Screaming in my sleep

I've been scouring the web and various forums trying to find answers, but everything I come across seems to be about toddlers... My situation is different—I'm 17 and I scream in my sleep—sometimes even getting out of bed mid-episode. When I wake up in the morning, there’s absolutely no memory of it. The screaming is just so loud and terrifying—honestly, it's enough to wake up the neighbors across the street in 🙄
.
I'm really hoping to hear from anyone who's dealt with something similar—how did you handle it? I'm honestly at a loss for where to even begin...

Roger Patel13 said:I’ve already attempted to scour the internet and various forums for information on this, but everything I find seems strictly limited to toddlers. My situation is different; I’m 17, and I scream in my sleep—sometimes even physically getting out of bed. By morning, there isn't a single memory of it. The screaming is incredibly loud and frankly terrifying; it’s enough to wake up the neighbors across the street in 🙄
.
Does anyone have similar experiences, and how did you manage to resolve this? I am at a loss as to where to even begin...

Do you suffer from any other sleep disorders, such as insomnia, narcolepsy, or sleep apnea?
Have you been under significant stress lately?
I ask because I personally deal with sleep issues and used to spend a ridiculous amount of time at the sleep clinic in Los Angeles... 🙄

I did a bit of digging myself and stumbled upon some info regarding this screaming: Nightmare
There is plenty of documentation there; surely you can find something useful... 😁

Roger Patel13 said:I’ve already spent some time digging through the internet and various forums looking for answers, but everything I come across seems to focus exclusively on toddlers. My situation is different—I'm 17, and I find myself screaming in my sleep, sometimes even physically getting out of bed. When morning rolls around, there isn't a single memory of what happened. The screaming is incredibly loud and genuinely terrifying; it's intense enough to wake up my neighbor living across the street in 🙄
.
I'm curious if anyone else has dealt with something similar or has any ideas on how to handle this. Honestly, I'm at a total loss as to where I should even begin...

Have you ever felt actual physical pain while dreaming? Like, was there some kind of ache or injury that triggered the screaming, or was it just out of nowhere?

Jessica Price78 said:So, do you deal with any sleep issues—like insomnia, narcolepsy, or apnea...?
Been feeling pretty stressed lately—just one of those things...

I don't think I have any actual disorder... except for that, I guess...
The screaming hasn't stopped for years now—so I wouldn't really call it just some temporary stress... I don't have any issues, honestly. Even during my vacation, everything feels fine...

Jessica Price78 said:Have you ever actually felt pain while you were sleeping? Like... something really hurt and you ended up screaming in your sleep—or has that never happened to you...

Honestly, I can barely remember what I dream about most nights. My sister always catches me mid-sleep—she says I start yelling "no, no, no!" while pulling the covers over my head and everything... In the dreams that actually stick, though, stuff just keeps falling on me. Like, random things—police cruisers, chairs, the ceiling...

Maybe there’s a chance I’m carrying some kind of trauma from when I was just an infant... My mom always tells me how scary those few days in the hospital were—she says the ward was just filled with babies crying their heads off, and it felt like nobody was really looking out for them. I don't actually remember any of it, but... maybe something stuck with me. 🤷

That’s kind of the tricky part—you don't actually remember what you were dreaming about. It might be a Nightmare triggered by some old trauma from years ago, or maybe just a random scene from a movie or a specific fear of yours that plays out in the dream until you end up screaming.
Whenever I hit one of those scenes I'm afraid of while I'm asleep, my brain pretty much jolts me awake instantly. If it didn't, I guess I probably would have ended up screaming too. 🙂

Roger Patel13 said:I don't think I have any actual disorder... except for this, I guess. x)
The screaming has been constant for several years now, so I wouldn't exactly call it simple stress. I don't have issues otherwise; even during my vacations, everything is perfectly fine.

No, more often than not, I can't even recall what I was dreaming about. My sister always hears me and tells me I start shouting "no, no, no" while pulling the covers over my head and things like that. In the dreams I actually remember, objects are frequently falling on me. For instance, police cars, chairs, ceilings...

Is there a possibility that I suffered some kind of trauma as an infant? I ended up in the hospital for a few days when I was a baby, and my mother always recounts how terrible it was because all the other infants were already hysterical from crying and nobody seemed to be paying much attention to them. I have no memory of what happened there, but perhaps some residual trauma remains.🤷

How frequently does this occur?
For example, how many times per week...?

Jessica Price78 said:How often does this actually happen?
Like, how many times a week...

Well... sometimes it happens twice a week—other times, it won't happen at all for an entire week.

Roger Patel13 said:...plus, it’s inconsistent—sometimes it happens twice a week, other times it doesn't happen at all for a full week.

My 16-year-old daughter goes through the exact same thing—sleep talking, screaming, even running around the house like she's fleeing from someone... I'm just hoping it eventually passes. On top of all that, she gets these intense headaches right before bed; I'm not sure if they're linked to the night waking. We went to the doctor and ran every test imaginable—everything came back normal—but those headaches aren't going anywhere.😢

It’s not going away. Honestly, I think it actually gets worse as you get older. When I was a kid, I shared a room with my brother, and he’d tell me I’d sometimes mumble or make these weird noises while sleeping—whether lying down or sitting up. Then I'd just drift right back to sleep.

By high school, I started becoming aware of what I was doing, though I obviously couldn't control it. Back then, it wasn't dangerous; I’d wake up and try to explain myself to whoever was in the room with me. Of course, it never worked because, in the moment, whatever I was saying sounded perfectly logical to me (even though it was total nonsense). I'd get a little frustrated because nobody understood what I was saying, and by the time I finished my "explanation"—which took about thirty seconds to a minute—I’d finally snap back to reality.

Eventually, it happened so often that if someone was sharing a room with me, they’d just see that moment where I realized I was "explaining" something in my sleep, say "sorry," and go right back to sleep.

College was the worst part. My roommates were cool about it; I’d explain what was happening and they’d roll with it. But in college, it wasn't just "explaining" things anymore. Sometimes I’d actually freak out—like thinking bats, crows, or ninja stars flew through the window... honestly, anything my brain could dream up. I’d bolt for the door in a panic, and just as I’d be rushing to check if those things were still in my room, I’d wake up. It happened enough that I’d just swear under my breath and crawl back into bed.

The real issue is that twice, I caught myself trying to find "help" not by running through the door, but by... well, other ways. Thank God I woke up. In those moments, I’ve also woken up having hit myself or knocked something over. In the morning, I’ll just find a bruise on my body or something broken on the floor.

Nowadays, it's a mix of "running in my sleep," "explaining" things, and varying amounts of remembering it all. I'm happiest when I have my own room and can just let it happen. My job doesn't really allow for that, though; sometimes I'm on a trip with coworkers, and that's just how it goes.
I don't know who to thank, but I've never said anything in my sleep that I wouldn't want kept private (since it's all gibberish anyway), and I've never actually hurt anyone or gotten violent.

I know the weight of this. It's hard when you can't get decent sleep, especially since I have a pretty responsible job and need my rest. But I've made my peace with it; it is what it is. The problem is feeling pathetic when you meet someone new and feel like you have to warn them first. Or when you're invited to a party at a friend's house and you end up sleeping through it—you start questioning if you even want to go. What will people think? How will they look at you? We all say we don't care what others think, but it's not that simple.

I wish there was a fix for this, but I doubt it. I don't buy into churches, demons, weird room vibrations, or earth energy fields at the specific spot where I sleep or any of that nonsense.

I don't think it has anything to do with stress, either. "Stress" is such a buzzword nowadays—everyone claims they're stressed, but not everyone is sprinting around in their sleep or shouting at night.

So, I'm just sharing my situation. I know there are others out there and it shouldn't be viewed as being "sick," but it's hard not to dwell on it.

I had this one experience—it happened right there in bed by an open window—and when the people I was with heard what was going on, they told me I needed to see a priest. They actually started talking about exorcisms, terrified.
People couldn't even sleep because they were so scared. For me, I just remember it wasn't some typical nightmare triggered by old childhood trauma. It felt more like this waking trance, almost like an epileptic fit, where everything started going wrong in my life all at once. It was this massive breaking point of stress, and that night, I felt like I was simultaneously myself and some hateful man trying to kill me through this half-dream state.
To make it even more surreal, my body was twitching, repeatedly lifting and dropping, all while these horrific, violent words of pure rage and hatred were being spat out.
I’ll probably never know what that actually was, but I'm certain it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Not long after that, the demonic dreams started kicking in. Meanwhile, the women living two floors up and one floor down from me told me they saw some dark figure pacing around the house like a maniac one night, peering in through the windows. They ended up moving out in a huge hurry right after.

What really went down that night three and a half years ago? I honestly have no clue, but it’s still a mystery to me, and honestly, pretty fascinating.

Who knows, maybe that creep was looking for me...

I’ve gone through this three times now. It is truly terrifying when it happens in your sleep—and I can still vividly recall the sheer horror of it. You're screaming internally, your heart is racing, you're terrified of the dark, and even though you're fully conscious of everything, you just cannot wake up. The whole ordeal lasted about ten minutes. I eventually saw my doctor, who chalked it up to stress (which was fair, considering I was going through a pretty intense period at the time). They prescribed some mild medication, and it finally stopped. Everything has settled down since then, and it hasn't happened again.