On one occasion, his parents found Richie thrashing about in his bed, breathing rapidly. When they tried to calm him down, he jumped out of bed screaming and ran into a wall. Richie's mother called me for an appointment. During a nightmare, your child awakens feeling afraid, achieves consciousness quickly, and remembers the content of the bad dream. An occasional nightmare is normal, but frequent or recurring ones are sometimes stress related.
Night terrors are to nightmares what a hurricane is to the thunderstorm.
A night terror usually begins suddenly, with your child sitting up and screaming in terror. Your child is confused, incoherent, disoriented, and possibly hallucinating. Signs of intense physical stress are present, including a rapid heartbeat, sweating, and dilated pupils. During the terror, which lasts 10 to 30 minutes, attempts to console your youngster may cause more agitation. When calm is restored, you child quickly falls asleep.