How Anxiety Messes With Your Sleep - How to Alleviate Panic Attacks : How to Do Breathing Exercises

How Anxiety Messes With Your Sleep




Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night
and wonder if you don’t have a similarly
sleepless friend that might be up for a game
of Boggle? I know I do.
Hey guys, a sort of tired Amy here with you
on DNews today.
If you’ve ever woken up in the middle of
the night and been unable to fall back asleep
because your mind is racing with all the things
you’ve got on your to do list you’re certainly
not alone. The middle of the night sleepless
panic cycle is one some of us know all too
well, but why do we wake up in the first place
and suddenly go into panic mode?
Panic attacks aren’t simply moments of anxiety,
thinking about that deadline that’s coming
up a little faster than you’d like. Feeling
shaky, short of breath, or dizzy can be a
sign that you’re having a panic attack.
But there are also physiological effects to
panic attacks, including an increased heart
rate and vascular reactions that can lead
to a tingly sensation.
Panic attacks can come on completely without
warning. You can be watching TV and be hit
with an array of symptoms including increased
heart rate, shortness of breath, and an acute
fear of dying completely without warning.
Our subconscious mind is a big part of the
problem. After experiencing something traumatic
that led you to panic, your subconscious mind
can mimic that pattern and send you into panic
mode once you’re removed from the situation.
And because panic attacks can be brought on
at the subconscious level, you don’t have
to be awake to experience one.
Panic attacks can hit when you’re asleep,
sometimes sparked by dreams or nightmares
that call back to the same subconscious patterns
that bring panic attacks on for no reason
while you’re watching TV. The psychological
and physiological reactions -- rapid heart
rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, and
sweating -- can combine to wake you up and
persist for minutes. This can start a cycle
of insomnia: you worry about what will happen
if you lose sleep, but can’t sleep, so you
worry more. Being isolated in a dark, quiet
room (i.e. your bedroom at night) doesn’t
help alleviate the sudden stress of waking
up in a panic.
Dealing with panic attacks isn’t easy, but
there are some tips and tricks to breaking
the midnight insomnia cycle. Experts say that
getting out of bed, out of your bedroom, and
doing something to dispel negative thoughts
until you’re really tired enough to fall
asleep is best.
Do you guys have any tricks for dealing with
those late night bouts of sleeplessness?
Let us know in the comments below or you can
catch me on Twitter as @astVintageSpace. And
don’t forget to subscribe for more DNews
every day of the week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi_rIPM778


How to Alleviate Panic Attacks : How to Do Breathing Exercises




Hi, this is Ben Brennan from Austin, Texas.
I'm coming to you on behalf of Expert Village
and today we're going to be talking about
panic attacks. Okay now I'd like to go over
the breathing exercises you can use to help
yourself be prepared for a panic attack and
actually be able to control or prevent panic
attacks from worsening. The first thing you
want to do is to pay attention to your body.
Are you breathing with your chest or your
abdomen or both? This is important to know
as we've mentioned before in another clip,
most people who suffer from an anxiety attacks
tend to be chest breathers too. So you really
want to know about yourself. Step one is to
lay on your back and relax. For those of us
with higher levels of anxiety, this relaxation
may take a while. But go easy on yourself,
if it takes you a first few days just to get
to the point of relaxation, be glad you probably
needed that relaxation time anyways a lot
more than you needed to learn how to breathe
right now. Be patient with yourself. Once
you are comfortable laying down and relaxed
enough to be able to observe your breathing,
try breathing with only your abdomen. This
may take some time so don't push yourself,
this is about relaxation. Also, remember that
breathing is an autonomic response. So you
really don't breathe as much as you allow
yourself to breathe. If you're having trouble
allowing yourself to breathe with your stomach,
try putting a book on it and adding a little
pressure as you breathe in and out. This will
give your body something to focus on and help
condition your stomach to rise instead of
your chest when you breathe. If you're still
having trouble breathing with your abdomen
instead of your chest, one thing you can do
is turn around and get up on your hands and
knees. Being in this posture will lock your
chest in a fixed position and allow your diaphragm
and your stomach to do the breathing work.
While you're doing this just relax and pay
attention to your stomach and you'll notice
what it feels like for your stomach to do
the breathing work. When you feel comfortable
with this you can go back to lying on your
back and practicing your abdominal breathing
according to the previous steps. Now don't
expect change overnight, but continue to do
this everyday if possible. Preferably for
fifteen minutes but really any amount will
help. You'll find that eventually this may
be the most relaxed part of your day and you
may actually look forward to doing your breathing
exercises. After a few weeks or a few months,
you'll know what to do when you start to feel
that panic coming and not only will you be
able to help panic attacks subside more quickly,
you may be able to avoid a full blown panic
attack from occurring by breathing properly
with your stomach and helping yourself relax
before your small sense of panic turns into
a full blown panic attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15F9JQcM5Tk