Things that have happened/are happening/will continue to happen:

For the last year or so, I've been having a lot of issues when it comes to sleep. Whereas sleep was once simple, wonderful, absolute escape, it is now something that I dread every night. I know what's coming; my body knows what's coming. I just don't want to deal with it every night. I will say, when the boy spends the night, it's not so bad. Apparently the early stages of my thrashing wake him up and he is able to calm me down before it escalates any further. Unfortunately, when he's not there it is pure, unadulterated hell. It begins with some severe nightmares. These cause my body to start twitching and occasionally thrashing in my bed. Sometimes I'll just wake up in the middle of this and just need to wait a half hour or so to calm down. Other times, I'll wake up in the middle of REM sleep where my muscles are still in sleep paralysis. Thus, I am panicking from my nightmare, but further, I am unable to move any part of my body. This does nothing to help calm me down. In the last two weeks, these nightmares seemed to have increased in both frequency and intensity. Unfortunately, I am unable to spend any nights with the boy as we both work two completely different jobs and it is impossible. It's clear to me the reason for the sudden increase in night terrors, but there is honestly nothing I can do about it that isn't going to also piss off those closest to me. I suppose I will just have to continue riding them out until they give a little. I can put up with a lot of crap, but sleep was always an efficient escape. I'd like it back.