NightTerrors and Nightmares.....

So what is the difference ?

Since we were kids we have woken in the middle of night after a nightmare – maybe even woken ourselves screaming at the insane and fearful images our mind produces when we sleep.

For those of us who suffer from night terrors the difference is substantial. Whilst it is recorded that night terrors are more common in children, more and more adults are coming forward to tell their stories.

For me a night terror may often start as a nightmare, but the fear I feel can stay with me for hours after I wake up. I may even wake and physically FEAR going back to sleep. I have been known to scream myself awake or simply shock myself awake, gasping for a breath, heart racing, sweat pouring off me.

On the flip side to this, there is the fear of actually going to bed/sleep because of previous experiences. Such as nightmares, pain, lack of sleep, body temperature fluctuations.

Many people with illnesses such as Fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, Lupus, and other such autoimmune diseases and syndromes will suffer from night terrors. Why? Well, for me I think it is because our minds often work differently to those people without these conditions. We may suffer from anxiety, depression and OCD, all of which cause FEAR thoughts and irrational, illogical ideas we cant control. I am no doctor or scientist, but I know what I have experienced and I have heard from others regarding this too and it does seem to tie together in many instances. There is of course the medication issue, as mentioned on the 2 sites quoted below. For those of us with these conditions and others, medication will always play a part in our lives both positive and negative.

Please note the above is my personal opinion and experience of these Night Terrors. The following is medical/scientific information obtained from the internet.

What causes Night Terrors ? Who suffers from them ?
Research has led me to find the following information some of you may find useful :

The following is taken from the website: http://sleep.lovetoknow.com/Night_Terrors_in_Adults where you can read more about Night Terrors for yourself.

Causes of Night Terrors in Adults

“There seems to be a genetic link in night terrors. It is not uncommon for several members of the same family to have experienced night terrors as children, or later in life as adults.
There does seem to be a link between mental disorders and sleep terrors in adults even though there does not seem to be a link between the two for children. Researchers have found that adults with night terrors may also have a medical history of one of the following problems:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Bipolar disorder

Even if an adult with night terrors does not have a mental disorder, they are likely to have other sleep disorders, medical conditions and lifestyle issues such as:

Sleep disorders:

• Sleep deprivation
• Obstructive sleep apnea (apnoea)

Medical conditions:

• Hyperthyroidism (overproduction of thyroid hormones)
• Migraine headaches
• Head injury
• Encephalitis (brain swelling)
• Stroke
• Premenstrual period
• Bloated stomach
• Some types of medications

Lifestyle issues:

• Physical or emotional stress
• Travel anxiety such as sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings
• Alcohol use and abuse
• Noise or light

Night terrors are believed to be caused by a chemical reaction in the brain that causes the sleeper to experience very frightening dreams. The terrors usually start about ninety minutes after the sleeper has fallen asleep when they are entering stage four of their sleep cycle. When a sleeper takes a sleep test in a sleep lab, sleep researchers are able to see a dramatic increase in the amount of brain activity during the night terror episode. This activity will continue to show on their monitors while the sleeper is visually showing the fear of the night terror episode.”

The following is taken from the website: http://www.nightterrors.org/mot.htm where you can read more about Night Terrors for yourself.

“Although night terrors can occur anytime in a persons life span, the most common is reported in children between the ages of three and five. (However more recent studies have turned up showing that many adults as well as children as young as six months experience night terrors on a weekly basis.) Night terrors usually occur fifteen minutes to one hour after going to sleep. I personally experience mine at just about the 45 minute mark. The longer the person is in NREM (the stages before REM) before the night terror strikes, the more petrified they will be when it occurs. Keep in mind though not everyone falls to sleep in the same amount of time as others. This makes a sleep study about the only way of determining what stage of sleep you are in when these events occur.

Night terrors have been shown to appear in stage 4 of sleep. This is just one thing that separates them from nightmares which can occur anytime in sleep. It is possible to make a night terror occur in some people, simply by touching or awakening them during stage 4 of sleep. Why night terrors occur is still a mystery. The mind is supposed to be practically void during the deeper stages of sleep. Most sufferers will awake gasping, moaning, crying but more often screaming.
Breathing rapidly they will sit up in bed with a wide eyed terror filled stare. This panic will often last anywhere from five to twenty minutes. I find the most amazing aspect of night terrors is that it generates a heart rate of 160 to 170 beats per minute. This is much faster than the normal heart rate that can be attained under most stressful circumstances.

Some things that can help bring out a night terror are stress, medications that affect the brain, (It is hard to list exactly which ones) being over-tired or eating a heavy meal before going to bed. Combining all of the above I can usually guarantee an occurrence for myself. Many different medical ailments contribute to the frequency of Night Terrors. The listed items DO NOT cause night terrors, they just seem to put your body into the state where a night terror can manifest itself. People without night terrors will not have a night terror just by trying the above.

There seems to be a common thread in how night terrors manifest themselves. Many people who remember the night terror have talked about seeing animals or people. Most people describe the person that they see as dark and shadowy and feel that the person is going to hurt them. Quite a few people see snakes and spiders. At first I thought people were seeing only things they are afraid of during waking hours. After more research I found that only a small percentage of people were afraid of what they see (in night terrors) during waking hours.”

Found and Shared:

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Melbourne .. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in magazines for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.

Cranky Old Man.....
What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . ... . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . ... lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. ...Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ... . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. .... . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within ... . . .
we will all, one day, be there, too!
The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched.
They must be felt by the heart
 PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM,

I just had to put this on my blog.

FibroLife and FidgityDigits:

A new adventure for 2012.

Hi, I'm Leigh. I'm 37 and have had Fibromyalgia for longer than I care to remember.

At the start of 2012 I made a decision, a decision to stop being Fibromyalgia and start being me again.

Since I was a child I was always a hands on creative person. Not much of a drawer or painter, though I dabbled at times. But give me a piece of clay, wire, beads, glue, even wood and I was happy to sit for hours "creating".  My grandfather nurtured my talents, allowed me to spend hours in his workshop with scraps of wood, taught me to use tools, had the patience of a saint (and scared the hell out of my Nan when he let me use the electric drill, or had my climbing ladders to sit on the flat roof with him, while he fixed the guttering).

In my 20's I spent 3 yrs studying, as a mature student, specialising in Ceramics, but sadly, due to my health, that passion is simply no longer feasible for me.

So I turned my hand to card making.  Unfortunately, I am too much of a perfectionist and put so much time and materials into my cards I simply couldn't make them pay.  Also, my deteriorating health meant I no longer had the ability to grip certain tools.  I became angry, frustrated and gave up.

So for 5 years I sat back, played on-line computer games, and became my diagnosis.

Christmas 2011, I was bought the most beautiful beaded Amethyst necklace.  I loved it.  I had become more and more interested in semi precious stones and healing crystals since meeting my Reiki Master (I am attuned at level 1) and best friends Simon and Kate.  I felt drawn to many of the crystals and was learning all about their properties.  Unfortunately, the necklace had been badly strung, so we took it back to the jewellers to ask if they could do something about it.  A long story short, and after repeatedly explaining that all I wanted was to have it restrung,  I was met with negativity, a host of abuse and was told that I was no longer welcome in that store.  I got my money back and left, in tears.

That was it - the turning point - I took myself off to several local antique stores and craft shops and spent the money on a selection of amethyst beads and a few other items, with the intention of making my own necklace. 

That was January 2012.  As I write this it is June 18th 2012 and I still don't have a beaded amethyst necklace.  What I do have, however, is a new found passion for jewellery making.  A hobby I hope to develop into a long term business venture, and most importantly, a way to bring pleasure to people, myself included.

All my jewellery and accessories are made using semi precious gems, many with healing properties.   I offer Reiki charging on every item at no extra cost. 

My range currently includes, Mobile Phone Charms, Key and Bag Charms, Bracelets and Earrings.  I also make hand wrapped pendants containing healing crystals, and I am slowly practising and developing techniques for producing a variety of necklace styles.

The majority of items are made using jewellery quality silver plated copper, nickel free/low nickel, in accordance with UK laws, and surgical steel for those with sensitive ears.  This keeps the cost of the items to an affordable price for both myself and my customers.  I am branching out into sterling silver for some pieces and I am happy to use it on commissions, if requested.

In 2011 I also discovered Twitter and Fibroduck.  Fibroduck is a fantastic organisation helping to raise awareness of Fibromyalgia, M.E & CFS.  I spent months trying to find a way that I could help towards their fund-raising efforts. 

 

In 2012 I found it.

I produce "Ducky" Keyrings and "Angels of Hope" phone charms and earrings.  Each item has a portion of its cost donated to FibroDuck Fibromyalgia Research.

"Angel of Hope" Phone Charms: Made from a variety of gemstones:

Cost £3.00 with 50p donated to Fibroduck

"Angel of Hope" Earrings: Made from a variety of gemstones:

Cost £6.00 with £1.00 donated to Fibroduck

"Ducky" Key rings Made with Hematite and Citrine - Limited edition (only 10 made):

Cost £7.00 with £1.50 donated to Fibroduck

The "Ducky" Key rings can also be a made in alternative colours on request.

Images:

     

        

For details of all my other items, commissions and photographs please visit me at:  

http://www.facebook.com/FidgityDigits  or e-mail: Fibrography@yahoo.co.uk

As a side - I am also a very keen photographer and have prints on sale here:

http://www.fidgitydigits.co.uk/

You can also see more of my photography here:  FLIKR