Anyone here have Night terrors?

[FrontlineGuitar]

It happened more frequently when I was a lot younger, like 11/12 kind of age, but recently I've been having more frequent experiences.

It all happens when I wake up, for no apparent reason, somewhere in the dead of night, at like 3 or 4 in the morning. Then I hear this impossibly loud shouting or screaming that's inside my head. Not screaming as in metal, but almost like a pressure, or a really blood curdling scream just inside my head. I can't understand anything, but it's impossibly loud and just terrifying. It happens for a couple of seconds, then a couple of seconds later it happens again. It's the kind of sound/pressure that makes you want to scrunch your eyes up completely and block it out, which is what I try to do. It's fucking terrifying.

This whole thing goes on for several minutes normally, All when I'm awake. It's like waves of incomprehensible internal shouting, that I can't stop. It gets worse when I try and move around as well.. like even turning my head slightly it'll come again worse than ever. It's like getting cramp, when you know if you move, it'll just come back again and won't go away. Again, I am completely awake when this happens, and am perfectly aware of my surroundings. It's just scary as hell.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever had anything like this before...or am I just crazy?

 

[JonWormwood]

Used to all the time when I was 18/19/20. Hasn't happened in some time.

 

[~BURNY~]

Had some sleep paralysis experiences. Probably some night terrors as a kid too. This is a fascinating subject.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasomnia

 

[Terminus]

Might not qualify as a night terror but I have woken up and though my oscillating fan was a person in my room. There's a red light on it that was casting a shadow that resembled a human form. I jumped out of bed and started wailing on my fan, broke it in two before I actually woke up and realized what I was doing. Had a nasty cut on one hand.

Also had the sleep paralysis thing happen once recently that I remember. I could see my window and knew where I was and that I was sleeping or near-sleep but couldn't move anything.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I can only recall one experience related(?) to this.

My dad and I shared a hotel room probably 10 years back on a job we were doing, I either woke up or was still trying to fall asleep. I noticed a strange "flanging" or phasing type of sound happening. I thought it was just the AC or heater or something, but it kept happening. It was like waves crashing or air moving around the room....strange.

Then - this pressure sort of came pushing down on me. I'm almost 100% positive I was completely awake for this. It got to the point where I looked over at my pops who was in the next bed over and tried to yell out to him, but no sound would come out of my mouth. Shortly after, the feeling went away and that was the only time something like that ever happened to me.

Interesting topic, indeed.

 

[LeSedna]

Holy shit that must be terrifying ! I have never had anything like this ever in my whole life, nor any sleep paralysis and if it is completely harmless I wouldn't mind it happen once, out of curiosity.

I know it's not really "terror" experiences, but have you experienced something like what I am going to describe ? This is something that I consider cool because I have full awareness when it happens and like to make it last. It can happen after waiting some time in the bed, or during the night when I wake up, but never with a brutal change like changing position or when light goes on. Basically, I loose all sense of space and time. I look at the door, or the wall, in front of me, and as far as I know at that moment, that door could be close to me, or so far away I will never reach it in a lifetime, like I could just as much describe it as being located at the other far end of our galaxy. It's like I cannot judge anymore the distance there is between the object I'm staring at, or the time it would take me to get there. I can definitely see it from my eyes, and depending on the level of awakening I am at, I could know this is not possible. But that's what my senses and the (I guess) part of my brain that puts perspectives (space and internal clock) together gives me as information. I am 100% aware when this happen, although I need to be relax and a little bit sleepy, and if the light goes on the show is over. It can last a few minutes (from what I can tell by experience) if I cultivate it by not moving too much and concentrating on it. Also, if I actually try to stand up and go to the object or whatever, in the beginning the feeling of loss of judgement is still there and it feel strange and can last until I get a definite clue of where I am (like a very clear view of a familiar part of my room, or if the light goes on, or if someone talks to me and wakes me up completely). I can also feel like the world is spinning if I am still in the bed, not moving at all.

The very first times it happend to me as a kid I found it scary because the feeling is strange. Until it's over, what your body tell is that you are completely lost in space in time and you could just as much be floating in an absolute near-infinite void with what you can see as giant objects far in the distance. Also it used to happen when I needed to pee and go to the toilets, like I couldn't tell if I was in my room, and even if I knew I was in, I could not remember where the door or the light button is relatively to my bed, and this kind of loss of consciousness at night (although it's a little bit different to that).

Nowadays I think it very rarely happens to me anymore, but I find it cool because I know it is harmless and I know I have control of it. I think it was more frequent as a kid when I used to walk at nights, feel lost when I wake up in the middle of the night, etc.

 

[Star Ark]

i have reoccuring dream in which im a bubble expanding. When the bubble pops in the dream i wake up and in real life i still feel like i have just exploded. It takes a few minutes to remember who i am and in those couple of minutes i dont know who or what i am. Sounds funny when i tell my friends but it is horrible. The OP talks about racing thoughts i think, signs of untreated stress/depression or even aspergers and adhd etc.

 

[CubanDude]

Thought this is about some new Orange amp.

Anyway: Ever got checked by a doctor?

 

[RedDog]

I used to get nightmares a lot in my teens, some were so bad I'd wake up swinging my fists in all directions or freaking out and screaming. I saw a doctor and he told me to play more video games. Apparently gamers have better control over their nightmares, as over time they grow to expect a fight and actually do fight their dreams. These days I experiment with lucid dreaming and keep a dream journal, occasionally losing consciousness and keeping myself aware of my surroundings and happenings. My mother suffers bad from hers though. She's definitely a lot worse than I, a few times a month she'll cry uncontrollably in her sleep and my dad has to shake her awake. We think it's hereditary, as my sister is starting to have nightmares too.

 

[colonel kurtz]

Also it used to happen when I needed to pee and go to the toilets, like I couldn't tell if I was in my room, and even if I knew I was in, I could not remember where the door or the light button is relatively to my bed, and this kind of loss of consciousness at night (although it's a little bit different to that).

man that reminds of the couples times i've had to piss while i was asleep, and dreamt that i walked to the toilet, whipped it out, and started peeing.

then i woke up in a puddle, and was fucking pissed! our minds do fucked up shit when we sleep, which is why i try to stay awake as much as possible

 

[ArnaudM]

Sleep paralysis as well as anxiety crisis. A maelstrom of images, so fast that every time it happens, I have the feeling my spirit is going to be vaporized. It reminds me a bit of your inner scream, but in a more intellectual way. It's terrifying and mind disturbing. A friend of mine, who works as a doctor, told me it might be caused by a bas synchronisation between the REM sleep and the awakening. You are awake but your brain doesn't realize it and carries on working as if you were dreaming. Strange and horrible.

 

[kaomao]

I can also feel like the world is spinning if I am still in the bed, not moving at all.

something similar happened to me, I was not moving at all but I felt like I was spinning, not the world.
Too bad it didn't happen anymore

 

[xFkx]

Used to have them, now they're gone.

I think it has something to do with the amount of stress in your life.

Oh, and they used to happen only if I fallen asleep laying belly up.

 

[FIXXXER]

just started playing ALAN WAKE, so maybe i'll get some soon

 

[Nimvi]

Loving this thread so far! I've also had some strange experiences in this area so I'll share what I can remember.

i have reoccuring dream in which im a bubble expanding. When the bubble pops in the dream i wake up and in real life i still feel like i have just exploded. It takes a few minutes to remember who i am and in those couple of minutes i dont know who or what i am. Sounds funny when i tell my friends but it is horrible.

I can very much relate to that feeling. I've had a dream where I was a bed of rocks/crystals. Very surreal but it felt like I was the stone experiencing itself. But something was wrong. A crystal was missing. And as the dream continued I started to panic, because I could not find it. Then my wife woke me up, and according to her I was in tears and screaming at her that I had to go back to sleep to find my missing crystal. It really did feel like I had lost something incredibly important. But the good news is...I did actually find it again once I went back to sleep
Lesson learned: if you think rocks have it easy, think again.
Also, if you are going to pick up a rock, pick up his buddies too, or you will separate them for all eternity.


FrontlineGuitar:
I'm not sure, but you might be experiencing this, although that thing is usually very sudden and short. I have experienced it myself in the form of an explosion in my head, and it was VERY intense and shocking. I was affraid to go to sleep for days, in fear of it happening again. I felt like I had stepped on a landmine.
If your screams are like that, but for a longer duration, I really feel for you. I would visit a doctor, just to be sure.


I've had cool hypnagogic hallucinations when I was around 16; I was visited every night by no one less than the grim reaper himself... but you know what? He was a total bro! We just talked about all kinds of shit while he was sitting next to me in my chair. It was like talking to a close friend; really casual and enjoyable.
Then after a while, I would have the realisation that he couldn't be there, so then I looked at my chair and he was gone. But 2 minutes later, I would forget about that conclusion, and be talking to him again like nothing happened. This kept happening for about a year, until I met my gf (now my wife) and I didn't sleep at home anymore. Turns out mr. Reaper feels awkward around women (maybe that's why they reach higher ages?). I kind of miss him.

On the hypnopompic side of the coin: every time I wake up, i see a very distinct face in the first object I'm looking at. I feel no emotions towards this face, but I think it's quite remarkable. Especially because it also works on completely blank white walls. Once I see it, I cannot believe I've never noticed it before, but if I try to find it again later during the day, I am never able to. I've even marked the location at some point to see if it helped, but it was just impossible to see anything remotely close to a face in the shapeless mass.

About lucid dreaming: since I often have trouble recognizing whether I'm awake or dreaming (that's a whole nother story...), I've grown into the habbit of checking my hands regularly. In dreams, your hands are always fucked up. You will have extra fingers, or deformed hands, and when you see that, you are lucid right away. Just don't freak out when you notice, cause that will throw you out of the dream.
The trick is making a habit of checking them, so it becomes something you think of doing in a dream too.

Another trick that works is opening a book, reading a sentence, closing it and opening it again. In a dream, the text changes.

Also a dead give-away are broken lightswitches. For some reason, switches never work like they should in dreams, so if you flick a switch and the light doesn't change, try another one. If that one is broken too, you are probably dreaming. Either that or the power went down...so keep on your pants and don't jump out of your window just yet.

I've heard of other people using a noticable object like a red ball as a hook. They imagine this specific object often, and when that object shows up somewhere, they know they are dreaming.

Btw, once you become lucid, there may be occasions where the dream starts to resist. Earthquakes and shaking walls, or loud noises are something I've experienced a few times. I think the movie Inception is inspired by this. Again, just don't freak out by this, and you will probably not be thrown out. It's hard though.
And finally, if you want to leave your dream but can't wake up, kill yourself! It usually doesn't hurt. Just run in front of a car, or off a cliff and you will fade away before you feel anything. I added usually, because there were 1 or 2 situations where it did hurt a lot, and the pain carried over when I woke up. I think I was just having real pain and it was represented by something else in my dream.

I'm going to leave it at this for now, since I'm writing a book again...but I'm really fascinated by this theme. Both the scary and the beautiful sides. Keep the interesting stories coming!

 

[HCL]

No but on a related note I have really shitty relationship with sleep and it's pretty much ruining my future.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

man that reminds of the couples times i've had to piss while i was asleep, and dreamt that i walked to the toilet, whipped it out, and started peeing.

then i woke up in a puddle, and was fucking pissed! our minds do fucked up shit when we sleep, which is why i try to stay awake as much as possible

 

[blue_fAng]

I sometimes dream about my flesh expanding and the more I expand the more fear I feel, until something really weird happens ( I cant describe what it is) I wake up feeling terrible and it takes a little time to adjust to reality. I dont wake up screaming but when this happens Im waving my arms like crazy.

Another dream I have too often is that I am at school naked or sometimes with a big boner trying to hide my private parts but for some reason I cant and everybody makes fun of me.

Sometimes when I wake up and it is still too dark, I feel like my ceiling fan is going to kill me and I get very scared, it sometimes even happens with the shadow my curtain casts looks like a dark demon until I realize that I was just scared because of my nightmares.

I've read that this has to do with depression.

 

[bryan_kilco]

man that reminds of the couples times i've had to piss while i was asleep, and dreamt that i walked to the toilet, whipped it out, and started peeing.

then i woke up in a puddle, and was fucking pissed! our minds do fucked up shit when we sleep, which is why i try to stay awake as much as possible

Sleep-pissed in my parents bedroom while they were sleeping once.

And on my brother.

 

[Machinated]

Crashing waves=tinnitus. Fucking horrible that, had a few bouts at night after coffee/alcohol where it completely blocks out all other sound. At first I dreamt I was being buried alive on a beach, woke up and the "crashing waves" sound was still carrying on for several minutes. Had no clue what it was or where it was coming from until I googled it.

My best mate croaked it about 6 months ago so I guess death is on my mind more than usual. Makes for some messed up stuff but nothing beyond waking up.

On another note, you nightmare fiends need to learn to lucid dreams. Usually when mine start getting bizarre I suss out its a dream and then you can control what you dream. It's fucking great. Although the most common thing for me is to start flying, then get to excited and wake up.

Anyone who lucid dreams sex before flying is definitely gay. Need to try and do both hahaha.