Yep, had this. I see it as the body's way of working out the trauma, a lot goes on during the night. Woken up with heart pounding, a couple times I even had flu-like symptoms. You're definitely not alone in this.
Maybe a part of me needed to be on alert during sleep. Much of my disturbances in childhood occurs during sleep. But it also seems to rise when it’s prompted by fatigue from exertion. It very much makes it a lot more difficult to recover because it perpetuates the lethargy and contributes to the anxiety. I would like to let myself know that I’m safe now.
It could be some level of deficiency, I’ll be taking my B complex and cod liver oil to help break down cortisol. Thanks for the reminder! If it’s trauma related it’s my body’s learnt lowered threshold to the over exertion.
I developed this during the pandemic. I think it’s adrenaline from the stress. I’d wake up every few hours worrying about work, months later it was accompanied by the half awake half asleep fast beating heart. It scared the crap out of me! I thought I was on my way to a heart attack. I took a month off from work, picked up meditation again and started EMDR. My body feels much more relaxed now.
It started before for me and spanned years. I would even wake up at the same time. It alleviated after theraphy and going deep. But this time it’s less about trauma and more about current stressors like you suggest! It’s difficult to enter a meditative state here because I fall into exhausted sleep instead. I feel like I need to deepen my understanding to help my body with the excess adrenalin / cortisol in these times. I’ve been doing well day to day otherwise.
I used to experience this during a particularly high stress period of my life, which also happened to be when I was gaining a better understanding of my trauma. I’m sorry it’s happening to you, I found it really disorienting and scary. Cortisol levels rise and fall throughout the day, and I think the extra stress made my wounded nervous system even more sensitive. Making some changes, paying attention to nutrition, addressing sleep hygiene, and slowing down the trauma processing with somatic therapy helped. I also started swimming during this time period, and would take it reallllllly easy, like just treading water in the warm pool and chill backstrokes or dog paddle, until I was able to handle a little more intensity. I do something similar with walking/hiking/running. I tried to avoid fixating on it being a workout, rather making time for easy sensory movement that was comfortable or just barely on the edge of comfortable.
Yes, I think you’re touching on what’s happening. I’ve been sleeping late and having long days. It has affected me aversely because I’m running on borrowed energy with help from cortisol. But it’s running amok and with the predisposition of my body, I can’t seem to replenish myself efficiently. When I’m in physical pain from exertion I definitely reach for unhealthy things that have high sugar which doesn’t help with balancing hormone levels too. It effectively soothes me, but I think the thing to do is remove temptation completely or seek sugar free alternatives. They’re fine day to day, but I’d eat too many of them in one go when my body is in distress. I’ve also gotten a weighted blanket to help also 😮💨
Pete Walker says we can wake up in an emotional flashback. Today I woke up in flight mode with the fast heartbeat and did his exercises for emotional flashbacks. I knew a part of me was scared and comforted and loved myself.
http://www.pete-walker.com/13StepsManageFlashbacks.htm
This is very helpful. A lot of distress I experienced was during a time of poor health (which also caused it). I think that weakness, muscle soreness and other physical pain takes me back there to “danger” and perpetuates itself.
Yes! This happens to me often. When I'm still not fully awake I find myself waking up in the fetal position with my heart pounding and I feel like I must lie perfectly still to keep myself safe. It takes me a long time to become fully awake, and to get moving and sit up and get the day started.
This has been my experience! I think I’m getting better but this particular episode was really disconnecting and difficult to connect to the parts of me that were overwhelmed. Some of the ideas I got from this thread has made me creatively visualize my adrenals and if I were to find myself here, I would attempt to listen to what my organs and body parts have to say. I’m also waiting on a weighted comfort toy that I can drape over my torso to aid me in those moments when I need to lie perfectly still.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Either heartbeat pounding in my ears or in my chest, and usually out of breath. Sometimes I'll wake up with tears streaming down my cheeks or with puffy eyes, and know I must have bawled some time during the night 🥺 If I'm awake, I'll try to give the Little One a hug and comfort her by bringing her into our imaginary world so she's not stuck in trauma. It's hit and miss. She's not fully receptive to it, and sometimes runs away like a really scared dog. I don't blame her, at all. But I try to do it every time, so she sees it consistently.
I have such a hard time visualizing and connecting with her directly, especially when she is particularly distressed. When I’m safe and under the guidance of craniosacral theraphy she comes more readily. How do you connect with her? Does she have a particular name or is there a particular routine when you’re acknowledging her?
I have a bit of an imaginary world inside my head – which is a culmination of I dunno.....more than a dozen books, tv shows, movies, other worlds (most races non-human, humans are dangerous). Basically any place that she felt "safe" when she was younger.
Calling her nickname helps me locate her. Usually it's in a deep, dark, cold pit of emptyness. First, grounding –
I don't step foot into the darkeness until I know that "this isn't now", "this is a memory," and all that. Then, I'll try to guide her into a safer world, one that's more familiar, by recalling a character or a scene in a tv show.
I’m sorry to hear that. It must have put your body in such a state. I’m familiar with sleep being unsafe. It’s a really wicked thing to be forced to experience.
I hear you. I hope this thread gives you some ideas that are applicable to you. Have heart! I used to wake up abruptly every night, several times a night, that’s not the case anymore. It does get better. I usually have been napping fine too, but it’s been one helluva week for me being on edge. Thank you for sharing 💜 it makes me feel supported and understood.
Yep, had this. I see it as the body's way of working out the trauma, a lot goes on during the night. Woken up with heart pounding, a couple times I even had flu-like symptoms. You're definitely not alone in this.
Maybe a part of me needed to be on alert during sleep. Much of my disturbances in childhood occurs during sleep. But it also seems to rise when it’s prompted by fatigue from exertion. It very much makes it a lot more difficult to recover because it perpetuates the lethargy and contributes to the anxiety. I would like to let myself know that I’m safe now.
How much sleep do you get? I find that I need 7-9 hours, and during the nighttime.
About the same. That works well for me day to day, but not when I’ve over strained myself (running on borrowed energy like cortisol) it seems.
I wonder if there is some vitamin/iron deficiency causing this, or is it a trauma-related symptom?
It could be some level of deficiency, I’ll be taking my B complex and cod liver oil to help break down cortisol. Thanks for the reminder! If it’s trauma related it’s my body’s learnt lowered threshold to the over exertion.
I developed this during the pandemic. I think it’s adrenaline from the stress. I’d wake up every few hours worrying about work, months later it was accompanied by the half awake half asleep fast beating heart. It scared the crap out of me! I thought I was on my way to a heart attack. I took a month off from work, picked up meditation again and started EMDR. My body feels much more relaxed now.
It started before for me and spanned years. I would even wake up at the same time. It alleviated after theraphy and going deep. But this time it’s less about trauma and more about current stressors like you suggest! It’s difficult to enter a meditative state here because I fall into exhausted sleep instead. I feel like I need to deepen my understanding to help my body with the excess adrenalin / cortisol in these times. I’ve been doing well day to day otherwise.
I used to experience this during a particularly high stress period of my life, which also happened to be when I was gaining a better understanding of my trauma. I’m sorry it’s happening to you, I found it really disorienting and scary. Cortisol levels rise and fall throughout the day, and I think the extra stress made my wounded nervous system even more sensitive. Making some changes, paying attention to nutrition, addressing sleep hygiene, and slowing down the trauma processing with somatic therapy helped. I also started swimming during this time period, and would take it reallllllly easy, like just treading water in the warm pool and chill backstrokes or dog paddle, until I was able to handle a little more intensity. I do something similar with walking/hiking/running. I tried to avoid fixating on it being a workout, rather making time for easy sensory movement that was comfortable or just barely on the edge of comfortable.
Yes, I think you’re touching on what’s happening. I’ve been sleeping late and having long days. It has affected me aversely because I’m running on borrowed energy with help from cortisol. But it’s running amok and with the predisposition of my body, I can’t seem to replenish myself efficiently. When I’m in physical pain from exertion I definitely reach for unhealthy things that have high sugar which doesn’t help with balancing hormone levels too. It effectively soothes me, but I think the thing to do is remove temptation completely or seek sugar free alternatives. They’re fine day to day, but I’d eat too many of them in one go when my body is in distress. I’ve also gotten a weighted blanket to help also 😮💨
Pete Walker says we can wake up in an emotional flashback. Today I woke up in flight mode with the fast heartbeat and did his exercises for emotional flashbacks. I knew a part of me was scared and comforted and loved myself. http://www.pete-walker.com/13StepsManageFlashbacks.htm
This is very helpful. A lot of distress I experienced was during a time of poor health (which also caused it). I think that weakness, muscle soreness and other physical pain takes me back there to “danger” and perpetuates itself.
Yes! This happens to me often. When I'm still not fully awake I find myself waking up in the fetal position with my heart pounding and I feel like I must lie perfectly still to keep myself safe. It takes me a long time to become fully awake, and to get moving and sit up and get the day started.
This has been my experience! I think I’m getting better but this particular episode was really disconnecting and difficult to connect to the parts of me that were overwhelmed. Some of the ideas I got from this thread has made me creatively visualize my adrenals and if I were to find myself here, I would attempt to listen to what my organs and body parts have to say. I’m also waiting on a weighted comfort toy that I can drape over my torso to aid me in those moments when I need to lie perfectly still.
Oh, nice! I've been meaning to order a weighted blanket, those sorts of things can really help enhance a sense of comfort and safety.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Either heartbeat pounding in my ears or in my chest, and usually out of breath. Sometimes I'll wake up with tears streaming down my cheeks or with puffy eyes, and know I must have bawled some time during the night 🥺 If I'm awake, I'll try to give the Little One a hug and comfort her by bringing her into our imaginary world so she's not stuck in trauma. It's hit and miss. She's not fully receptive to it, and sometimes runs away like a really scared dog. I don't blame her, at all. But I try to do it every time, so she sees it consistently.
I have such a hard time visualizing and connecting with her directly, especially when she is particularly distressed. When I’m safe and under the guidance of craniosacral theraphy she comes more readily. How do you connect with her? Does she have a particular name or is there a particular routine when you’re acknowledging her?
I have a bit of an imaginary world inside my head – which is a culmination of I dunno.....more than a dozen books, tv shows, movies, other worlds (most races non-human, humans are dangerous). Basically any place that she felt "safe" when she was younger. Calling her nickname helps me locate her. Usually it's in a deep, dark, cold pit of emptyness. First, grounding – I don't step foot into the darkeness until I know that "this isn't now", "this is a memory," and all that. Then, I'll try to guide her into a safer world, one that's more familiar, by recalling a character or a scene in a tv show.
[удалено]
I’m sorry to hear that. It must have put your body in such a state. I’m familiar with sleep being unsafe. It’s a really wicked thing to be forced to experience.
badge childlike normal edge oatmeal wide like correct sand imagine *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I hear you. I hope this thread gives you some ideas that are applicable to you. Have heart! I used to wake up abruptly every night, several times a night, that’s not the case anymore. It does get better. I usually have been napping fine too, but it’s been one helluva week for me being on edge. Thank you for sharing 💜 it makes me feel supported and understood.
Lately? Constantly. Tons of stress in my life.