Night terrors

[siniang]

Hi,

Is anyone else dealing with night terrors? I don't have frequent ones, I had like three (that I remember - but my husband didn't notice any others) within the last half year or so (I had a few more events of the hallucination/jolting up/jumping out of bed kind, not sure if they're less intense night terrors or not?). But they're horrific enough. Supposedly, night terrors aren't common in healthy adults and supposedly you usually don't remember having them. I woke up from all three and carried this immense feeling of pure horror with me into consciousness (autonomic body response and long-lasting adrenaline rush included). It also lingered with me a few days afterwards. It's kinda what tipped me off to finally go seek help.

I don't know what triggered them and the fear of having another one, especially since they seem to be rather unpredictable for me, is almost as bad.

For those of you who also have them, how do you deal with them? Particularly when not living/sleeping alone.

 

[HealingInProcess]

I am by myself but I think that for me it's just about trying to become present when I do wake up. I like to feel the blanket or something like that and feel its texture to being myself into the present. This affirms that what I was experiencing was not real and that I am now safe.

 

[Friday]

Supposedly, night terrors aren't common in healthy adults and supposedly you usually don't remember having them. I woke up from all three and carried this immense feeling of pure horror with me into consciousness (autonomic body response and long-lasting adrenaline rush included). It also lingered with me a few days afterwards

The only reason to suspect a NightTerror is if you have no memory of it AND you’re acting awake but aren’t and can’t be (they’re on the SleepWalking side of things, rather than the Dream side of things)... but Night Terrors aren’t the only kind of sleep disturbance to cause people to scream the house down &/or violently attack the person you’re sleeping with. People do those in nightmares, too. As well as panic attacks whilst asleep. And both nightmares and panic attacks will leave you feeling wretched afterward; unlike night terrors and sleepwalking, where the only after effects are what you’ve done to yourself (sore throat from screaming, breaking your toe on the coffee table, etc.)

Given that it took you days to recoup, and that you were pretty dang mobile / not limited to just screaming but sleep paralysis nixed on at least a couple occasions enough to run hell bent for leather/ I’d be more inclined to think you had a panic attack in your sleep.

***

Panic Attacks & Anxiety Attacks can both come out of nowhere (thanks brain :shifty: ) but when sleeping they’re often brought on by either a nightmare or triggering yourself / being triggered somehow. Snort. Triggered whilst sleeping is one of those FFS, the disorder that just keeps on giving! :wtf:moments, isn’t it? Gah. Stupid damn disorder. I don’t mind flashbacks whilst asleep, that’s where nightmares belong, in bed doing nothing but laying there... not in the middle of trying to go about my day... but panic attacks and anxiety attacks in my sleep just piss me off, since there’s no way to regulate myself/ my response. Because. I’m. Sleeping. Aargh. So it ends up being the full monty, and waking up seriously f*cked over, instead of having a chance to get myself in hand before things get Big Bad and outta control.

On the upside? if you’ve ever wondered if you’re making a big deal out of nothing, faking, etc.? That your body kicks into overdrive while you’re sound asleep not only negates that whole line of questioning, but (another silver lining!) can illustrate how much control you’re exercising whilst awake (assuming you aren’t screaming the house down, or violently attacking people, or running for the hills when you have waking panic attacks). Sometimes it can feel like we’re completely out of control having a panic attack, but when we have solid experience with what truly out of control looks like for us? Phew. Okay. We are still at least somewhat in command of ourselves. Let’s build on that.

 

[siniang]

The only reason to suspect a NightTerror is if you have no memory of it AND you’re acting awake but aren’t and can’t be (they’re on the SleepWalking side of things, rather than the Dream side of things)... but Night Terrors aren’t the only kind of sleep disturbance to cause people to scream the house down &/or violently attack the person you’re sleeping with. People do those in nightmares, too. As well as panic attacks whilst asleep. And both nightmares and panic attacks will leave you feeling wretched afterward; unlike night terrors and sleepwalking, where the only after effects are what you’ve done to yourself (sore throat from screaming, breaking your toe on the coffee table, etc.)

Given that it took you days to recoup, and that you were pretty dang mobile / not limited to just screaming but sleep paralysis nixed on at least a couple occasions enough to run hell bent for leather/ I’d be more inclined to think you had a panic attack in your sleep.

Frankly, I'm not certain whether I acutally woke up on my own or because my husband tried to wake me up (to console me/get me out of it - he didn't know that you're not supposed to do that). I definitely wasn't aware when it started. And it definitely took quite some time moments to come to. (I also do suspect it might have triggered a flashback to trauma, actually, at least the last one) One of the other ones I made it out of the bedroom into the hall (dragging hubby along) without having any consciousness until I ran into the door and that together with hubby trying to wake me, woke me up.

Also, from what I had researched, you can indeed be very mobile during a night terror (as you said, night terrors are on the sleep walking side of things). As opposed to sleep paralysis. And you can indeed have memories if you wake up during the whole thing.

Night terrors and nightmares, as well as sleep paralysis, occur during different times at night/sleep phases. My what-ever-they-were all were pretty much exactly 1-1.5h into falling asleep. Exactly the time when night terrors occur. Sleep paralysis and nightmares occur in the later hours of night. I guess panic attacks also can occur whenever.

Granted, could've been sheer panic attacks (I never had a panic attack during waking hours, so I have no idea how they act out).

Either way, it was terrifying. And yes to sore throat and painfully banged knees and toes.

Panic Attacks & Anxiety Attacks can both come out of nowhere (thanks brain :shifty: ) but when sleeping they’re often brought on by either a nightmare or triggering yourself / being triggered somehow. Snort. Triggered whilst sleeping is one of those FFS, the disorder that just keeps on giving! :wtf:moments, isn’t it?

Ugh, yeah.

I don't get the whole "triggering without actual trigger" concept. Like, logically. I get the "triggered by nightmare" part (not the case). But I did read that you actually can trigger a night terror yourself by as much as your bed partner moving or you accidentally touching something. I guess this all makes sleep kinda horrific...because you're the most vulnerable and with the least control over...anything.

I don’t mind flashbacks whilst asleep, that’s where nightmares belong, in bed doing nothing but laying there...

Out of curiosity: is there a difference between flashbacks whilst asleep and nightmares? Or same same?

But yeah, I'm the same. Nightmares don't really phase me. I mean, yeah, they emotionally drain me. They might upset me or leave me unsettled for a little bit.

But those night terrors/panic attacks/whatever they are, not only leave one absolutely terrified without actual imagery to link it to and as such feel much more on a sheer existential, deeper level (at least for me, I realize some people get the same reaction from nightmares), but also affect me physically (which nightmares don't).

 

[Friday]

Also, from what I had researched, you can indeed be very mobile during a night terror (as you said, night terrors are on the sleep walking side of things). As opposed to sleep paralysis. And you can indeed have memories if you wake up during the whole thing

sorry I was unclear there.

There are a whole helluva lot of sleep disturbances. Why I said I was inclined to think Panic Attack is because of the following rule of thumb (yes, there are always outliers, and that may be the case here. But when there’s a super common explanation? Occam’s razor.)

Nightmares - Sleep Paralysis
Night Terrors - Ambulatory

Nightmares - Remember or Not
NightTerrors - No Memory

^^^ Given the above it wouldn’t be a nightmare or a night terror. Because you remembered BUT were ambulatory.

If you didn’t have another disorder that includes panic attacks? Outlier would be the most likely explanation, OR a different kind of sleep disturbance. Since you DO have a disorder that causes panic attacks? Boom. Super easy explanation. Because if something triggered a panic attack in your sleep? You’d both be ambulatory AND remember AND suffer side effects far longer than would be expected for either a nightmare or a night terror. (Which is the 3rd piece that neither nightmares nor night terrors explain= why were you so strongly affected for so long? Nightmares would explain some of the distress, but not days of distress. A panic attack following a nightmare or a trigger would -very simply- explain exactly what happened ).

Is my reasoning there clearer? Not saying I’m right, like I said above, I’m just inclined to think panic attack not declaring it a panic attack.

***
Rather than wait until I hit the other Q’s I’m going to post this now, as I have to run for a bit. They’re interesting Q’s, I’m not ignoring them, I’m just not certain if I’ll be back in an hour or tomorrow kind of thing.

 

[piratelady]

I get night terrors. My husband used to try to wake me up, but now he just lets it run it’s course, so to speak. The next day he asks me what I was dreaming, especially when I’m yelling at him, but sometimes he just leaves it alone.

Mine seem more common when I’m over tired. So, if I’ve had insomnia and I finally crash, I usually get a night terror. I try to sleep better (lol) and now I tell my husband when I haven’t been (like a warning). He seems to come to bed later on those dats now.

When I do wake up from them and he’s in bed, if I’m really agitated he will try to just comfort me. So just hold me until I manage to calm down.

I hope that’s at least a little helpful.

 

[siniang]

Is my reasoning there clearer? Not saying I’m right, like I said above, I’m just inclined to think panic attack not declaring it a panic attack

You're making a lot of good and valid points. I didn't even consider panic attack because...I guess I just didn't realize you can have them while asleep.

I didn't even know night terrors were a thing until I started researching what's going on after the last one (because those clearly were more than just mere nightmares, but for the longest time I thought I was just having a bad dream paired with half-wakedness, you know, that phase where dream and reality/consciousness blur ). Except the waking up and remembering part, it basically fit the descriptions perfectly and there also are many personal reports of people actually waking up/remembering.

What really convinced me, tough, was the timing. In all three cases. Exactly 1-1.5 hour in. And that I really wasn't aware a good couple/several minutes into it.

Which is the 3rd piece that neither nightmares nor night terrors explain= why were you so strongly affected for so long? Nightmares would explain some of the distress, but not days of distress. A panic attack following a nightmare or a trigger would -very simply- explain exactly what happened

I now kinda think the last night terror triggered a flashback (I never had one before, afak, so not sure what a flashback is like). Screaming is a major component of my trauma. The whole thing caused a flare up of PTSD symptoms, which let me into thinking I might have it to begin with. I had frequent hallucinations at night and my hypervigilance was through the roof for weeks.

I should've been clearer, I think. The two night terrors/attacks/whatever before the last one didn't affect me long-term. I was kinda insomniac that night because of adrenaline, but otherwise back to normal the next day. I'm also not completely sure I actually remember the second one or just "know" about it because I kinda was told about it the next morning (I was staying with friends and they asked if I screamed - I denied because it was super embarrassing and because they themselves thought they might've been dreaming, only one of the hosts heard it - must've been a rather short one).

(on a side note, I really love you using Occam's razor :) Nerding out a little because I don't see many people outside of science even knowing about it)

The next day he asks me what I was dreaming, especially when I’m yelling at him, but sometimes he just leaves it alone.

Do you have imagery with your night terrors?

Mine seem more common when I’m over tired. So, if I’ve had insomnia and I finally crash, I usually get a night terror. I try to sleep better (lol) and now I tell my husband when I haven’t been (like a warning). He seems to come to bed later on those dats now.

That's what I read that they seem to be triggered with exhaustion/being tired. I can't quite remember if that was actually the case for me, but since I'm always tired, I'm even more afraid of getting another one... ugh those things are just nasty.

When I do wake up from them and he’s in bed, if I’m really agitated he will try to just comfort me. So just hold me until I manage to calm down.

Yeah, that's basically what he needs to do. There's not much else you can do. That's what my hubby did - I guess after his own blink of panic over what's happening passed. I think he was really worried about me because he had no idea what's going on - and that they're actually rather harmless (unless you go jump out of a window ;) )

 

[siniang]

So....I had another of those...whatever it is....last night.

It wasn't as bad as the previous ones, or at least my throat isn't sore :rolleyes: But I vaguely (dreamlike) recall visuality. Otherwise, I don't remember much. I must have been screaming, could tell by the cats' behavior. I went into RUN mode again, but hubby snatched me and tried to comfort me ("Everything is ok"). I was sleeping and the next thing I know was waking up in my husband's arms with my heart at 500 bpm (Adrenaline is one hell of a drug). It did take me a couple minutes to actually become present, I really didn't realize what was going on. I felt extremely calm and normal like just waking up normally from sleep - except for that racing heart. Last time the whole thing was accompanied by actual feelings of fear and terror, this was missing.

Pretty much exactly 1h after lights out.

 

[siniang]

If you didn’t have another disorder that includes panic attacks? Outlier would be the most likely explanation, OR a different kind of sleep disturbance. Since you DO have a disorder that causes panic attacks? Boom. Super easy explanation. Because if something triggered a panic attack in your sleep? You’d both be ambulatory AND remember AND suffer side effects far longer than would be expected for either a nightmare or a night terror. (Which is the 3rd piece that neither nightmares nor night terrors explain= why were you so strongly affected for so long? Nightmares would explain some of the distress, but not days of distress. A panic attack following a nightmare or a trigger would -very simply- explain exactly what happened ).

I had been meaning to reply re nightly panic attacks and then just forgot.

Back in June I had researched a little further and it seems that it's very rare to have nighttime panic attacks without also having panic attacks during the day - which I just don't.

So it's kinda a outlier vs outlier situation.

At least one thing I'm certain: I'm not imagining those things. That's something :laugh: They're - fortunately - rare enough. But I also as of yet still have to identify a potential trigger.