is the time when my anxiety over tinnitus is at its most vulnerable.

Something about the dark, the quiet, the inability to have a sensible night's sleep seems to send my mind into overdrive.

However, I'm pretty aware of when my body is starting to react to the anxious thoughts... the sweating, the queasy stomach,the increased heart beats - the early signs of a full blown panic attack, so I snap myself awake.

Unfortunately that's normally followed by a mad drive to an all night garage for a pack if cigars which I smoke and inhale literally in one go, to the point where I'm wretching.

This can't go on. Tinnitus is going to kill me by proxy through some smoking related disease.

If this happens to you... the anxiety attack in the middle of the night... what strategy do you use to stop yourself from descending into anxiety hell?

I was thinking of just shoving on some clothes and going for a brisk walk or standing out in the cold to 'shock' myself out of it.

 

Whenever I get a fleeting tinnitus episode at night that makes me anxious I take cannabis oil and valerian, and mostly it manages to calm me down a bit.

 

I find I have to do something quick to stop it.

 

Have you tried CBD oil Allan? Could you try that?

 

Is there not a delay between taking it and feeling an effect?

Reason I say that is because an anxiety surge can be lighting fast and from my experience a person really needs prefrontal cortex intervention ASAP because if you don't and the adrenaline surges, the prefrontal cortex thinking (rational) goes out the window.

That's why some people suggest ducking your head in freezing cold water because it shocks your system. In the middle of the night getting a bucket of cold water isn't always feasible (aside from the choice language afterwards).

Sitting reading or watching TV leaves room for anxiety thinking to creep in, especially if you got up because if anxiety.

Unless CBD oil guarantees you get zonked out?

 

Do you wake up in the middle of the night to have the panic attacks or do you stay away all night? I'd recommend a fan running nearby to help mask or something, try to have a cup of tea before bed and go to bed early.

 

I can't tell when a anxiety attack comes, but usually I'm slightly restless during the day. Then I sleep, up, sleep, up and then I have gone up to the window to listen to winter. Then I walk around my home like it's a track luckily I have not crashed into anything. I also do breathing.

At the end I go back to bed and by then and I'm out. Anxiety gone.

 

No I wake up anyway then things go pear shaped.

Last night I went to bed at 11.30pm, woke up seriously choking at 12.50 am, went downstairs totally freaked out by waking up choking and gasping for air and didn't sleep again I believe. Then went to work and pretended I'm normal.

 

@Allan1967 I still get this anxiety/panic attack when I waken in the early mornings. I had to learn techniques from a hypnotherapist and wow it works most of the time. Simply learning how to breath in correctly and exhale helps.
When our bodies are all tensed up from anxiety and stress...ugg.

Have you ever used those types of techniques? Do you take anxiety medication?

I know how awful this can be.

 

Deep breathing? Yes.

I'd much rather just lie there and not be plagued by negative thoughts.

 

My T used to only bother me at nights too and it was very frustrating. I found an app called "atmosphere" where I could choose from lots of sounds, and this helped me through the nights for about 7-9 months. So in thoese months i reduced my stress/anxiety heavily and eventually I actually learned to sleep without the app and now my T at nights never bother me. Or extremly rarely.