Anxiety attacks can strike at any moment, especially if you have a lot of stress because of work, school, or personal issues. If you live with panic disorder or something similar, they can happen frequently, sometimes even multiple times a day. While anxiety attacks are bad and hard to manage during the daytime, they’re even harder to deal with at night. This is because a bad anxiety attack can progress from anxiety into insomnia and reduce the amount of sleep that you get that night.
Fortunately, it’s not impossible to calm an anxiety attack at night. Some medications can help, there are mediation techniques you can try, and you can even go the service dog route. Read on to say goodbye to restless nights and start getting more peaceful sleep.
Our Tips to Help You Calm an Anxiety Attack at Night
Anxiety attacks at night can be a problem, especially if you start worrying about sleeping because of your frequent panic attacks. That can start a vicious cycle that actually brings about more panic attacks, which can make your fear of them even worse.
Thankfully, we can show you how to calm anxiety at bedtime with some tips below.
Exercise and Meditation
Some holistic approaches are great for reducing anxiety at night. This is especially true if you have a habit of panicking before bed because of stressful thoughts about prior sleepless nights. Try focusing on meditation before bed to clear your mind of any stressful or overwhelming thoughts; you can even make this a routine for better results. You may also want to keep a journal during this time to log how you feel before and after each meditation.
When starting with meditation, start with something guided to help you get into the flow of a successful session. There are many free apps you can find that offer guided meditations, and there are even lots of YouTube playlists designed to guide you through bedtime meditations. Some of them are even meant to be played while you try to fall asleep, which can help keep any negative thoughts at bay.
Exercise is also often effective, because it’s something you can do during the day that may make you too tired to worry about anything once your head hits the pillow. Plus, exercise can encourage helpful, “happy” hormone production in your body, which can further help prevent panic attacks or lessen their severity.
Meditation and exercise are both holistic methods that can help you reduce your anxiety attacks, but they might not always work or provide a fast solution.
Adopting and Training a Psychiatric Service Dog
Psychiatric service dogs can apply deep pressure therapy, fetch medications, and perform other specific tasks that help you manage a panic attack. While medication and meditation alone can be effective, there’s nothing quite like having a canine companion who’s there to help.
A service dog can also help you relieve anxiety at night, and they can help you with this at home or even in public. They can be trained to recognize panic attacks right when they start, so you can quickly begin panic reduction techniques. They can also distract you during a panic attack, cuddle next to you while you try to fall asleep, and even wake and comfort you if you have a panic attack while you’re asleep.
First, you’ll need to adopt a service dog, and then you should get your hands on a service dog certificate. While nobody can legally ask you about your service dog because of protections from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), having a certificate can give you some extra peace of mind and prevent you from getting anxious when you take your service dog out into public; this is especially helpful if you have panic attacks when trying to sleep in hotels while traveling.
Seek Therapy
Therapy is another great way to potentially reduce the frequency of anxiety attacks. During your therapy sessions, therapists can help you talk through your issues, which can reduce the frequency of panic attacks.
Additionally, therapists can use therapy methods like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) to give you the tools necessary to get yourself out of a panic attack. This may include breathing techniques and other mental methods to bring you down from an intense panic attack. Calming your anxiety at night with therapy isn’t a quick fix, but it’s an effective one if you keep at it.
They can also help you identify and treat any underlying issues that are causing your nighttime panic attacks. It may be something internal, like panic disorder, depression, PTSD, or other mental health issues that will require specific treatment plans. It may also be something external, like stress from your job, feeling trapped in an unhealthy relationship, or living in a stressful environment. Whatever the core issue is, a therapist can help you identify it and work on a plan to have it impact your life – and your sleep – less.
Speak with Your Doctor About Medication
Some medications can help you manage panic attacks better, but these aren’t always available over the counter. For this reason, you need to consult with your doctor to get a prescription for some medications like Xanax. There are also other options available, but only your doctor can help you with your specific situation. Never borrow medications from other people to avoid complications, and only consult with a licensed medical professional for medical advice.
These are some of the best ways to calm an anxiety attack before you go to sleep.
Say Goodbye to Nighttime Anxiety Today
Nighttime anxiety attacks can be a lot of trouble, especially if you can’t fall asleep because of them. The good news is that you don’t have to have sleepless nights anymore. Try speaking with your doctor about getting the right medication or adopting a psychiatric service dog to find relief with a new canine companion. Also, try some holistic approaches like exercise, meditation, and avoiding stressful activities during the nighttime hours.
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