My client suffers night terrors. What can I do to help her?

Hi Mark,

I have a client who experiences night terrors. She rarely remembers the content of the nightmare or what she was dreaming prior to waking. She wakes screaming and feeling a general distress. Her boyfriend says she is talking and screaming in her sleep prior to waking. This has occurred since childhood and her father has a history of the same type of experience.

Which script would you recommend: 'Stop Sleep Talking' or 'Recurring Dream/Nightmare'? Any experience with this topic to share? I am all ears!

Thanks!

Tami

This question was submitted by 'Tami'

Mark says...

Hi Tami and thanks for writing in.

Night terrors are often confused with nightmares, but are not dreams at all. Nightmares, like other dream types, occur mainly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, whereas night terrors occur during non-dream slow wave sleep. Many children experience night terrors and naturally grow out of them. There may be a hereditary aspect to them and sometimes, but not always, they seem to be related to daytime stress levels.

I would look at what her daytime life is like. Does she have raised cortisol (a stress hormone) levels? Are her needs met adequately? Is this more of a problem for her boyfriend or for her?

You can try the 'Night Panic Attacks' script with her and see how she gets on with that.

All best wishes,

Mark