The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

Is This Sleep Terrors or Anxiety Attacks?

by Donna
(Los Angeles)

My son just turned 12 years old. Approximately 3 months ago he started having terrible episodes at night after having already been asleep for a little while (between 40 minutes-1 1/2 hours).


He wakes up in complete fear with his heartbeat racing, sweating, crying, walking aimlessly around the room (almost trying to flee) and looking at me saying things like, "Oh God Mommy it won't stop" or "I can't make it stop, I want to be a little baby", etc.

Eventually after like 5-10 minutes of trying to softly talk to him to reassure him that he's okay and getting him to try and listen to my deep breathing he seems to calm down a little. He will lay back in bed but wants me to either rub his tummy (he sometimes gets an upset tummy during it) or he wants me to hold him tight.

This is the most upsetting thing that I have ever seen and it breaks my heart to see him go through this. He has had 6 episodes so far. One even being on a 5 hour long red eye flight that we took to the East coast from CA. It was HORRIBLE to watch this happen on the plane while I tried to calm him. He wanted to leave his seat but of course we couldn't.

Can you please let me know if this sounds like Sleep Terrors or Anxiety Attacks? Just a side note, I recently won full custody of my son through an ugly court battle so that caused a lot of stress on both of us as his father caused a lot of uproar and was even diagnosed with Boarderline Personality Disorder during the process. My son also has had stress of entering middle school this year and some kids picking on him.

PLEASE HELP!

Comments for Is This Sleep Terrors or Anxiety Attacks?

Click here to add your own comments

Mar 01, 2016
 When I was 11 NEW
by: Anonymous

I first started experiencing sleep paralysis when I was 11. However, my eyes were open for the first 2 times but after that, I realized it was better to just keep my eyes closed
Apr 09, 2016
 My 10 year old son doing the same NEW
by: Cory

Just wondering if you have found out what with is wrong with your son? my son has been doing the exact same thing almost to a tee... we are starting to get freaked out now, its happened a bunch of times now
Sep 10, 2016
 Please help NEW
by: Anonymous

Has anyone determine what this is - this is exactly
The same thing my daughter experiences - it's almost nightly at this point. She has been having to sleep in our room as she has attempted to leave the house in the middle of the night - thank goodness we woke up when this was happening. Tonight it has happened again however she said something very disturbing "I want to kill my mom", when I speak to her she responds but does not recall vety mug if anything the next morning. I have tried melatonin but have had no success. I am feeling very frightened that something is seriously wrong with her any information would be helpful. She is nine years old and has a history of difficulty with falling asleep.
Mar 01, 2019
 Wow! I am sorry to hear all of your troubles!
by: R Bruner

I am sorry if this offends anyone, but God is the source of Peace.
If you and your children do not know God, you are missing out on the Greatest Love there is!
I will be praying for you all!
Here is a scripture I looked to when I was having inexplicable visions and feelings about 10 years ago. I was getting scared by things I had heard and seen in my house, so I turned to God (already was a Christian) and told Him that this may be a gift, but it was one that I was not ready for, and He took it away.
Read Psalm 91
God bless you all!
I feel for you!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Experiences With Sleep Disorders In Children.



Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

About This Site

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?

A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

The Stanford Sleep Book

Stanford Sleep Book Picture

Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.

Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy

More Sleep Resources

The Zeo

Track Your Own Sleep With Zeo

A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.

Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book

Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.

Important Disclaimer

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.