Horrific Nightmares and Problemetic Hallucinations

[Liadian of the Trees]

Hello. I have Tourette's syndrome and sleep paralysis. But I am experiencing some horrific sleep problems and I wondered if there is anything I can do....

For almost 2 months now, I have been having problems with Hypnogaungic (Did I spell that right?:o) hallucinations and sleep-terrors. Hypnogaungic hallucinations basically mean I dream-see things before I asleep...and often they are quite scary and vivid. At least, that is what I have been told.

They've gotten more and more frequent and scary these past few weeks. I get off the computer 1 1/2 hour before bed, I don't eat much if I can help it before tucking in, but gads! I still see things.

I've been seeing wolves, lately....and then if it's not wolves, it's "demons" Sometimes I "see" myself underwater and think I'm drowning. Those are the worst.

Well, I'm also a sleep talker...and I've been embarrassed so many times by this...and last night I screamed really, really loud and my mom came in and she saw I was asleep and she woke me up, which is something I've heard that you shouldn't do to people who have my problems. I immediately starting crying and telling her that I was walking home from High School with some friends I had back in the day, and a pit bull came up to us.

I told my friends, in the dream, not to be scared of it, because pitbulls aren't mean like everyone says, and unless you give them a reason to be mean to you it's very unlikely they will attack.

upon which my friends tell me, "Katie, you're too naive about dogs. Dogs have the born-in ability to be mean no matter how nice they appear."

and then suddenly the dog was on top of me and that's when I screamed.

But I'm so embarrassed..I feel like I've let down myself. I'm almost 23 years old and I still have nightmares and sleepiness problems. I talk in even the dirtiest dreams or else I'm terrified of some seen-unseen, and during this time my mentality turns to that of a 3-5 year old girl. I also think they are "real", much as a child would.

Can someone give me tips on how to cope with this? Or maybe they've had similar problems and can give me advice? :( I feel like such an idiot. I know I'm not but that's how it feels. :(

Of the Trees

[Naominjw]

Hi. My daughter had this tremendously. It caused her PTSD. She, too has TS. Probably dopamine-related.

We have not found a total solution for it. In the meantime, she uses a hefty dose of Seroquel (an atypical neuroleptic) to both sleep, and to sleep without the horrific nightmares/hallucinatory nightmares. The hallucinatory nightmares ("awake") were shown on a sleep study EEG to indeed be REM. Weird.

We also know she has a vitamin B12 (cobalamin) metabolic glitch which can essentially cause a deficiency on a cellular level in spite of "adequate" dietary consumption. That may have to do with Folate and the MTHFR variant... not sure. We also know she has intestinal malabsorpion issues and endocrine problems, but not sure which came first.
So... there is a lot to look into.

My advice? Check out three sites to start with:

http://www.ItsNotMental.com

http://www.TrueHope.com

http://GreatPlainsLaboratory.com

[Keggy]

I have been dealing with this for several decades. Your mom should wake you up. Don't buy into that business about never waking up someone when they are doing something in their sleep. I hate being woken up myself, but your body does not need to become more freightened. Think of it this way, your body was calling for help and your mom came.
These night problems seem to be brought on by stress, and any over the counter medication seems to add to it (even asprin).
If you cut the tv before bed and spend some time mediatating, or doing yoga or tai chi.. to destress you, they will reduce themselves.
The dreams themselves are revealing (as horrific as they seem) So, if they happen it will be helpful to write them down and/or draw them. I work as an art therapist and I find how drawing these types of dreams is as beneficial as drawing other more normal dreams.
BTW... I have found that nowadays I rarely have normal dreams, but when I do they are very meaningful.

[moose53]

((((((Liadian)))))),

I don't have any experience with TS and some of the other things that you're dealing with.

I have, though, had major episodes of terrifying dreams (sleeping dreams). Just as Keggy said, during very-very stressful times.

I was having dreams of drowning and my younger brother was pulling me under (I thought). My younger brother committed suicide just over 42 years ago when he was 21 and I was 22. I had read somewhere that you can get in touch with your "self" by using art instead of words to communicate. So, I got some big pieces of paper (newspaper-sized) and some big fat crayons and sat on the floor and drew.

I was having horrible pain in my wrists. So, I decided to draw my pain. In the picture I was trying to chop my hands off with an axe. When I put the drowning dream together with the picture, I realized that my brother was trying to get me to join him. And I was doing everything I could to stop it. I had another dream about him, he said to me "You can't come with me."

Another time when my Mom was sick, terminal due to cancer and heart failure, I woke up terrified. I had been dreaming of huge black beetles called 'craps'. I had read somewhere that your mind uses puns to communicate with you. So, I starting thinking bugs-bugs, what does that mean?? "Who's bugging me??" Who's bugging me -- my Mom!! I sat there at 3 o'clock in the morning and laughed and laughed until my stomach hurt. Yeah, my Mom was a cranky sick person. The love was still there between us, though.

The whole point, that I'm trying to make, Liadian, is that sometimes 'things' are bothering us and we don't take the time to sit quietly with our SELVES and listen to what **WE** have to say. I think if we avoid too much and don't pay attention to what's going on with *US*, then The Universe steps in and gives us a whack upside the head -->> "Wake up!"

Liadian, maybe if you take some quiet time for yourself. Sit on the floor and draw. Or just fill a big piece of paper with thought clouds with words inside them and see how the words can be grouped together. This is the time of the year when cities and towns are starting to put up Christmas decorations. No matter what your religion, the warmth of the lights and the feelings of peace and generosity are sometimes a wonderful environment to hang around in. Sit on the town common and look at the displays and feed the ducks and just think about what you can do to make your life more pleasant. Maybe buy yourself flowers or read a book that you've been interested in reading for awhile. Listen to some music. Watch an uplifting movie. You can get some great movies and music and books at your local library.

Try to bring good things into your life. Try to just watch people when you're out and about to see the best parts of what people can be.

Remember, Liadian, it might not be that you're being punished during your dreams. It might just be that your soul wants you to know something and it has no other way of communicating besides puns and fear-thoughts because those are the types of communications that really make an impression on us by standing out enough so that we notice them.

I hope you find what you need to balance your life. Hugs.

Barb