I have been having extreme sleep paralysis and night terrors practically all the time and it’s been making me scared to go to sleep at night. It’s causing tons of anxiety and fear. Also so far I’ve been sober for over 2months.
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Are you consuming alcohol before bed?
Are you taking any medication? I have experienced this with certain meds. I have heard of it with quitting things too, weed especially, but alcohol is new. Here is an approach that while simple has shown to be effective, and free for that matter...
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Do you lucid dream with your paralysis? I've had this happen since I was 17 and I'm 32 now. I don't know what started them but I always lucid dream simultaneously with sleep paralysis so I fall asleep and start dreaming but I know I'm dreaming. I'm always a bad situation in in these dreams (being robbed, stung by bees, house on fire, shadow people in my apartment, home invasion, kidnapped, etc) and I have to get through my dream like it's happening in real life. If I try to wake up I can't move my body, when I talk I'm only talking in my dream and It scares me bc in my head I am awake but I know I'm dreaming. I can't open my eyes or get up bc my body is asleep and I start to panic. I have to scream loud enough in my dream that I actually scream in real life and wake myself up with my own scream and that is the only way I can come out of my dream. I've had that not work before and thought my dream was actually my real life and that I dreamed my actual life instead. I've never only experienced the paralysis outside a lucid dream so I'm interested in talking more about what you experience. As far as the fear and anxiety goes, even though I know how to wake myself up now and break the paralysis, I still panic as soon as I fall into a lucid state and I'm not sure if I will ever not be scared of that happening but learning how to make it stop by screaming has made it easier since I can usually break out of it pretty quickly these days. I cannot stop it from happening or see any pattern of why/when it happens except its most common when I am very tired and when I fall asleep on my back and.not on my side
I had really bad sleep and lots of nightmares for my first 3 months. So hopefully it goes away around that time or sooner. What helped with mine was a hot cup of camomile tea and honey just before bed
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I'm so sorry that has to be scary.
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I'd talk to your primary physician. Be honest you are newly sober and having g night terrors no reason you have to live like that especially while improving yourself. I'm going on 6 months sober and had what I hope was only nightmares first 2 months of sobriety. I went for a full exam and panel testing my liver to white blood cell to vitamin deficiencies among whatever else they do. I was under the impression get my vitamin into the normal range would help with mood. It's been months and I feel no difference. So I'm going to ask for a antidepressant my next visit. My point is don't neglect yourself, alcohol has changed our brain chemistry. I look back and I drank when I celebrated when i was stressed because I was bored exc. I'm still navigating but feel good about it.
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That’s exactly what I’m going through right now, I’ve had it through my life but lately it’s gotten worse. Have you found anything to prevent it?
That’s a good idea, thank you
I had the most sleep paralysis when I moved to a new dorm in college. I was not used to sleeping in such an environment. Has your sleeping environment changed at all?
There's a medication called prazosin that helps with nightmares. I take it, don't get nightmares anymore. You might think of asking your doctor for that. It's so effective they give it to soldiers with ptsd.
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Congrats on being sober over 2 months , the night terrors will happen , in my experience they eventually go away .. good luck!
I second this! I take Prazosin for night terrors. Works well
I haven't found anything that prevents them. I'll get them nights in a row then go 2 months without one then have 2 or 3 within a short time period. It's all completely random. I have no idea what triggers them. It's like a hallucination bc I don't remember my normal dreams very long after waking up but I can tell you the lucid dreams I had 15 years ago bc they are like memories that really happened. The details. I try to tell myself that there's a reason behind them but in all this time I've never been able to figure them out. I try to control them more so I can decide whether I want to go through the dream or not but that is the only thing I've been able to sort of control about them