We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Parasomnias and panic attacks: A case report.
- Authors
Benavente López, S.; Salgado Borrego, N.; Hernández Durán, C.; Muro Fernández de Pinedo, E.; García Marín, A.P.; Pérez Ordoño, L.; Sainz Herrero, A.; Sanz Paloma, A.M.; Barbosa Requena, R.; Vázquez Rodríguez, L.T.; Rodrigo Borja, G.; Vila Santos, J.; Jiménez Morillas, F.; Bermejo Lorero, S.; Castro Arias, M.L.
- Abstract
Introduction Parasomnias are a category of sleep disorders in which abnormal events occur during sleep, due to inappropriately timed activation of physiological systems. Case report We report the case of a 41-year-old female who has no psychiatric history. The patient went to emergency department because when she was starting to sleep, in the first state of sleep, she felts a sensation of paralysis in all her body, with incapacity for breathing, chest oppression and tactile hallucinations like something or someone was touching her entire body. Due to that, the patient awoke frightened, with high levels of anxiety, with heart palpitations, shortness of breath, trembling, choking feeling, sweating, nausea and fear of dying. When the patient arrived to the emergency department, she was suffering a panic attack, thinking that she could have some kind of neurological disease or she was suffering a heart attack. After treating the panic attack with 1 mg of lorazepam, all the symptoms subsided gradually. Discussion In this case report, we present a patient with a new-onset parasomnia, with hypnagogic hallucinations and a panic attack at the awakening. It is known that stress factors are closely associated with parasomnias, as we can see in this case because the patient was moving and she was sleeping in a new place. Conclusions Parasomnias are very frequently present in general population and they can trigger intense anxiety status that can lead to panic attacks.
- Subjects
PANIC attacks; SLEEP disorders; RESPIRATION; ILLUSION (Philosophy); PALPITATION
- Publication
European Psychiatry, 2016, Vol 33, pS546
- ISSN
0924-9338
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1600