What is this weird sleeping habit?
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Hi everyone, so for a while now (maybe a year or two) on occasion I do this bizarre thing while sleeping. It first started off as a dream that a partner or friend was with me and I woke up checking my pillow next to me confused as to wear there are. It has escalated and now I have a reoccurring dream that someone is in my bed (the person can change from friend/partner to stranger) anyways when I register this person is in my room or bed I instantly wake up often in a panic for a specific reason (mostly that the person in my bed might of seen me sleeping in my underwear or something like that) and have even gone as far as to walk around my room and house looking for them before going back to sleep. Last night for example I dreamt that there was a strange man in my room and the dream extended to me being worried he had stolen money from a savings box I have on my dresser. Cue me waking up and jumping across the bed to look through the box to make sure all money was accounted for.
I do have issues with anxiety but I'm not sure why I'm having this reoccurring theme in my dreams. Home invasion isn't something I typically worry about.
Has anyone else experienced something like this or have any idea what it could be?
Thank you
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apu91247 Emily2018
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Emily2018 apu91247
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lily65668 Emily2018
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Hi Emily,
It's almost certainly something known as sleep or night terrors. Some authorities insist that only children have this condition but that's completely untrue. Many adults have it too, though in the majority of cases they started out as sleepwalkers when they were children. I've always had it. It peaked around the menopause, causing me to regularly jump up and do all kinds of peculiar things, and I still have it now, in my 70s, though in a much milder form.
Another myth that a lot of scientists spout is that sufferers never remember their attacks on waking, and only hear about them from others who've witnessed them. This is certainly true for most children who suffer from night terrors, and some adults as well. However, at least half the adults who have these episodes retain a detailed memory of the attack once they come to themselves.
It's very difficult to treat. You can try getting a referral to a sleep clinic, but in something like 9 cases out of 10 it doesn't manifest while sleeping in the lab. I think this is something to do with feeling more secure in that environment. Unfortunately this is the only way of getting a firm diagnosis in order to treat it.
Even if you do manage a) to get a referral to the sleep lab; and b) to have an attack while in the lab, your treatment options are pretty limited. The only medication that has any effect on it is clonazepam (Klonopin), an anticonvulsant drug of the benzodiazepine group which has all the side-effects and withdrawal problems of this group. You can google it. It also doesn't work in every case. However, when the condition is very severe indeed it can be a useful option, as it will usually decrease the frequency of the attacks.
CBT can be effective in reducing the frequency and severity of attacks, but it's important to find the right therapist for you, and also one who's fully qualified in the technique.
The final option is the one I took: just live with it and try not to get too anxious about it. The condition is strongly related to anxiety, as you've guessed, and getting anxious about the attacks will inevitably make it worse.
It doesn't sound to me as if it's very bad in your case. At the height of my attacks 30 years ago I did much crazier things than you. By all means try for a referral to a sleep specialist if you want to, but I'd advise just not worrying so much about it, and maybe look at the factors in your life that are stressing you out. It's not a mental illness, nor is it a sign of any physical disease. It's just something that happens to some of us. Most sources seem to think the incidence in the adult population is 2-3%, which means it affects quite a lot of us. The good news is that it improves with age. Although I still have one or two very minor attacks per week - just waking up briefly in the grip of some crazy idea then going back to sleep - it's been nearly 10 years since I actually jumped out of bed.