Thread: night terrors

My friend sent me this message this morning. I didn't know what to tell her so I'm going to post it on here to see if anyone else has answers.


"oh my god im losing my mind. its passed 7am and i cant sleep! i have to be to work in 5 hours. Ive been having this weird problem for three days straight, i some how am just about to fall asleep or barely just asleep when i continuesily wake up either gasping in fear or horror screaming. now i..ve had the tipical night terrors before waking up unable to move seeing a dark figure in the corner me the room screaming but its never happined more than once in one night this is happening so many times that i cant sleep at all not only that but sometimes im convolsing beyond my control. it litterally feels like im being ripped out of death when i come out of it and in really starting to get freaked out. Wtf is wrong with me??"

I would tell her to see a psychiatrist asap. She may need some medication, at least temporarily.

I'd suggest self-protection rituals, mantras, sigils, whatever. They maybe aren't real, but they are the most effective placebos I've ever encountered. It helps with nightmares, but this sounds a lot worse than that. Going to a doctor may be appropriate.

Originally Posted by Halocuber

Sounds likes have Narcolepsy . Because she is waking up during sleep paralysis(I guess ). But Im not sure , but yea she should see a doctor.

Nah...Narcolepcy is when you go into SP, making it look like you're asleep. This definatly sounds like Night Terrors. Tell your friend to have a sleep study done to confirm.

why does everyone immediately jump to the doctor nowadays?if it doesn't stop or it gets worse yes i would suggest a doctor or sleep study performed.i used to have night terrors as a child and this certainly sounds like them.i spent more than a couple sleepless nights but my dad helped.he said they were due to an extreme amount of stress that built up and spilt over during the dream cycle. your mind exaggerates your fears so when you would normally go to sleep and dream instead of dreaming your mind creates all kinds of scary shit because you are still focused on the stress when you go to bed.i would recommend trying to sleep in at least a different room if not a different place altogether.it may be best her taking a break from her work if possible for a short while and trying to calm down and slow her pace possibly.i have no garentee it will work but relaxation never hurt.

Originally Posted by ray

why does everyone immediately jump to the doctor nowadays?if it doesn't stop or it gets worse yes i would suggest a doctor or sleep study performed.i used to have night terrors as a child and this certainly sounds like them.i spent more than a couple sleepless nights but my dad helped.he said they were due to an extreme amount of stress that built up and spilt over during the dream cycle. your mind exaggerates your fears so when you would normally go to sleep and dream instead of dreaming your mind creates all kinds of scary shit because you are still focused on the stress when you go to bed.i would recommend trying to sleep in at least a different room if not a different place altogether.it may be best her taking a break from her work if possible for a short while and trying to calm down and slow her pace possibly.i have no garentee it will work but relaxation never hurt.

I suggested professional help based on her job being at risk, plus the was a sense of urgency in the last few sentences.

Being unable to move and seeing a dark figure is sleep paralysis (SP) not night terrors. Don't know what she's experiencing now though.

What are her sleeping habits like? Has she been getting less sleep lately (before this started)?

well... from my humble amount of knowledge it seems to me, night terrors are usually more of a "well i was asleep and i had this fucked up dream and woke up and blah incubus sat on my chest blah couldn't move," situation.

i've never heard of someone not even getting to sleep before drifting into a night terror.

it does usually happen after they've been asleep for a bit right??? correct me if i'm wrong please... i hate being ill informed.

i don't really know what to tell you. i would suggest a sleep aid but i'd be scared it'd make it harder for your friend to come out of the night terror if she still had them despite being SUPER knocked out. also they tend to give me very vivid dreams. which isn't what she's looking for at all. i'd say some old fashion chillaxin would help her out most. if she lives close to you maybe you could suggest she spend a weekend at your house. i'm guessing she knows your knowledgeable about dreaming and what not so that would comfort her and also being with friends helps just about anything. seriously.

yes... upon writing that down i feel it's your best option. if she lives close to you. doctor prescribes a girls night out.

Originally Posted by lucid4sho

I suggested professional help based on her job being at risk.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? Your answers are always horrible and irrelevant. Anyways, yes, she thinks its probably due to stress. Its happening every night now. Hopefully with knowing this she can try to figure out how to release stress before bed time.

Originally Posted by ray

why does everyone immediately jump to the doctor nowadays?

I guess because we're really not doctors or trained to deal with this.

In crappy magazines a friend of mine used to get there are self diagnosis quizes. Stuff like "are you pregnant?" "do you have cancer?" etc. It doesn't matter how you answer those quizzes, they always tell you to see a doctor.

As long as you tell someone to see a doctor, then they can't blame you if they are seriously worried about a problem but don't seek medical help.

I know the perfect solution! Its a basic human instinct to scream when scared, its meant to scare the enemy, so tell your friend next time these dark figures seem to be there, she has to get into a act of rage and anger, tell her to really feel furious. Adreniline will be pumped around the body due to a primeval instinct, this should make her get out of SP asap. Sleeping with the light on will help as our cavemen ansestors feared the dark.

ok maybe your dream or experience is trying to tell you something. See if you have had this experience in one night, and now you have it continuous nights. Your subconsciousness maybe trying to tell you something that it's on your mind so much that your mind is having trouble going to sleep. IF something is bothering you then you should comfront it or get around it to have a comfortable sleep.

Originally Posted by toxicsunsets

My friend sent me this message this morning. I didn't know what to tell her so I'm going to post it on here to see if anyone else has answers.

"oh my god im losing my mind. its passed 7am and i cant sleep! i have to be to work in 5 hours. Ive been having this weird problem for three days straight, i some how am just about to fall asleep or barely just asleep when i continuesily wake up either gasping in fear or horror screaming. now i..ve had the tipical night terrors before waking up unable to move seeing a dark figure in the corner me the room screaming but its never happined more than once in one night this is happening so many times that i cant sleep at all not only that but sometimes im convolsing beyond my control. it litterally feels like im being ripped out of death when i come out of it and in really starting to get freaked out. Wtf is wrong with me??"

I can totally identify with your friend. I suffered from night terrors for over a year. The feeling of helplessness is horrible beyond words. I would go to bed totally exhausted, but every time I fell asleep, I'd almost immediately feel like a 400 pound rock was pushing against my chest, and I'd wake up screaming in horror... After 3 or 4 hours of this, I would just get up. At the time I was dealing with a lot of stress.

I was actually able to cure myself (yes, CURE myself), using a combination of energy medicine and what I call "therapeutic lucid dreaming" (facing my fears during my lucid dreams).

If I can be of any help, please feel free to PM me.