This archetype was described as Carl Jung as a person with great judgment and wisdom. The wise old man is sometimes referred to as the Sage. This archetype is characterized by being old, bearded, father-figure type who uses his great personal knowledge of the world and offer guidance through stories and may impress upon his [...]
Night terrors are quite common in children aged 2-6 but can occur at any age. Statistics show that as many as 15% of young children have experienced night terrors.
Children who have had night terrors usually wake up screaming and sweaty. Parents usually describe their kids as suddenly bolting upright in bed shaking with fear. Children will usually have wide open eyes, will almost usually scream and cold sweat, erratic breathing and shaking are also common.
Night terrors are not to be confused with nightmares as kids who have nightmares are easily woken up. During night terrors, kids will not usually wake up immediately and may not recognize the person waking them. A typical night terror lasts anywhere from 5-30 minutes. Kids who wake up will usually almost go back to sleep immediately afterwards. And although kids who have night terrors may seem that they are awake, they are most often still asleep.
Some of the signs of night terrors are:
-suddenly waking up
-fear, terror and other weird behavior during the night
-rapid heart beat, screaming, crying
-confusion and sweating
-having no memory of the event
-having a hard time waking up
-being irritable and hard to soothe back to sleep
Night terrors are more often common in young boys and will most likely run in families, just like most other sleep disorders. Night terrors are usually caused by an interruption in the sleep cycle because of a stressful event or lack of sleep.
In most cases, the remedy is simply to soothe and comfort the child and reassuring them that there is nothing to fear. There are extreme cases that will need therapy but most kids are easily reassured and pacified. Medication is seldom prescribed.
Children will usually outgrow night terrors. Adults who have had night terrors from the time they were kids usually have very stressful situations and have other psychological issues aside from stress related ones. To ensure that night terrors are kept to a minimum, follow a bedtime routine and make sure that stressful issues around the home or school are addressed and explained to your kids. It is also suggested to get adequate sleep and rest most especially for the younger kids.
Tags: night terrors, nightmares
