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What happened to me during the night?

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Posted 1/26/2013 7:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone

I'll try not to make this too long but I have a lengthy history of GAD, Panic Attacks, OCD, etc and have been hit with at least 4-5 major stressors over the last year and a half. Because of these stressors, I believe I am suffering from some form of PTSD because it's like a "switch" has been turned on and everything has changed in such a way that it takes very little to cause me stress or make me anxious any more. I also have a lot of weird parasomnias, nightmares, etc which I don't seem to remember having up until these recent stressors occurred. Please let me give you an example of what my night was like last night and perhaps someone here could relate and possibly shed some light on what this sounds like...

I went to bed kind of late. My mind was all over the place, random thoughts, little panic attacks here and there, etc. It took awhile for me to get to sleep because my mind was so restless. At some point after I finally fell asleep and had been asleep for a good while, I suddenly had this overwhelming feeling that there was something very evil and frightening in the room with me. I don't know if I was asleep or awake but I started clawing to get the covers off of me to see what it was but I never got anywhere. It was as if I was "clawing" but my arms weren't moving and I wasn't making any progress. I must have clawed for at least a few minutes when at some point, I guess something "kicked in" and my arms started actually moving and I was able to get the covers off of me and when I looked around, everything looked fine but I was still very scared. I even thought about getting up and making coffee just to get away from all of it because I didn't want to go back to sleep again. I laid in bed pretty terrified for a half hour after that and finally calmed down somewhat and went back to sleep.

Can anyone here please tell me what this sounds like or if any of you have ever experienced anything like this (or similar)?. It seems like I get a lot of weird stuff at night but I don't remember anything like this (at least not recently).

Thanks so much!
Posted 1/26/2013 7:54 PM (GMT 0)
Sethp,

I'm so sorry you're going through the nightmares/parasomnias. I haven't experienced exactly the same thing but something similar. It's so hard when your sleep, which is supposed to be your escape from the anxiety of the day, turns into a stressor in itself.

I haven't had the "clawing" side effect but I have had a lot of weird experiences when trying to sleep lately. I have semi-hallucinated a face in front of me and had to hop out of bed because I was so afraid. I have also had "head zaps" and feelings like I'm going to faint even though I'm lying down.

For me, I think this is due to sleep medications I take that are massively interacting with each other or just doing this on their own. I'm working on fixing that, fortunately. So this is the first thing I thought of for you: Have you been taking any medications, including any supplements for sleep? (I'm sorry if you've said this in a previous thread and I've missed it.) Even if it's something you've been on at all, my psychiatrist says that we aren't static and sometimes the way that medications affect us changes.

My second thought was the coffee you mentioned. I get more anxious/stressed when I have caffeine, so it's possible that could be contributing to what you're going through.

Have you thought of doing a sleep study? This is something my psychiatrist wants me to do to figure out what exactly is going on with my sleep.

Those are my thoughts for now. I'm sure other members will chime in with their experiences and ideas for how to manage this extremely frightening symptom. Just remember we're always here to listen to you and offer you support, so keep us updated. :)

Best wishes,

Av

Post Edited (Avrielle) : 1/26/2013 1:07:46 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/26/2013 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
Sethp,

I have experienced something similar and from what I researched it came up with similar symptoms to experiencing a "night terror". I've had experiences where I would wake up and be completely paralyzed. It's fairly normal from what I've experienced. Your body basically puts you in a paralyzed state while you sleep so it can repair itself and you don't injure yourself. I know it can be terrifying but it's ok.
Posted 1/26/2013 10:10 PM (GMT 0)
I agree...I think that you could have experienced 'Sleep Paralysis'...which can be brought on by stress.

I have only had this happen once...but that was enough! I understand how this could have scared you.

Here is some more on this strange sleep state:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

Hopefully this will be an isolated incident like it was for me....and wishing you a better night's sleep tonight!

S.C.

Posted 1/27/2013 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much for the replies. Very interesting information!.

I meant to mention earlier that after I went back to sleep I had another really strange, stress-base dream, where I thought I had missed Mother's/Father's Day and was desperately looking up dates, trying to get cards, envelopes, write letters, get addresses and just getting into a frenzy over this. When I woke up I immediately looked to see when Mother's and Father's Day was and it is in MAY!. These "night things" are driving me nuts.

Then, at dinner, I get the weird, swallowing thing where as the food starts to go down, I get a funny feeling. I think in anxiety circles they call it "globus hysterectus" but anyway, my throat felt kind of tight, lumpy, just kind of weird, etc and that got me freaking out. Has anyone ever had this (while eating)?.

Thanks again for the replies :)
Posted 1/27/2013 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
Seth,

After reading your initial post and thinking about this for a good while, I would like to offer some suggestions as to what this could be, I've had things like what you are saying in the past, what I think it could be is...

1. Emotional demons, not essentially REAL demons, but your mind telling you that you have stress and other factors in your waking hours. I think your dreams try to tell you things.

2. You could be in an uncomfortable environment, like the house you are currently in may not be comfortable to you or there is a lot of energy in the room that your bed is in.

3. You may be around someone in life who is very stressed themselves, has a lot of drama or issues, that negative energy can rub off on you and affect you, asleep or awake.

I believe negative energy can cause a host of problems, try to find out the root of it, or at least be aware of these things and try to remove yourself from it.

Sleep paralysis is common, has happened to me about 4-5 times in 34 years, as someone has stated, it's your bodies defense system so you do not hurt yourself when dreaming at night, what I'm trying to address is the feeling you had and experience that came along with yours.

Post Edited (Jessiepooh) : 1/27/2013 8:28:31 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/27/2013 7:05 AM (GMT 0)
I know personally I've had two incidents with "sleep paralysis" and I never want to experience it again!! It sounds to me what your describing is sleep paralysis.
Posted 1/27/2013 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Sethp,

I have not dealt with the night terrors, but have dealt with the swallowing thing. When I am really anxious, and I'm chewing my food, especially if my mouth is dry, I will start to "panic" when it's time to swallow, feeling like I won't be able to do it or something. I find that if I take a sip of water, I will swallow the food down more easily.

Best of luck to you.
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