night terrors?

[Chet]

I come to lptj with this, because I  u guys.

I have been having this sleep problem. It's been happening quite regularly for quite a few months now. I get this thing where I will wake up with a start, in an extreme state of fear and anxiety, and just before I wake up I will think that i have seen something in my room. It varies, just vague forms. Sometimes they are spider and bug esque, one time there was even a toad on my bedside table. I see this thing, and it is very real, and I run across my room screaming and turn on the light to see what is there. Nothing is ever there, of course.

I've looked this up a little, and it seems that it might be Night Terrors, all the symptoms seem to match. Has anyone else ever had anything like this? If so, what's the dealio? Who do I see for help? It's getting to be a problem, not only is it distressing, but I feel tired all the time. Work is tough, I'm snappy with people. It's not good!

[Maaik]

This has happened to me on occasion--I'll wake up and hallucinate a giant spider crawling under my pillow or something and leap three feet in the air.

If these problems have been going on for months, I think it'd be best to see a sleep therapist or other qualified physician about this.  I mean, it could be stress-related or whatever, but I'd definitely want to talk to an expert.

Take care o'yrslf, man.

[milesofsparks]

are you doing the usual stuff, like cuting back on caffeine and alcohol?  any perscrpition or non-perscription drugs?  I'd start with talking to your doctor if s/he is good.  I've had it happen a couple of times, but it was usually pretty obviously due to a combination of coffee and really extreme stress.    Good luck!

[Chet]

I had no idea that there was such a thing as a sleep therapist, haha. I will look into that.


Miles, there aren't any drugs, and I don't drink much. Every other weekend at the most. I don't really like my GP. They seem to give out a lot of drugs and do nothing else. I guess I have been stressed about a some things lately, so that might be the underlying cause. Maybe I just need to punch some people or something

[coldforge]

Don't discount punching some people. If you're going to sleep with a lot of anxiety or stress somewhere in the back of your mind, one way to exorcise it is through exercise. You could try running a couple miles, or some kind of martial arts routine. Though I would of course recommend that if you do prefer something on the more violent end that you not do it IMMEDIATELY before bed.

[C of heartbreak]

Do you eat right before you go to bed? I've found that doing that gives me really fucked up dreams sometimes. Don't have any large meals within a few hours of going to sleep.

[G.C.R]

Do you eat right before you go to bed? I've found that doing that gives me really fucked up dreams sometimes. Don't have any large meals within a few hours of going to sleep.

Just like "Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend!"

No helpful suggestions, but sympathy, that sounds really awful.

[justinh]

I've had these, but they tend to be more on the quasi amusing sleep paralysis tip.  It does usually include large insects crawling around the ceiling and whatnot, though. 

I'm not sure about what causes them or how to stop it, sorry!

[jess]

Apparently being excessively tired when you go to sleep can aggravate them, so it seems like you could be in a vicious cycle. While I don't like sleep meds myself and respect not wanting to use them, it could be that using one briefly, just to get back on track with sleep and get a bit rested, might stop the cycle of fatigue/terrors. Might be worth talking to a doctor about.

[clare]

I've had them. it's no fun. LIke Jess and C of H said, excercise and getting your sleep cycle back can be good. I found even going to my doctor and getting a drug (which I never took) sorted me out. However, if you don't like your GP that's not much use. Can you shop around for a better one that you do like?

[Andrew_TSKS]

i have these on the regular myself, so i sympathize.

[milesofsparks]

OK, I'm stopping reading this thread--last night I woke up gasping for air, thinking I was being choked.  it took me like 5 panicked minutes to realize it was a dream.

[Andrew_TSKS]

seriously, sometime in the last week i woke up from one of these, yelled something incoherent, and hit the chair next to my bed with a pillow before i realized what was actually going on. i was so noisy i was afraid i'd woken my roommate. if i ever date anyone again, this could cause problems.

i just thought about it and realized that taking hypertension meds could be what started this, as i never had night terrors before a year or two ago. but who knows.

[guanajuato]

chet, when i was in college, a story like this was told to me. a girl i kinda sorted liked told me how she woke up when she lived in denver and couldn't move but that like a month or so before this happened, someone told her how they had woken up and couldn't move. in both stories, as told to me, there was something in the corner, something like a spider.

well a week or so after she told me i woke up sometime in the early morning dark after having this dream about these three old women who were trying to kiss me and i struggled but they finally started kissing me, sucking at my skin, and it felt pleasurable even through the horror, and like, i couldn't move, i struggled viciously then i woke up.

and i fell out of bed and struggled on the floor and kinda looked down my body and in the corner there was something writhing, something tentacled but like a spider. my college roomate, that dweeb, was like, 'are you ok'! and i was like yeah.. because the thing was gone and i got back into bed and stared at nothing till i fell asleep.

i don't know if it really happened or was a dream. but you are not the only dreamer of the buggy/spidery denizens.

[morgan]

A lot of my students have said that they've woken up and not been able to move or breathe for a minute or two many times.  Weird, huh?

I have a friend who's been having these night terror things since he was a kid.  It happens maybe once or twice a week, I don't know, but he ends up waking up completely terrified and seeing things that aren't there.  There were times when his ex-girlfriend had to restrain him 'cause he might have caused her harm, he was flailing around so much.

Sorry I don't have any way for you to make it better.

[Greg Nog]

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK, WE BEEN HERE FOR CENTURIES

[Maaik]

Nog FTW

[cool banana]

jesus fuck. I saw the thread title and I clicked anyway and now I'm going to be ruined. Shit, I'm wide awake and I'm getting scared and gotta turn all the lights on.

[das kranke Tier]

I know down here when you wake up and can't breathe/can't move, they call it "the devil riding your back"

[Chet]

It's kind of comforting to know that other people have experienced this and know how horrifying it can be! Let's have a cuddle.

I have had a couple of nights of interrupted sleep since this thread was started though, maybe the power of LPTJ has healed me!


And Greg, fuck you you fucking creepoid!

[Andrew_TSKS]

I know down here when you wake up and can't breathe/can't move, they call it "the devil riding your back"

just for the record: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

[Chet]

AFTER BEING ABSENT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS THE NIGHT TERRORS ARE BACK.

I HATE NIGHT TERRORS. VERY TERRIFYING.

[clare]

Bugger. They suck. I hope you get some good sleep soon Chet. E had fever induced spider hallucinations the other night. It was horrible.

[lucky strike]

why don't you guys just get really into spiders?

[jebreject]

I can't remember ever having night terrors before, but the other night, I bolted up in bed, convinced that I was in some kind of box full of worms--large worms, about the size of a child's forearm. It was fucked up!