Glad to find this thread and see that others are dealing with something that has also now come at me from left field completely.

My story:

For about a year now I have been having these episodes of right when I fall asleep I'll have a nightmare or hear some small noise and be jolted awake with intense anxiety or adrenaline going to my heart. This happened like 2-3 times per week. I read online that these are called hypnic jerks and are fairly common. Ok, so I got the answer to that.

But then about 2 weeks ago I woke up one day and started to feel anxiety over the smallest things. And I have zero clue where it came from. My marriage is better than its ever been, my kids are good, business is great, my family and friends relationships are the same/good as they've ever been. Everything started setting my anxiety off. My phone ringing, text messages, people walking into my office, my wife or kids walking into the room while I'm watching TV. I mean every little thing was making me nervous. It was the same feeling of anxiety and adreniline rush to my heart (imagine feeling shocked at some news or getting really bad news and your heart sinking) over and over again. For about a week I was averaging like 12-15 of these moments a day and at night I had gone from those hypnic jerks being 2-3 times per week to it happening 2-3 times a night (which I'm sure is not good for my heart) Every little noise in the room was waking me up in shock. I visited with my Dr and he did an EKG and chest Xray and nothing came up. He put me on .5mg of Lorazapam. The nights were the worst as the thought of my sleep issues was causing me further anxiety.

The last few days has been a little better as I have learned to breathe ahead of knowing some instance of anxiety might be coming up. I'm only using the Lorazapam at night to sleep but the one night I chose to skip it and give melatonin a chance instead, I was completely miserable and up all night almost. I'm trying my best to not use it much and at most its once a day for me at .5. I am now sleeping separately from my wife in a room with lotsa noise (fan at high, and AC up high) ongoing so I can't hear any other noises that might shock me awake.

Its just weird thought that this has come at me out of nowhere. I'll say this....while there have been no real major changes in my life in the last few weeks I have changed one thing in my routine. I have taken up weight lifting about 3 weeks ago. I know that goes the opposite of what people say that working out should HELP my anxiety but that is the only thing I can point to that has really changed in my life. Is there any chance that weight lifting has contributed to this? I usually lift in the mornings so not late at night. I have cut out all caffeine btw.

Sorry for the long post but I'm honestly pretty freaked out over all this and you never think things like this will happen to you, but they can. I'd love to hear any suggestions or similar stories where people say this happened as a temporary thing in their lives and it eventually passed.

Quote:

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exposing yourself to your fears even though that sounds crazy and being open with friends and family about your anxiety.

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This is perhaps the single greatest factor in my recovery. We have deceived ourselves to think when we expose our weakness that others will run away. However, I have only been more accepted and more loved.

The devil is a sneaky creature.

Wow, it's great to read about everyone's experiences. I have small parts in common with so many of them.

Mine will start with getting really anxious about something that wouldn't effect most people.

That will lead to a pain in my stomach (not unbearable, and not a "sick" feeling, but definitely REAL and uncomfortable.)

Then I will get anxious about the pain, which makes the pain worse. I see a gastro and he did all the tests he could possibly do, and everything's apparently okay.

Just knowing that lessens my pain almost immediately, but if enough time passes and then something stresses me out enough, the stomach/abdominal pain will come back and then I'll start to question if maybe something new is happening down there. I'm a mess!

I know you're supposed to subject yourself to the things that make you feel this way, but it's really hard with this stomach pain that accompanies it. Because I don't sleep well when it's happening, and the lack of sleep probably just makes everything worse. It's a weird, horrible downward spiral.

Even if nobody reads this, it was cathartic to type out. Thanks for reading!


P.S. I love that Jason Isbell song. Thanks for posting.

Personally I've dealt with anxiety (which spirals into depression at times) since was very young. I've taken an SSRI for over a decade now, which helps with the underlying smoldering anxiety, but it still breaks through. I read a lot of anecdotal evidence of people dealing with anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder who switched to a Keto, or even carnivore diet, with great success. A little over a year ago, I started a Keto diet and before the end of the first week, I knew there was something to this. Over the past year, I've never felt better. Sometimes I feel guilty for feeling so good, because I couldn't remember a life without crippling anxiety. I still take my SSRI, but now at the lowest dose and pretty certain I'll be able to wean myself all the way off. About 6 months ago I felt the anxiety creeping up a little and was worried that the effects of the diet were wearing off and was really bummed. On further examination, I realized my carb intake had creeped up, and now after getting that on track plus also doing at least 16/8 intermittent fasting, I'm back on track. This has been a life changer and I'll never go back.

I have been on a two year journey of figuring out how to deal with extreme anxiety and mild depression. It was a long road of placing blame on specific situations, people and work. None of those were the cause. It is good to make those things better but that didn't make the symptoms go away. Then I felt guilty for feeling bad when honestly my life is pretty good compared to most. After a long time of trying to figure out WHY I felt this way I started to work on how to deal with it instead, because I don't think there is one reason why.

I have a therapist who helps me with techniques on how to overcome panic attacks. I am on Wellbutrin and Lexapro. I also started working out regularly. Overall I am living a healthier life and focusing on listening to my mind and body when it says something g is wrong.

Two years of struggle but I am starting to feel like myself again, and I have built a better relationship with my wife and son.