Why would this be happening to me

[lunareclipze]

Twice this week I've woken up extremely early (like at 4 a.m.) and I'll just be laying on my back and I can heart my heart being all slow and irregular, my chest aches badly and I can't move at all, and it lasts for about a minute. When it happens I feel like I am going to die and that my heart is just going to slowly stop beating:/ what could this be?

 

[RaptorWizard]

I'm not sure at all, but in my Psychology class, I heard how people who experience greater stress levels and more extreme anxieties are actually more at risk for developing certain health problems.

I've read that you exercise like with swimming, connect with computer worlds and such, so those might be potential outlets for these negative internal buildups.

But that's just a few things though. Do you have any other hobbies? If so, perhaps you could immerse yourself in those a bit more to shake off some of that physical/mental pain and have more fun.

I guess though that you should ultimately do what feels right and fulfills your wishes; I was just offering my own input.

 

[Hypatia]

Could it be panic attacks?

 

[lunareclipze]

Are you asking if you're experiencing panic attacks, or wondering why you might be experiencing them?

No I thought I was experiencing heart problems

 

[Hypatia]

Have you cross-checked both?

 

[Lady_X]

Panic attacks feel like heart problems.

 

[cafe]

I think it's a panic attack, too. They are different with different people. My daughter and I burst into tears. Some people feel like they're having a heart attack or hyperventilate, etc.

 

[garbage]

Panic attacks feel like heart problems.

It's true. In fourth grade, I started having heart palpitations. Pretty much randomly. For years, doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. Turned out it was panic attacks. When I stopped having panic, I stopped having heart problems.

You'd think that doctors could've figured that one out, but

 

[Lady_X]

Yeah I have this type 7 probably related problem of not knowing when I'm stressed or having anxiety. It always feels like something else. Like a heart attack or some strange illness if some kind making me go numb.

 

[prplchknz]

sounds like panic attacks

 

[Udog]

Sleep apnea is my first guess. Panic attacks would be another.

Worth going to see a doctor about. If it's sleep apnea, you will want medical help to treat it.

 

[Galena]

I experience panic attacks in a very similar way, but don't let that feedback discourage you from seeing a doctor. Heart problems and panic attacks are both physical conditions, and knowledge is an essential treatment for the former.

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

I originally posted in this thread that it could be panic attacks, but I deleted my post because aren't they supposed to make your heart beat faster not slower? In my experience anyways..

 

[skylights]

[MENTION=19737]lunareclipze[/MENTION], if it's not sleep apnea, it could be sleep paralysis. It's a sleep/wake cycle anomaly where your mental consciousness returns before your voluntary muscle use does, so you're left essentially paralyzed for a short period of time. Some people report chest pain/pressure along with it, and historically it has been depicted as a demon sitting on one's chest. There is typically an intense sense of panic that accompanies it. (Obviously, it sucks.)

 

[Udog]

[MENTION=19737]if it's not sleep apnea, it could be sleep paralysis.

Good catch. I'm leaning less towards panic attack and more towards sleep disorder of some sort.

I just experienced this for the first time last week. Luckily, I shortly fell back to sleep and didn't experience panic or any of the severe symptoms, but it was pretty freaky.

 

[skylights]

Good catch. I'm leaning less towards panic attack and more towards sleep disorder of some sort.

I just experienced this for the first time last week. Luckily, I shortly fell back to sleep and didn't experience panic or any of the severe symptoms, but it was pretty freaky.

Thanks! Yeah, it's definitely unpleasant. When I first got it I thought I might be dying, which was why the OP made me think of it. I actually used to get it frequently as an older teen, when I had really bad sleep habits. Fortunately I've learned techniques for minimizing it - not sleeping on your back, having a regular sleep schedule (I have noticed it seems most important not to sleep at the same times, but just to make sure that you get adequate sleep), and making a clear "sleep environment" - eliminating lights, comfortable sleeping clothing, going into a different room, performing pre-sleep rituals like reading, etc. I used to get panic attacks, too, and I sort of wonder if the two don't have underlying anxiety connections, even though it seems like the dominant theory is that sleep paralysis is a sleep cycle regulation disorder, maybe something wrong in the pons. The shared similarities do make me wonder, though. Clearly there is often some connection to stimulation of the fight/flight fear response.

 

[Udog]

Thanks! Yeah, it's definitely unpleasant. When I first got it I thought I might be dying, which was why the OP made me think of it. I actually used to get it frequently as an older teen, when I had really bad sleep habits. Fortunately I've learned techniques for minimizing it - not sleeping on your back, having a regular sleep schedule (I have noticed it seems most important not to sleep at the same times, but just to make sure that you get adequate sleep), and making a clear "sleep environment" - eliminating lights, comfortable sleeping clothing, going into a different room, performing pre-sleep rituals like reading, etc. I used to get panic attacks, too, and I sort of wonder if the two don't have underlying anxiety connections, even though it seems like the dominant theory is that sleep paralysis is a sleep cycle regulation disorder, maybe something wrong in the pons. The shared similarities do make me wonder, though. Clearly there is often some connection to stimulation of the fight/flight fear response.

Yikes, that sounds incredibly stressful. I'm glad you were able to make it manageable.

Yeah, my understanding is that it's a sleep cycle regulation disorder as well. The part where we are more or less paralyzed is normal, but we aren't supposed to be consciously awake during it. It's not hard to believe that anxiety can mess with that.

 

[cafe]

Oh, yep. Sleep apnea sounds even more likely. Which you'd think I would have thought of since I sleep next to a guy using a CPAP. He usually don't wake completely up, though. Just enough to freak me out.

 

[gromit]

I think it's TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR.

 

[Haven]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

Physiologically, sleep paralysis is closely related to REM atonia, the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Sleep paralysis occurs either when falling asleep, or when awakening. When it occurs upon falling asleep, the person remains aware while the body shuts down for REM sleep, and it is called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. When it occurs upon awakening, the person becomes aware before the REM cycle is complete, and it is called hypnopompic or postdormital.[10] The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes, with some rare cases being hours, "by which the individual may experience panic symptoms"[11] (described below). As the correlation with REM sleep suggests, the paralysis is not entirely complete; use of EOG traces shows that eye movement is still possible during such episodes; however, the individual experiencing sleep paralysis is unable to speak.[12]