Night terrors

Welcome, @calmsoul ...

The night terrors sound simply awful 😞 I wish I knew how to help, but I don't.

Hopefully someone on here will...

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I hope you find the forums supportive...

hi @calmsoul

Welcome to the Forums.

You mentioned PTS triggers, but what you describe in your night terror situations seems very physiological. As such, you might like to try some techniques here and there through out the day; like progressive muscular relaxation; a static stretching routine; mindful diaphramatic breathing; or even a meditative soaking foot bath ...

Mind you, I am no clinician - so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Kind regards

Hey there thank you for your reply. Yes, the night terrors come about when I'm dealing with PTSD symptoms.

I do many things to help myself

I just find it fascinating that my brain can still operate in trauma response like that, despite cognitive knowing throughout the day that I'm safe and ok.

That's ok. Thank you for your reply and care.

I've just posted a reply to the other lovely person to.

I just find it all fascinating how our brains work 🤣

Night terrors are awful.

I've injured myself a couple of times.

It's just so weird that despite knowing throughout the day that I'm ok. My brain at night obviously has a different notion 🤣🤣

Hi @calmsoul,

Welcome to the Forums. My name is FloatingFeather and I am one of the peer support workers at SANE. Night terrors sound pretty intense - I'm sorry this is happening to you. I can only imagine they would be pretty frightening and probably a little exhausting too.

I don't know much about night terrors to be honest but I am interested to see what others say.

I hope you are okay and the night terrors lessen for you.

Warm wishes,

FloatingFeather

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@FloatingFeather

Hey. I'm not sure if my at symbol worked. Not very tech savvy !!

I've come to discover in my journey of living with PTSD.

Understandiing triggers etc and how my little brain can automatically just respond to something it views as a threat.

And no matter how much I can consciously do,. breathing techniques etc throughout the day.

Night time, when I'm asleep, seems to be a whole different story !!

I can go to sleep no problem.

Feeling safe and relaxed

But it's kinda fascinating how my unconscious brain works !!

And how my body, without me having any control until I come too, can still respond that way in trauma.

You did a great job tagging me @calmsoul - your message came through to me no problem!

I agree with you around how fascinating the brain can be - like you said for some reason it seems that when you are sleeping and your brain gets triggered it seems to respond like what is going on is a legitimate threat.

I wonder if working through your trauma in a conscious state (e.g. with a therapist) would help your unconscious mind with the automatic responses and night terrors? It really is interesting how the conscious and unconscious mind work.

I am glad at least you can go to sleep well, feeling safe and relax. Hoping that the night terrors ease up so you can get a much deserved peaceful sleep.

@FloatingFeather

I guess I'm just trying help others who have ptsd to be kind to ourselves 😊

We can't always control triggers that happen and we can't always control how our brain and body may initially respond !!

Eg: I can be in my local Supermarket. Someone drops a jar of spaghetti sauce.

Everyone else may get a bit of a fright. Me, on the other hand, sees me jumping sky high and screaming with fright 🤣🤣

I now just laugh. I take a few deep breaths and accept that it's ok if thats been my response 🤣🤣

I can't avoid triggers.

I sometimes can't stop my body instantly reacting.

But I can control how to then relax afterwards and and train my brain that's it safe.

Fascinating stuff I reckon 😊😊

I really like your willingness and kindness to reach out and share with others around something that I'm sure can be really challenging and confronting @calmsoul .

I also really like how you deal with it - I know we can't help triggers and how we respond to things but I think finding some humour in the face of adversity can be really beneficial (easier said than done I know 🙂)! I am a person that likes to find the lighter side of life whenever I can - typically there's a silver lining somewhere (even if it is tiny!)

Really glad you have joined the forums - really enjoy your take on things and your refreshing attitude 🙂🙂