\u201cI\u2019d shout out for my husband. Sometimes I\u2019d cry. Once, I kicked him out of bed,\u201d Tina Clark describes the terrors. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t awake. That\u2019s the scariest part \u2014 not knowing what\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now 50, Tina has spent nearly two decades battling night terrors, a condition typically associated with children. For her, it became a long-term, adult reality: hallucinations, screaming in her sleep, and an overwhelming fear of being attacked in her own home. Despite sleep studies, prescriptions, and alternative therapies, Tina hasn\u2019t found a lasting cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These days, the terrors are kept at bay with medication, but it\u2019s not a permanent solution. \u201cIf I stop taking the tablets, they come back,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the NHS, they mostly affect children aged 3 to 8 and usually fade with age. But in adults, they\u2019re far less common and significantly less understood. The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine<\/em> estimates that just 1\u20134% of adults experience them, often with more severe symptoms like hallucinations and violent movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story raises questions not just about the condition itself, but also about how the healthcare system responds when symptoms don\u2019t fit the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tina\u2019s disturbed sleep didn\u2019t begin with full-blown night terrors. Growing up in Kent, she remembers her mum being especially anxious at night, bolting doors and asking Tina to sleep beside her when her dad was on night shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d check under the bed and behind the wardrobe. I was scared someone might be hiding.\u201d But night terrors still didn\u2019t surface in childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 17, she experienced a strange episode: waking up and acting as if she were working in a shoe shop, speaking aloud to imagined customers. \u201cI wasn\u2019t properly awake. I was acting something out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her twenties, fear suddenly intensified. \u201cIf my partner had his arm around me, I\u2019d be sweating, terrified. I genuinely thought he was Hannibal Lecter. It felt completely real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Triggers began to reveal themselves: alcohol, stress, and above all, a lack of physical security living in a ground-floor flat. But the worst was still to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are more interested in dream content:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By her early thirties, Tina\u2019s sleep had become something to fear. \u201cI\u2019d wake up sweating, screaming, completely convinced someone was in the room trying to kill me,\u201d she says. The episodes grew more frequent and disturbing over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one, a faceless black figure loomed beside her bed. In another, someone was trying to stab her with a shard from the mirror beside her. \u201cI was crying, shaking, but still asleep. If my husband tried to calm me down, it made things worse. I\u2019d lash out without realising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Tina, the line between reality and sleep blurred. She\u2019d often wake up unsure whether what happened was a dream, a terror, or real. The episodes came at least three times a week, sometimes more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She once saw a man she believed to be Chinese crouched on her bedroom shelf \u2014 \u201cbent round and staring at me, like he was stuffed into it.\u201d It wasn\u2019t until later that she found out a Chinese couple used to live in the house and were remembered by neighbours for arguing often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The psychological toll was immense. \u201cI was scared to go to bed. I didn\u2019t want to sleep,\u201d she says. She would nap in the afternoon to avoid nighttime sleep. But those naps worsened her sleep pattern further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tina\u2019s breaking point came in her early 40s. Years of sleeplessness had taken their toll on her, her marriage, and her job. \u201cMy husband couldn\u2019t sleep. He was at his wits\u2019 end,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I finally went to the GP, they tried to give him sleeping tablets first, not me.\u201d She was eventually prescribed Clonazepam, a drug used for seizures and panic disorders. It helped her sleep, but it only masked the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tina was referred to a specialist sleep clinic at Guy\u2019s Hospital and underwent an overnight sleep study. She was told not to take her medication for a few nights beforehand \u2014 the terrors returned instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study diagnosed her with NREM Parasomnia, a condition in which individuals partially awaken during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep \u2014 the deepest stage of sleep \u2014 and may perform complex actions or vocalise while remaining unconscious. She was also diagnosed with Restless Legs Syndrome, a condition involving an uncontrollable urge to move the legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tina wasn\u2019t convinced. \u201cI immediately felt like I\u2019d been falsely diagnosed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parasomnias often overlap with other disorders, like PTSD or sleep apnoea, making misdiagnosis common. \u201cThey told me to keep taking the medication and come back every six months. It felt like a cycle with no solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She explored other routes: improving her diet, cutting out alcohol, acupuncture, and gym classes. CBT was offered, but only via self-referral. \u201cThey didn\u2019t guide me to any support. The clinic was useless,\u201d she says. \u201cIt felt like pills or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2021, her GP switched her to Mirtazapine, an antidepressant, but the side effects hit quickly. \u201cI felt emotional and delirious.\u201d She was signed off work for a month with stress and eventually returned to Clonazepam. Any time she tried to stop, including last summer, the terrors returned immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now on a steady 0.75mg dose of Clonazepam, Tina can sleep through the night \u2014 but it comes at a cost. \u201cI don\u2019t like that I have to rely on a tablet every day to sleep,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019d think after years, I wouldn\u2019t have to take it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The long-term impact has been significant. Tina once held a managerial position, but the exhaustion eventually forced her to step down and leave her job. She took a whole year off to recover, but it didn\u2019t help. \u201cI just wasn\u2019t functioning properly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tina wishes there were more open conversations around adult parasomnias \u2014 and more understanding within the medical system. \u201cIt\u2019s like no one knows what to do with you,\u201d she says. \u201cI wasn\u2019t offered any support. Just a prescription and a goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her story is not an isolated case. Fewer than 5% of adults are affected by parasomnias, and yet diagnosis, treatment, and support remain inconsistent and underfunded. Tina is one of many navigating a disorder that still carries the stigma of being a \u201cchildhood phase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her experience is a call for change \u2014 for better awareness, broader medical training, and more comprehensive support for adults whose nightmares don\u2019t end with childhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Night terrors aren\u2019t just for kids. One woman\u2019s story shows the lasting toll of an adult condition \u2014 and a system without real answers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":1007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nightlife"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Early Signs of a Hidden Disorder<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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When Night Becomes Dangerous<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Medication, Misdiagnosis and Missed Support<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Like No One Knows What to Do With You\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n