Posted 3/26/2017 5:42 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Laceymayaalyah,
I'm so sorry for what you are going through. My anxiety often comes in waves as well; long seemingly never-ending waves. I get very bad morning anxiety and have a difficult time to get going except unlike yourself, once I do start moving around, my anxiety usually diminishes.
I woke up to a panic attack a few months ago and the feeling has stayed with me since. I have a few things I do now. Either before I go to sleep or as soon as I wake up, I practice progressive muscle relaxation for about 20minutes followed by some visualization. They are doing more research on progressive muscle relaxation and its ability to stop or at least decrease the length and severity of the panic attack. I also keep water by the bed and will splash my face with freezing cold water. Your body can't panic while being shocked with frigid water so it helps in the moment.
The other thing that has helped me was seeing a hypnotherapist. It did not cure me, and it won't work for everyone, but it did help. It was like a switch was finally turned off and gave me a bit of respite.
Are you doing any sort of therapy outside of pharmaceuticals? It sounds like it would be really beneficial for you.
Last thing, speaking of meds (benzos in particular), I believe clonazepam stays in the body longer so if you took that before you go to bed, you might be able to wake up in a calmer state. Once you get past this difficult stage, and you will, you can taper off. On the other hand, while it does not stay in the system as long, Ativan generally acts much quicker than Xanax or Clonazepam (Klonopin).
Please remember you are not alone and this level of anxiety does not last forever (it seems like it does) but it really doesn't. You will get better.
Kind regards,
S
P.S. I'm writing on my phone so please excuse any errors or typos I may have missed.