OT-Night Terrors

[Fan in San Diego]

Heard of it?  I had them when I was a kid, a very frightening experience.  I was a little older than your coworker's son, I was around 7 or 8 when I had them.  The best way I can describe them to you is having a nightmare while you are awake.  Imagine being fully awake, but seeing things that you know cannot really occur.  The thing is, you aren't really awake, you are only partly awake while the rest of your mind still sleeps and creates these illusions.  I know this sounds all freaky and weird, but its very difficult to explain what you see.  The one that I remember the best is sitting up in my bed and seeing the window getting bigger and bigger, and then opening like a mouth.  Not a very easy thing to handle for a 7 year old, let alone a 2 year old who has no real grounds of reality at this point.

 

Something usually initiates the night terrors, like for me they would occur when I got overheated during the nights if I had too many blankets on.  Its a very odd occurance, and something that really isnt understood quite yet since it seems to be different for everyone.  Going though them is very scary, but usually I wouldnt remember EXACTLY what happened the following morning and wouldnt remember being woken up by my parents in the middle of having them.

22057[/snapback]

 

Sounds like symptoms of Schzophrenia ? Mmmmmmm

[Nanker]

My daughter had them very frequently until she was about four.

She had open heart surgery at 4 months.

That my friends, was a terrible period in our lives.

 

Thankfully she eventually grew out of them, but the frustrating, helpless feeling (not to mention the sleep depravation for the entire household) and inability to console a small child overtaken by such a strenuous emotional frenzy leaves a parent feeling less than empty.

 

Anyone who suffers with and/or through this has my sympathy. It does pass though, and that is a blessing.

[T-Bone]

One of the women who works with me thinks her 2 year old son is having night terrors.  We did a little research on the internet but I wondered if anyone here had witnessed it or heard of it.  Thanks.

22036[/snapback]

 

 

My brother has night terrors, he has a tendency to scream out NO NO a couple times a night. Doctors put him on some medication but it has not worked. Not too familar with the cause of it.

[kegtapr]

yes. it's real. it's a recognized sleep disorder. I was misdiagnosed with it as a kid. Turns out I had sleep paralysis...a similar disorder.

22159[/snapback]

 

I have sleep paralysis every once in awhile. Scary as stevestojan.