morning terrors, anyone else get them

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First thing that happens to me when I wake up in the morning is a feeling of complete panic, terror and cold fear. I feel like I want to clutch my stomach to make the feelings go away and sometimes it's so bad I have to fold my arms around my middle and bend forward as it's so awful, like any minute someone is going to shoot me and I feel like it's my last day. It's not a panic attack, I get plenty of those, it's a feeling of complete terror almost for the unknown that lies ahead in the day. When I was little girl I used to think that was how Anne Boleyn must have felt on her way to be beheaded ( I was a charming child ) but I still feel it now in middle age and I have to force myself to get up, partially open the blinds and gradually ease into consciousness but I can never ever face first thing in the morning with an easy mind. Am I the only one?

This happens to me a lot.

Thank you so much for replying. Sorry you get them, they're the worst thing for me but I'm glad I'm not alone.
I hope other people who get them reply too I'd be really interested to know how common they are. Thanks again.

Wow, that sounds sort of like the effects of sleep paralysis. Maybe it is a sleep disorder? Have you investigated that?

The only thing I get is when I'm half awake/half dreaming - hypnagogic hallucinations. They are pretty terrifying. Sometimes they come with feelings of paranoia.

I don't get morning terrors as such. More like sometimes late at night I get that stuff. Doesn't help me get to sleep, that's for sure. I do sometimes get the most pure absolute terror when falling asleep. When I'm halfway between being awake and sleep something will kick in to tell me falling asleep is a dangerous and I will literally experience such terror I snap back to a full waking state.

I don't get morning terrors, but I get serious night time anxiety attacks. Just when I'm falling asleep, I get the feeling that I am about to die. I wake up suddenly and I am so anxious that I can't breathe.

I experience something similar I know as "shattering," as it feels like mind and body have shattered into pieces, a kind of immediate physical response like withdrawal coupled with a brutal sort of unconscious existential dread, I suppose.

I don't get a random terror. But I do freak out if anyone wakes me up. Like screaming, its really creepy. It feels kinda like a heart attack but it only lasts a few seconds.

I get sleep paralysis too when I wake up and can't move, it is really frightening, you have no control over your body. I've also suffered from bad nightmares since I was a small child but these morning terrors are different. This happens when I'm fully awake or up and walking about and they are the most terrible feelings of pure fear that I could ever imagine. It's like overwhelming cold terror from head to toe but not only being felt inside and outside but through my skin as well, as though millions of needles are trying to get out from deep within and at this point the sensory overload is unbearable. It's so difficult to explain because people think I'm describing a panic attack but this is much worse, longer lasting and doesn't come on suddenly it's just there and I can only wait for my medication to work, which barely touches it, or phone my mum to talk to me as she's the only one who's ever seen me like this. My doctor doesn't appreciate the severity of what I'm telling him, calls it 'that morning dread feeling' to which I said yes, if you're on death row and this is the day you die! It's just like the worst overload of fear in the world and I know it's going to happen again and again as it has all my life.

Yeah, I relate....This happens to me exactly like you described when I'm stressed....! !! !

I find that my AS seems to make me "freeze" or pause when I'm growing in some area of my life -- the result can be this kind of panic feeling, because I know there's a problem and I am not able to quickly respond to it....It simply takes some time for me to process any solution....sometimes what feels like a LONG time...

I get relief from this from a technique called TAT -- Tapas Accupressure Technique. Easily self-learned for free, it uses gentle pressure on accupressure points to release trauma....

You can Google it to find the Web site...

Nancy

I get sleep paralysis too when I wake up and can't move, it is really frightening, you have no control over your body. I've also suffered from bad nightmares since I was a small child but these morning terrors are different. This happens when I'm fully awake or up and walking about and they are the most terrible feelings of pure fear that I could ever imagine. It's like overwhelming cold terror from head to toe but not only being felt inside and outside but through my skin as well, as though millions of needles are trying to get out from deep within and at this point the sensory overload is unbearable. It's so difficult to explain because people think I'm describing a panic attack but this is much worse, longer lasting and doesn't come on suddenly it's just there and I can only wait for my medication to work, which barely touches it, or phone my mum to talk to me as she's the only one who's ever seen me like this. My doctor doesn't appreciate the severity of what I'm telling him, calls it 'that morning dread feeling' to which I said yes, if you're on death row and this is the day you die! It's just like the worst overload of fear in the world and I know it's going to happen again and again as it has all my life.

Thanks, Nancy, I'll do that.

Never had morning terrors, but a while back I would feel very sad for about an hour after I got up, and there'd be no obvious reason for it.

It's a weird time of the day to get strong feelings. If I felt bad at night, I'd put it down to something I'd experienced during the day. Maybe it's a hormonal thing, some kind of imbalance that happens while you're asleep?