Ok, here’s a new one for you. For the second night in the last five nights I’ve woken to my OH shaking me awake because I’ve been screaming. I have nightmares often (if not every night then every other night) and this doesnt feel quite the same. I am literally terrified when I wake up, I dont recognise Fred as I’m waking and I’ll be terrfied of everything, everyone and every sound from that point on for ages. Somehow I managed to lie in the dark and get back to sleep after maybe ten minutes of panicking the first time, this time I’ve been awake for maybe forty mintues now, literally too scared to do anything else but sob and squeal and gasp at every movement my partner makes and every creek of the door.

When I first woke up I was convinced there was something evil in the room which was going to either come and get me, rip Fred away or possess him to attack me. Most un-characteristic. Mostly stuff like this I can control to a degree, I rationalize it but that’s gone out of the window. I feel much better now, but I’m still too scared to turn off the light, lay down and sleep. I’m too scared to go downstairs and be on my own too so I’m screwed really.

I was wondering if anyone had had a similar experience, or knows of one for some advice here. I’ll be seeing the cognitive behavioural woman again on Friday but I was hoping for some reassurance before then!

My son used to get them just as you describe.. waking up screaming unable to recognise anyone, frightened and scared of touch or any noise..

Its much more common in children than adults but I remember from his time that I was told that some medication can trigger it , depression( bi polar) and stress seem to be linked to it and maybe in your case with the diet thing going on its worth noting that its been suggested that low blood sugar may trigger night terrors.

Good news is that most times it disappears by itself,, bad news is it can go on for years..

Talk to your doctor about it see if he/she has any thoughts because if it continues they may refer you to a sleep therapy clinic who specialise in this sort of thing.

In the meantime try some yoga or meditation before going to bed ( maybe use Caz’s video) and keep a diary of the terrors symptoms/ times/duration ect.. That will help your doctor to understand just how bad it is.

Good luck..

You do have a lot on the go Papillio, with dieting, vacation and wedding plans are swirling around in your head, just a thought. Hopefully things will settle down for you.

Not to mention pressure from being un-employed. Yeah, I’ve taken to enjoying the sunshine a bit more and read more to have quiet times. Hopefully it’ll help a bit

Yikes that sounds creepy. Do you remember what you were dreaming of when you wake up, or is it just an unfounded fear upon waking?

As a child I remember experiencing this…. it happened when I was ill and had a very high temperature…. I suppose it must have something to do with one’s stress levels huh! Is this still ongoing since your post Papillio?

First one I vaguely remember about using the wrong colour in my cross-stitch and they were trying to kill me for it, the second I just woke up screaming thinking my OH (who was trying to wake me up) was trying to throttle me, then I get terrified afterwards.

And I havent had another since, I’ve taken to sleeping with my rabbit (my toy rabbit which was the ultimate comforter as a child, she normally sleeps in a little niche on a shelf by the bed). I tried talking to the doctor about it and she just completly dismissed me out of hand which doesnt help.

Sorry to hear about your nightmares. I’ve been having less of them lately for some reason. :p

I last experienced a form of night terror / sleep paralysis when I was in my early 20s.  It’s not a nice experience to say the least, but I’m wondering if you are having other sleep disturbances and major stress going on that is leaving you in the limbo status? Mine started when I was about 16 and I had about 4 episodes that were each a bit different. The first one scared the crap out of me.