Severe nightmares/waking dreams

[InChains]

not necessarily alcohol related, though I do drink alot late at night and I am aware this can cause some sleep disruption - but it hasn't done this to me before.

The last couple of weeks I have been having progressively worse bouts of anxiety at about 4-5 in the morning, about 4 hours after I go to sleep. I wake up, suddenly, with a feeling of dread. Originally this was accompanied by rational anxious thoughts, could I afford certain things, what side effects were my tablets going to have? The last couple of nights however its changed to what i can only describe as a waking nightmare. I am conscious, but can't do much, I get a nightmare scenario in my head, mostly this has been that the devil is after me and in my dreams so i cannot sleep, last night it was that i needed a glass of water more than anything but could not get it.

I want to know if anybody else has experience of this, drinking or not, and knows of anything I could do to end these horrible episodes, I'm finding it very hard to sleep now and live in fear of the small hours of the morning.

[bettygirl]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

could be sleep paralysis...it's normal, but quite freaky. i have it when i nap during the day sometimes, where everything feels like i am awake, but i cannot move or do anything to react to what i am perceiving to be going on around me. it can be terrifying. i'm sure alcohol makes it worse at night...i definitely had major anxiety at night when i was drinking. its one of the many reasons i had to stop drinking, it was sooooo bad.

are you tapering off?

[InChains]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

I don't drink very much, about 10 units but its all late night, about a 4 hour period. I don't exactly perceive whats around me when I'm asleep, it's more i have a half nightmare half waking perception so it ends up as the nightmare being in my waking life when i wake up.

[bettygirl]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

google sleep paralysis and see if you can relate. it is very common.

[bettygirl]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

and the things i think i'm perceiving, aren't there...it's a dream.

[InChains]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

thanks betty, went to google and it does seem likely to be sleep paralysis, hoping this is a short term issue, have you suffered from it long term?

[K9Lover]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

When I was drinking I had sleep paralysis all the time during my naps. I have not had it since I got sober. I think it was the alcohol and daily withdrawals messing with my mind. It was so bad that I didn't want to take a nap, but I was hungover so I had to.

[kuya]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

InChains;1483439 wrote: I don't drink very much, about 10 units but its all late night, about a 4 hour period. I don't exactly perceive whats around me when I'm asleep, it's more i have a half nightmare half waking perception so it ends up as the nightmare being in my waking life when i wake up.

I could not help but comment Inchy.......where else but MWO could a person state that 10 units nightly was 'not much'.

I drank 15 units nightly ( errrm. 15 times the healthy limit ) and wondered why I was tired and depressed and anxious !

Denial really is NOT a river in Egypt eh? :H:H

[InChains]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

kuya you made me laugh there xD Yes 10 is not good (plus binges)

K9: that is encouraging, am really hoping this ends with sobriety

[kuya]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

K9Lover;1483454 wrote: When I was drinking I had sleep paralysis all the time during my naps. I have not had it since I got sober. I think it was the alcohol and daily withdrawals messing with my mind. It was so bad that I didn't want to take a nap, but I was hungover so I had to.

I couldn't nap hungover.......really annoying ! Now I can nap easily but can't sleep at night, nap or not.......grrrrrr

[InChains]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

I can't nap, can't sleep in the day, struggle to sleep at night at the best of times

[K9Lover]

Severe nightmares/waking dreams

I don't think I was really "napping" hungover either...more like laying there miserable, but half-asleep and half-awake with the horrifying sleep paralysis. Like I said, now that I REALLY sleep, I don't experience it anymore. So maybe it has something to do with the quality of sleep you are getting as well?