[Ines_I]

Hi,
I have a doubt: is It possible to sleep with physical symptoms of hyperarousal (heart bumping, muscle tension, chest pain, a little trembling…)
Because my head is lately kind of quiet, but my body is not (which surprises me)…
Are people able to sleep at some points despite these symptoms? Because it seems imposible right now…
Thanks in advance!

[hiker]

Hi Ines, is it possible for you to consult with a doctor or other health care professional? It would be good to rule out any type of heart trouble, for example. If you google Crisis Line or Crisis Connections, or at least in some parts of the USA, dial 211, you can get in touch with someone (it can be a tedious search, requiring patience and energy). A couple of reliable medical websites: WebMD and Mayo Clinic.

If it turns out you have no heart or other problems, this does not mean you are making up your symptoms: if it hurts, it hurts. It just means that the source might be some sort of anxiety or emotional upset. Again, this requires some exploration.

And it might turn out that the anxiety is about sleep itself. Does it seem to occur primarily when you are getting ready to go to sleep?

You are not alone in this type of search. And if it seems more and more confusing, try not to be hard on yourself. Poor sleep can tend to make problems seem bigger and bigger, even insurmountable. They’re not, that’s just the insomnia talking.

I hope you stay with this website, along with exploring where the physical pains might be coming from.

[Ines_I]

Thanks for your response!

The thing is that symptoms are the same as if I was hyperaroused (muscular tension, chest pain, heart bumping, jerks…) but with my mind quiet… Kind of weird, since I thought hyperarousal was a response to a threat and my mind is quiet.

I don’t wanna fight those symptoms when they arise because I believe it might be contraproductive, but I don’t know if by just letting them be and welcoming them, I would be able to fall asleep despite their presence.

Makes sense what I’m saying?

[RLP]

I have almost the same thing. No heart issues. Just anxiety about getting to or back to sleep. It’s hard to accept and allow and get to sleep, even if you are sleepy.

[Martin Reed]

Sometimes the symptoms of hyperarousal are intensified when we try to fight or avoid them — a bit like how all the jerks we might experience as we are falling asleep might get more intense the more we try to avoid them.

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[Author]

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