Waking up screaming

[Willa]

I don't know if it's the right place to talk about it...

Recently, like 2 years ago, I started having some sleeping troubles. I know there's a direct link between it and the fact that I live alone.

Sometimes, I can't sleep for hours, other times I wake up screaming but not that loud so nobody can't really ear me in the building.

I'm also having neighbor trouble (a young girl lives next door, she's about 19, and parties all night...) so sometimes I have to sleep with earplugs. I really don't feel secure when I do. She calmed down 2 days ago went the tenant gave her a letter asking her to stop. Anyway...

Tonight...
Wow, it was to worst of it all.
I was beginning to fall asleep but I woke up in choc, I looked at my mirror closet doors and ''saw'' somebody behind me, the other side of the bed. It's like my worst nightmare so I started screaming the hell out of me, thinking it was the end!

Then I realized that it was just my imagination and opened the light. I was shaking from everywhere...

My neighbor opened her door, she was wondering what was happening. I told her that I'm sorry. She was mad... but anyway.

Did that ever happened to some of you?
What did you do to make it stop?
I just don't want to go back to bed...
I'm still shaking.

 

[CantAffordMAC]

wow this has never happened to me. I feel for you, because I get scared at night, too.

see i'd feel a little more secure knowing that the young girl next to you parties all night because you know that if nething were to happen, she's conscious and awake in case of an emergency you kno?

The only thing I can suggest is finding a roommate. maybe that would ease your worries. I really hope things get better for you--it sounds super scary, even if its just ur imagination

 

[Simply Elegant]

Maybe you're having nightmares in non REM sleep and then waking shortly after. I know that causes it too. Maybe readjusting the amount of sleep you get would help.

 

[wolfsong]

I used to have that when my insomnia was really bad - its kind of somewhere between a hallucination and your mind/light & shadows playing tricks on you (i would 'see' creatures rushing towards me from the ceiling, and when i went out at night sticks/twigs on the ground started to move like snakes).
It sounds silly, but having a night light or something that gives out light and/or noise - such as a CD player - can help. I cant sleep in extreme darkness or silence - it freaks the hell out of me, and if having a harmless crutch helps you to sleep and feel safer than its the lesser of 2 evils. Also the worse you sleep, the more this will be an issue as paranoia thrives in a scattered/restless mind.

I think getting a roommate - like CantAffordMAC said - that you know and trust is a great idea for a long term solution. I know how scary it can be living alone, and i live in a smallish town!

If you commonly wake up screaming then i would look into seeing someone about that (sleep clinics etc). They can help get to the root of that issue (nightmares - and reasons behind them, disturbed sleeping patterns, that condition that makes you stop breathing when you sleep - cant remember the name, however its usually harmless, but annoying - etc).

For another short term fix: Have you tried herbal remedies to help calm you? Valerian is very effective with some people - you can buy it in health/drug stores, as is tablets promoted as sleeping aids such as 'Calms' etc which can be found in the medication isles of supermarkets. Also St Johns Wort seems to help with a lot of things (mood balancing, calming nerves). Taking a bath or shower directly before bedtime, and letting yourself have a couple of hours to unwind - no activities/foods/drink that raises your heart rate, or challenges/stimulates your mind and body too much.
Drinking alcohol in the evening will definitely disturb sleep - it may knock some people out cold, but they dont reach the level/length of REM sleep needed for the mind and body to be rested.

 

[Willa]

Wow
Thank you for the good advices!

I wrote a note to the janitor, to tell him I was sorry if I woke him up. Its a 6 appartment block, so whenever something happens, everyone can ear you. Knowing that, like CantAffordMAC said, its helping a little bit but it seems not to be enough

With my boyfriend, we already talked about living together, so maybe in 6 months it'll change, but for now I can't really have a roomate because it's a small place. Only one bedroom.

This morning I remembered something.
When I went to sleep, the wind was making noises and moving stuff in the living room, but also moving the curtains between my bedroom and the living room (see it there : http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tjanv07009.jpg ) and also the floor was also making noises because of the neigbor in her appartment. All this together, plus the fact that I don't sleep well, didnt help.

When I woke up, I saw the shaddow of my lamp (the one on the left http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...anv07-2008.jpg ) and my mind playing tricks on me made me think that it was somebody.

I just hope it wont happen again...
I felt 9 years old when I called my mom

I think this weekend with my bf, we'll go and take a look at the drugstore to find some sleeping helps.

 

[Bonbonroz]

J'espère que ça ira bientôt mieux ^^ Je ne peux pas vraiment t'aider, juste te souhaiter que ça s'améliore parce que le sommeil c'est sacrément important!!
Just let us know if it gets better!

 

[Willa]

Merci Bonbonroz!
I just hope it gets better, AND that my neighbor wont cause me any trouble for that. She just calmed down from a 2 weeks frenzy...

 

[SparklingWaves]

Can you have a pet? I have a lot of pets. One of mine is like an 80 pound motion detector. If he jumps, I jump. He is like warm cement. He is solid muscle. His head is literally as big a bowling ball. He rests his heavy head right across me or my hubby. He is very possessive of us all. He really makes me feel safe.

 

[Willa]

Actually, yes I have 1 cat
She got scared when I screamed

 

[SparklingWaves]

I have cats, but they don't alert me when someone is just riding a bike down the street. These boys let me know everything. Poor deaf kitty sleeps through anything. But, he is smart to sleep next to the hearing.

Keeping a jounal of what you are doing, feeling, and eating may help identify what is triggering this.

Also, I have PTSD and I do scream in my sleep. Mine is from reliving trauma. The mind relaxes and this allows the memories to flow up to the conscious So, I actually do have the screaming, but it's a replay of what happened in my past. I see things too, but I go by the animals. They are my guides.

I had family members had the screaming, but it was usually when they were very stressed with a job or school. It did pass for them.

I hope this passes for you really soon. I know how scary it is.

BTW -That is a beautiful kitty.

 

[Willa]

Thank you!
I love my cat, she's really a good companion for me

As for keeping a journal of what I eat and such, I think this will also help. I always wanted to keep a journal of what I eat because I want to lose weight, so it will be a 2 for 1. I also know that my weight excess doesnt help my sleep...

You see, now it's 3h40 am. I work today! But I can't sleep because it's too DAMN hot in my appartment. The janitor opened the radiators... wow my brain is boilling!

Speaking of sleeping...
Do you guys ever dream that you're in a place, lost and can't find your way out? I always have theses dreams. Before waking up, I was stuck in an hospital, full of people and I couldnt find my way out. Everybody was blocking the exits, and I ended up in an ambulance, and I was trying to sleep well. A guy was trying to get in, and it wasnt a good man...
And then I woke up for no reason.

 

[Ms.Amaranthine]

Actually, the screaming sounds more like night terrors. I've had them my entire life and, at 20, have become so used to them that I rarely am bothered by them anymore.

Night terrors start soon after you drift to sleep in non-REM sleep, most commonly stage 4 (Between 15 and 60 minutes, on average). The longer you're in non-REM, the worse the night terror is. They're more frequent for me when I am stressed. They'll cause me to wake up shaking, screaming, breathing heavy, absolutely terrified and I rarely remember why. Another problem with them is sometimes, after you wake up, it takes a few minutes to realize you're awake and there's still that crazy state of absolute panic. They're like a nightmare on acid. I've shaken boyfriends, thrown things and done all kinds of really strange shit. I'm well used to them now, but there were times when this would happen four times a night.

So, if it's night terrors, the only thing that will help much is control release Ambien. It's different from other sleep aids because it's designed to keep you asleep, which is what you need.

Night Terror Resource Center: http://www.nightterrors.org/

 

[Willa]

Thank you!
I didn't know it could be that worst!
I've taken a look on the message board... the videos on youtube. I hope it wont get that bad for me

 

[SparklingWaves]

If it's hot in your apartment, it can make you have nighmares.

Yes, I dreamed of a man breaking in my house as teen till the point of keeping weapons under my bed. Again for me, it was that memory stuff breaking through.

Yes, I have entrapment dreams a lot.