An adopted brother not only had voices but saw and smelt blood coming out of the walls. Once his only response was to curl into a foetal ball on the floor and scream. After a great deal of research and questioning subsequent to Dutch research he claims to have cured himself of the symptoms. How did all this start? His Munchausen by proxy mother had him institutionalised at the age of three because he insisted that he wanted to read. Thanks to her he also no longer has a functioning anus. He was consequently fed many heavy and sometimes experimental drugs whilst living in an environment that denied him what he originally wanted - to be taught how to read and gain an education. The education that he gained resulted in him being vehementally anti psychiatric drugs. As a result of what has occurred to him he will be lucky to live beyond 50. He claims and I have no reason to doubt him that has an IQ of 140. Several years ago he lectured 50 psychiatrists on his research in to schizophrenic voices and sights/smells. He received a standing ovation.

I spent something like fifteen years of marriage waking up screaming (loudly) quite regularly because of dream intruders in the room. That particular dream stopped the moment my ex and I separated, never had it since.

In retrospect it was just my subconscious nagging me to get out of the marriage, if you won't deal with something while you are awake doesn't stop your brain from processing the same thoughts in its own weird way when you are asleep.

I had these off and on for years from the age of 12 until well into adulthood. I had so many that I learned how to break out of them and wake up. Same things: shadow people, being touched, dragged etc. scary sounds, paralysis. I believe that mine were due to PTSD from a childhood dog attack.

Sorry you all suffered too and thank you for your feed back it helps knowing I am not alone whether it is a spiritual thing or not who knows..

I have had a few, where I felt something was attacking me, and I somehow had to "wake myself up..." and I tried, but couldn't. When I finally did wake up, I was exhausted and terrified to go back to sleep again. Fortunately, when I turned the TV on, it helped me sleep.

But I think there are biological reasons for it as well. I did a quick Google search, and the first site to come up was the Mayo Clinic. They said:

Sleep terrors are classified as a parasomnia — an undesirable behavior or experience during sleep. Sleep terrors are a disorder of arousal, meaning they occur during N3 sleep, the deepest stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Another NREM disorder is sleepwalking, which can occur together with sleep terrors.

I had a really good friend who had the sleepwalking disorder. When he lived alone, he woke up in the hallway to his apartment, lying on top of the washers in the laundry room, out on the lawn of his complex in the middle of winter (of course it was Seattle, so it was rain, and not snow, and it rarely goes below forty). And he slept in his underwear, so it got to be a thing when the neighbors spotted him. He even tried putting on pajamas, and yet still ended up in his underwear. When he got married, a lot of that stopped, and his wife was able to run interference for him.

I remember one year I got really curious about dreams and dreaming, and so I read a lot of books, some of them just weird. I did like Carl Jung, though, even though most of his ideas are outdated, I loved he me made dreams and dreaming such a personal thing and making our connection to what he called "cosmic consciousness." It was a fun concept to play with as a writer, so I go back to his books a lot.

The Mayo Clinic also listed some factors that contribute to sleep terrors. According to them, "Sleep terrors sometimes can be triggered by underlying conditions that interfere with sleep, such as:

Sleep-disordered breathing — a group of disorders that include abnormal breathing patterns during sleep, the most common of which is obstructive sleep apnea
Restless legs syndrome
Some medications
Mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety
In adults, alcohol use

So for years I thought Restless Leg was a made up sickness. I jiggle like Jello in an earthquake, but I just assumed it was because I'm super hyper (which I am...)

Then they had to bring alcohol into the mix. Okay, that's crossing a line. If they think I'm going to quit drinking just so I can get a good night's sleep, they have another thing coming. (Just kidding.)

I also felt exposed when talking about it... especially since I grew up in a rather fundamentalist family, and to them it was "demons," or "Satan," or some sin in my life. But hearing others' stories, and seeing the science of it, and realizing that it's a human thing... that has helped tremendously.

Yes. Not had them for a long time. I sympathise.

I have had night terrors all of my life. I guess they are "mild" but when I'm camping I scare the people in my campsite by my unconscious screams and moans. Doesn't happen all the time but I know it happens and often I'm not even aware of it the next day.

Many years ago when I was a child. I was told it was a reaction to some kind of stressor. Terrifying at the time but it passed and hasn't returned. Hope all goes well for you.

I had that happen sometimes in Haiti, where voodoo was the religion. I was terrified until I discovered that all I had to do was ignore it, and they disappeared. But I don't know if that case was the same as yours.

Later, when I started menopause I began to get panic attacks at night, so learned to take hormone balancing herbs and eat fish for relief. I suppose it was the mix of gender hormones clashing in my body that caused it, since panic attacks seem to be a frequent problem with creative, high IQ types, who, in turn, are often androgyne..mixed gender.

Twice 22 years ago