Panic disorder can manifest in several different ways.

The panic attacks can be more “predictable” in the sense they are centered around more specific triggers. Or they can be much more random, with no indication of any rhyme or reason.

Panic disorder can strike mostly during the day – or mostly in the evenings. There really are many ways that the panic can manifest.

For myself, at one point in time – my panic disorder was happening during the day and the night time hours. Panic attacks during sleeping hours are often referred to as “night terrors”.

I would wake up from a deep sleep in a full blown panic attack. Certainly not a pleasant way to be woken!

But furthermore – it literally removed any possible escape from the panic. There was no where I could be, without a panic attack from happening – even while I slept!

These night time panic attacks were simply a result of my response to a thought of a trigger situation. To put it in other words, I simply had a dream of a trigger situation and this set my anxiety driven thoughts off into motion, ultimately resulting in a panic attack.

To break the “habit” of these night time panic attacks, I had to be creative – I had to be proactive in preparing for them to happen, and I had to be ready to engage them when they happened.

Basically I set up tools next to my bed before I went to sleep – and then this way when I was woken in panic, I was better able to grab a tool and begin to reverse the trend that had haunted me.

I was able to stop the night terrors. Eventually, I began to feel empowered by having my tools available – and being able to engage the panic when it happened – and this had a profound impact on my recovery as a whole. I became empowered – which grew into confidence – and the night terrors stopped.

There is always a way to approach recovery from panic attacks – anxiety disorders in general – there is always a “starting point”. It may take some creativity to figure it out – but do not doubt that it exists!

Never give up! Persistence!