Overload
Night terrors [index to main detailed entry]
Category: Illness or disabilities
Type
Involuntary
Introduction and description
A night terror, also known as a sleep terror, incubus attack, or pavor nocturnus, is defined by the medical profession as “a parasomnia disorder that predominantly affects children, causing feelings of terror or dread, typically occurring in the first few hours of sleep”.
Night terrors are not nightmares, which are simply bad dreams.
There are other symptoms of night terrors that make them somewhat different.
The medical profession defines them as ‘sleep disorders’ - despite the fact that it is generally accepted that children with these terrors are not in reality 'asleep' - and frequently [though not always] suggests medication for the ‘disorder’ – a situation which we shall see is utterly disastrous and wholly wrong.