Nightmare "sleepwalking"

[anonymous-coward]

I remember when I was younger that I had several nightmares that I haven't ever been able to describe. To sum it up they caused intense feelings of hopelessness and fear. The thing about these dreams though is that I would get out of bed and still be in the same state I was while dreaming (opposite of false awakening?). I remember walking around the house in the middle of the night in this state and then remember ending up screaming. My parents told me it took them at least 30 minutes to get me to fully be back to normal, and that they couldn't understand what I had been saying when I was screaming. Just a few years ago I had a similar experience to those. I remember getting out of bed in the middle of the night, going into the bathroom and turning on the light. I then remember climbing onto the counter while staring at myself in the mirror. I sat there for what seemed like a long time. Then for some reason in this state I began to put my hands on the wall and slide them, while walking through out the house. While doing this I turned on every light and lamp I could reach while keeping at least one hand on the wall. I have no idea why or what caused me to want to do this, but I remember being in the same state I was in while sleeping. It again took about 30 minutes to fully come out of it. Has anyone else had experiences similar to these, or other strange experiences with sleepwalking in general (doesn't have to be fear enduced or nightmarish)? I'm interested in reading some other stories/experiences about this.

[magicrules22311]

If this is happening to you, you really might want to see a doctor. That is not a normal thing to be happening. -Rob

[King and God]

I sleepwalked once as a kid - the only time I know of anyway. I went to a locker and started to open and close it repeatedly, and then my mom took me to a sofa.

[yoast]

I have something similar every now and then when I go on a holiday, or sleep somewhere else. About once a year. Although I think my experience is a little milder than yours. While I was on a holiday in Africa (three weeks trekking in tents through Kenia, Uganda and Congo) I woke up during a thunderstorm, rain was pounding my tent, I opened the flap and looked outside, our entire campsite was being washed away by a mudslide, my tent already started to move, I panicked, I saw an airbed floating by and tried to jump on it, when I moved out of the tent I woke up, severely relieved that it was but a dream. During a holiday in Egypt my girlfriend woke me up, I was skulking around in the dark, touching the walls, with a look of terror on my face, again very relieved to wake up. And many more of those dreams, no sleep paralysis, but still dreaming, always fear, always in a horrible situation. You can find some extra information on this topic by reading different topics when you enter 'sleepwalking' in the search. For myself, I don't think too much of it, it happens rarely, in specific conditions. I think it's only a real problem if it interferes with your life, then it's time to do something about.

[Oneironaut Zero]

The most extreme cases of these are called "night-terrors" and are common in children. I heard of one case in a documentary of a girl (unusually older than the average) who would have them every night. It was so bad that her family had to wedge chairs against her door so that she couldn't get out of her room (while asleep) and injure herself. What's worse is that, one night, she got up during a NT, ran to her balcony, her room being on the second floor, jumped over the balcony in terror, broke her hip (or something), got up and ran hysterically in the woods, while still dreaming. Since then, her family sleeps in shifts, making sure that someone is up to keep her from hurting herself even more.

[yoast]

Thanks Oneironaut, I googled 'night terrors' and got a lot of info. In my case I think it's not 'night terror' but a different form of 'parasomnia', because after waking I'm back to normal in a few seconds and because I often do remember being in a specific dream. (which should not be the case with night terrors) But definitely parasomnia, interesting topic, going to see if I find some more on this site.

[King and God]

The most extreme cases of these are called "night-terrors" and are common in children. I heard of one case in a documentary of a girl (unusually older than the average) who would have them every night. It was so bad that her family had to wedge chairs against her door so that she couldn't get out of her room (while asleep) and injure herself. What's worse is that, one night, she got up during a NT, ran to her balcony, her room being on the second floor, jumped over the balcony in terror, broke her hip (or something), got up and ran hysterically in the woods, while still dreaming. Since then, her family sleeps in shifts, making sure that someone is up to keep her from hurting herself even more.[/b] Fuck, that's some creepy shit. It would suck to be that self-destructive in one's sleep. They should just have tied her to the bed with a rope instead of watching her each night, though; it would have been so much simpler.