'Night terrors'

[chris-red]

Hi all,
A very good friend of mine has 'Night terrors', this is most probably due to an extreme trama a few years back I don't fancy going into. When I was in bed with her she would mutter and whine and breath heavily (No funny comments please ) Her hands would lock in a claw shape and she would scrach things (Me the wall the duvet etc.) she would also go completely rigid. Sometimes I could wake her up and she would fly bolt upright and start crying. Other times she would just stop altogether and go into a incredibly calm sleep (I actually thgouht she had died the first time her breathing was that shallow ). She is incredible stuburn and wont see anyone about this but I know it is causing her big trouble not being able to see and often drinking to try to get sleep (Not so much it is a problem IMO) she already takes double dose sleeping pills. I was wondering if anyone has any tips or experiance with this.
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Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
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[Tarmacsurfer]

What sleeping tablets is she taking a "double dose" of? If they're even vaguely effective then she is going to be exacerbating the problem by coupling sedatives with alchohol.

I went through a phase in my late teens with a recurring dream/nightmare and she has my sincerest sympathy. In all likelihood it's not a problem that medication will fix though, it's going to be something she needs to sort out in her head be it with professional help or by taking a step back and working things through for herself. Having said that, without observation and a better knowledge of the person and situation it's almost impossible to gauge accurately.

If she's adamant that she won't seek help then there's not an awful lot that can be done other than pointing out the stupidity of mixing the drink and pills with an already volatile state of mind.

Even now I still have the odd bad night, but the problems do abate over time assuming it's a purely psychological dysfunction, sadly for people who have issues sleep disorders aren't a particularly well understood field.
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[chris-red]

They are non perscrition herbal things, she says she has better sleep with the drink and pills as they knock her out more, but the problem she is having is that the pills are becoming less effective. I reckonshe needs to talk through this with someone but she is quite closed off and doesn't share stuff with anyone really, it just makes me feel bad as she is such an amazing person.
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[Tarmacsurfer]

It'll be one of the generic mixtures of hops and valerian (with a few other flourishes) then. All are natural sedatives, not quite as silly as taking prescription drugs and drinking but certainly not conducive to healthy or normal sleep.

Meh. Sod all I can offer really other than see if you can convince her that trying to make things go away by papering over the cracks with pills and alchohol isn't going to make the problems go away. Sleep disorders can be somewhat self perpetuating in that once the body has learned and formed a pattern it'll maintain it.

Damn, this is the fourth post. We've breached the BCF conventions.

Maybe she'd sleep better if you punched her in the tits and did her up the garry?

[chris-red]

[ncrn]

I frequently have issues with sleeping, and it always comes down to stress and the like.

Often if there is a problem that I haven't spoken to someone about it can cause me to stop sleeping at all. Recently there was something kinda major that I just wasn't telling anyone about.. hadn't slept properly for months. Eventually a really good mate of mine forced me to talk to her about it, and well yeh straight after I started sleeping again.

It may well be very difficult to get her to talk to you, but really its gonna be the first step to her losing them. But I'd be careful not to pressure her into saying anything cause it could very well damage the friendship.
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[killa]

My missus has had a few of these, they usually happen on a Sunday night in bed when her mind is trying to work over time.
She would be paralysed, eyes open, seeing things while this is happening. I used to slowly calm her down and wake her or she'd be really freaked. Thankfully it doesn't happen a lot.
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[c_dug]

shes possessed! i feel an excorsism coming on!

On a serious note do your best to get her to seek help, dont try and force her into it but if enough trusted people tell her the same thing im sure she'll listen sooner or later, she's not the only person this kind of thing happens to and there is help avaliable, she just needs to go get it.

c_dug
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[feef]

there's not a lot that can be done about "night terrors", but there are also various different kinds.

Bizarre tho it might sound, best thing you can do is just let them sleep thru it. Waking them while in the middle of it can mess with their head, as they may not actually KNOW they are awake, and the lines between sleep and wake get blurred. That's when you might even find yourself the target of whatever they were dreaming about. Thing is, it's not even 'dreams' or nightmares as we experience them, it's more like experiencing something.

Let her sleep thru it, restrain yourself from waking her, but just be aware of her actions. If she was to stop breating for an extneded period of time, then maybe waking her wouldn't be a bad idea but it can happen.
Just be aware, and try not to get too spooked by it.

a
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[GhostRider]

Hmmmmmmm,

Depends really on whether you distinguish between Night terrors and Sleep paralysis..........

From time to time I get sleep paralysis.....basically this is where your eyes are "open" (never sure if thats real or imagined) and your mind is still dreaming....this causes all sorts of really messed up shit to happen/be see/be heard, if anyones interested I;ll post a few accoutns but it is by now means pleasent and when its occuring you honestly can not tell that you are dreaming - sometimes you have "false awakenings" wherreby you're convined you woke up from whatever was happening only for some really messed up shit to happen yet again....

I think taking sleeping pills would only make it worse to be fair.... reason being scientists believe that theres some kind of trip in the brain circuitry which awakens your conciousness but keeps you in the dream state (REM) - see, when you fall asleep your brain puts your body into a state of paralysis so that your body doesnt "act out" whatever it is you're dreaming about (imagine dreams where you're running away from something....then imagine actually makin them movements whilst in bed with the missus!!) ehnce why when you "wake up" you cant move..... THerefore, I think the deeper the state of REM (caused by sleeping pills) the worse it could get.

The clawing an whining etc is probably due to her realising she is experiencing this and trying in vain to wake herself up (which is rather difficult) and she is probably panicking from the things that she is "seeing" as to her they are as real as talking face to face with someone.

Stress is definately a trigger, as is exhaustion - I knwo that if I have a heavy weekend goin out on the friday and saturday then im in for a rough night come sunday evening.... the thought alone that its going to happen can keep me up to 4 in the morning sometimes because you know whats going to happen and its bloody terrifying.

I can understand why she wouldnt want to talk to anyone about it. I never told a single soul at first because I actually thought I was losing the plot and was going mental. Then one day I came across a group on facebook an saw that there were literally thousands of people who all had the same experiences an I realised it was quite common - which was a huge weight off the old shoulders !!

Do your research, let her read around it, some people propose methods to lessen the extent, others suggest things to avoid which might trigger it..... just have a read around and see what you find.

Hope that helps,

GhostRider
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[Cigaro]

It's perfectly normal.

I've always wondered what the link is between this and 'Lucid Dreaming', I find when I lucid dream I also get sleep paralysis more frequently...

[J0Al1]

Sounds horrible, but would not think drinking is sensible, its only going to mask the problem a bit. Same goes for the sleeping pills. IMHO herbal ones to bugger all anyway.

Is her name Emily Rose?

[TUG]

Alcohol never solves anything, I went through a patch of nightmares when my dad died, i just had to get it out of my mind, and just ignore them, in time they went but it was a long time and many sleepless nights.
it also helps to have someone to talk to, if you can give her an ear to help her that would really help.
I hope she can recover soon.
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[chris-red]

Alcohol is obviously not a full time solution but it is helpful, I just to have insomnia and one of the best ways for me to get to sleep was a few beer before bed. She is not really the talking about problems type she believes her problems are just that.
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[TUG]

[Eddie Hitler]

Release hey

[ncrn]

[Willow]

I agree don't think that a large quantity of alcohol is a good thing, however I do understand that it can be a relaxant sometimes, for some people (really depends on the person).

I seem to, sometimes, wake up in the middle of the night and remember panicking about something... then going straight back to sleep. Heavy breathing, scratching etc then straight back to sleep. Last time it was just sorted by a friend who was sleeping next to me just hugging me and slightly waking me up, i was not told about this till the morning however.

On a bit of a different note and it may be way off, hypnotism is sometimes said to be useful for a range of sleep problems!?
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