[moth]

TRIGGER:
Anyone else have night terrors? When I was younger I would get them if I didn't sleep well at night, I would go to sleep the next morning or afternoon and from what my family tells me I would walk around saying 'help me' loudly (I don't have the ability to scream... my vocal chords don't work that way, another story) I don't remember this the beginning of the night terrors, but I do remember begging my parents to show me my 'real' parents, feeling that my parents were either aliens or evil spirits messing with me, or that I had awoke in the 'real world' and having the thoughts in my head that my whole life was just a evil genius's virtual reality, having the thoughts that everyone I knew and loved were not real or actually evil, or the same entity.

I also had night terrors when I was in middle school following staying up late (at the time late was 11pm) after watching Black Hawk Down, the Matrix or anything else that had to do with 'numbers'.

The definition of a night terror is usually sitting up out of bed, screaming (thus alerting the whole family) being non-responsive, going to sleep and having no recollection of the event in the morning. FOR ME, I am half-asleep, and I DO remember partial events of my 'episode' as mentioned above. The thoughts of 10101010101010 go through my head, and the concept of infinity terrorizes me. I must say that these episodes are HELLISH, and the worse anxiety, fear that I have ever experienced. It felt like I had just been told that I was going to hell, or that I was in hell all along.

I have told various psychiatrists, doctors and they seem to think that what I am experiencing is not a night terror, but more of a non-specified 'near-sleep flashback state'. Many psychiatrists have ruled out schizophrenia or psychosis, and seem to think it has to do with stress or even post-traumatic stress.

The only other person who I have met with a similar experience was a close friend of mine who had been molested a lot throughout her young childhood. Her experiences were more intense; falling asleep in the bathroom from exhaustion (fear of sleeping and dreaming) and waking up an hour later to banging on the door from her mom while still half-asleep, propelling her into a state where the bathroom actually grew "infinitely" and she was had foreign thoughts in her head telling her that she had to clean it all before she was allowed to see her family again. It makes sense that this is PTSD, since she was molested and although I have been in the US throughout my teenage years, as a child I grew up in a pretty violent place in the world, had multiple things happen to me that I don't wish to share just yet. Seems we both wake up a couple hours after sleeping (through exhaustion) and we don't actually see or hear anything, but we have foreign thoughts in our head, we both have the awful concept of numbers and infinity, and the worst fear imaginable. I know she isn't lying because she was telling me about it one day and my jaw dropped because it was so similar and I had never shared my story before. She also had one at my house once, screaming for her mom and walking around with her hands over her eyes.

Any thoughts or stories to tell? Any similarities? Night terrors are pretty rare and whatever we are experiencing is even rarer.

[racee]

So i think it's like 2% of adult population has night terrors, a lot of kids have them it's kind of the norm for kids, but you usually grow out of them when you reach adult hood. In order for a label to be made you have night terrors you have to go through various sleep studies. Persoanlly maybe becasue of the low percentage i don't know why but curious as to why a psychiatrist would be so quick to rule it out, although you should go to a reg. doctor and tell them about your issue as well. psychiatrists don't do sleep studies!

That being said. I am 28 and have night terrors, and the nights i don't have them i have nightmares...yeah fun to be me. makes one a bit of an insomniac

So i find myself with my heart racinf about to explose out of my chest dripping in sweat so bad that my clothes are soaked the sheets are soaked (obviously have to get in the shower) a bit disorientated, because i don't know whats wrong or why i amthat wy but i have this feeling like something bad has happened and i'm scared but i don't know what i'm scared at... i have this deep despair feeling that my whole world has just caved in and i'm lost and alone in the dark. i feel like i'm a little kid and want to hide under the covers.
My partner is the one who usually wakes me he says it takes awhile but who wants to leave the crazy girl screaming in bed which i faintly remember upon waking,it's like i hear myself screaming but i'm not..i dunno its only like a seconds worth he has learned to put a body pillow in between us since i have given him a many black and and shoulder and foot jabs to sertain places. at times i feel really bad because it happens so much that he barely even remembers when he wakes me up he's so used to it he goes back to sleep. no more consoling i mean would you want to stay awake make sure your partners ok when its been happening almost every night for 4 years.....
so whats worse nightmares or night terror....it's a toss up cause the nightmares you remember the nightterrors you don't but they disturb your sleep none the less. the nightmares i still wake up screaming my heart is still pounding, the only thing is i can't go back to sleep after a nightmare, it usually touches to close to home and it won't leave my mind...so insomniac again. the meds i used to take some made them worse and some helped but only for a time. This is something thatmaybe of years of therapy it tmight get better, who knows...i just deal when my partner is around during the day i lay down and close my eyes for almost an hour and daydream that's all i need that's my rest and i'm fine with that.....i know it's not real sleep but that's how i deal and it works for me

i used to not being aware of my terrors but after most of your life going through it your very aware

[pgrundy]

I was having them pretty regularly before I got back on meds in January/ I have major depression and PTSD. I think it gets to a point where it's biochemical and not related to processing early trauma in therapy. I've done all that in therapy and still get PTSD symptoms if triggered, including the night terrors.

Have you talked to your doctor? It might be something that medication could help. Good luck!

[(JD)]

When I tried Lunesta, for sleep, I had the most wonderful, luminescent, fluorescent dreaming hallucinations anyone could ask for... and the most horrible night terrors as well. I had to stop taking it.

[Open Eyes]

Im glad I read this, I do get them as well. I shiver in my sleep and wake up in the middle of the night. I have a hairdryer next to the bed so I can just blow the warm air on my legs and arms and feet until I calm down and then I can go back to sleep.
I have done that most of my life. I used the hairdryer before bedtime as a ritual, sometimes I can get thru a night without having to do it again.

I have been taking clonazapam to stop having the night time flashbacks. It has helped alot, but I am pretty groggy in the morning and I can feel it wear off and I start to dream or maybe my brain just wakes up. Well since finding out I have another deposition those flashbacks have returned and I had gotten to where I was barely having them, dam it.

I used to be able to have wonderful pleasant dreams. But now, I am always trying to problem solve in my sleep. If I have a very stressful day than I don't sleep well, I do shiver and have anxiety attacks in my sleep, how awful huh?

When I rode a lot I had a better nights sleep, I always enjoyed horseback riding. I havent been able to do that for a while, my feet were so badly damaged from handwalking the crippled ones, especially the big ones. I may try again this year, but if I find I can't I will get depressed again.

I also often go asleep with the TV on and the history channel on if it is about things other than war. I find that it takes my mind of my issues and gives it something to think about while I sleep. Sounds strange doesn't it? Well, that PTSD.

Open Eyes

[SmilingMask]

I am 40 and my night terrors are worse now than they were when I was younger. I know that I don't get out of bed; at first I can't scream because I'm so scared and then it becomes a "bloody murder" scream. When and if I wake up, I'm usually crying. Sometimes I remember them the next day; sometimes not. If I remember anything, its always the dark shadow. I have just been recently diagnosed with bipolar and my tdoc seems to think the dark shadow I see during the day is the same as the one I see at night.

I got them as a child frequently, I had a lot of trauma as a kid, and early onset Bipolar. I would scream, punch that walls, just totally freaking out, My mom would try to restrain me. I would have no recollection of this. But I can still remember the dreams to this day. So horrible, unlike any nightmare I had. I still have them but not very often, thank god.

[Queen of Chaos]

My husband is 75 and he has had night terrors (maybe 1-2 a year) for the entire 45 years we've been married. The first time it happened I absolutely could not imagine what was happening - he calls for help, behaves as though he is fighting a grizzly bear and waves his arms with such force that it's actually a little unsafe trying to comfort or settle him.

I don't know what triggers my husband's night terrors - he ordinarily sleeps like a baby and there has never seemed to be anything in particular that would lead to an episode.

(JD), I had similar experiences with Cymbalta. I loved the drug for the pain relief I got much more than for depression...but, oh, the nightmares! My arthritis pain practically disappeared but I felt like a raving lunatic!

[BrokenNBeautiful]

Originally Posted by moth

TRIGGER:
Anyone else have night terrors?

The thoughts of 10101010101010 go through my head, and the concept of infinity terrorizes me. I must say that these episodes are HELLISH, and the worse anxiety, fear that I have ever experienced. It felt like I had just been told that I was going to hell, or that I was in hell all along.

I have told various psychiatrists, doctors and they seem to think that what I am experiencing is not a night terror, but more of a non-specified 'near-sleep flashback state'. Many psychiatrists have ruled out schizophrenia or psychosis, and seem to think it has to do with stress or even post-traumatic stress.

I dont' go thru the exact same thing, but I somehow know what you are talking about.

I feel the same sensations, as though I am in some kind of ureality or, as you describe it, h*ll.

I used to have terrible night terrors when I was five, sending me running out of my bed and my aunt was so bewildered, but I was even more so. I could not go back to bed; I was "scared of the bed", as though someting alive was in it and would eat me if I dared climb back in. My aunt had to physically force me to go back to bed.

You and your friend are not alone!

I understand somehow.

I am so glad you shared this.

esp. the part about "near-sleep flashback state".

Often, I am afraid to fall asleep.

Even with sleep meds, I hate th e idea of being drowsy and "slipping out of control" into sleep.

Billi