Page 29 - NAMAH-Apr-2016

Namah Case study

into our room, occasionally in the middle of and come home so that he would be home
the night, saying he had had a bad dream before dark, with the doors locked and all
or couldn’t sleep. As far back as a year ago, lights on. At night he won’t be in a room
he felt afraid to be alone in the dark, or in alone. In the day, he seems fine, and says
his room to go to sleep, and so we would lie that he is ok during the day.
down with him to help him fall asleep. It has
steadily worsened and in the last month it I have spoken with him about being with
has gotten much worse and reached a point feelings and experiencing them, and know
where he feels too afraid to sleep in his room. that they will pass. He says he tries to do
At first, we occasionally let him sleep in our so, but it is too scary. I have spoken about
bed when afraid. In the last month, he began how it’s not real, and says he knows that,
to wake up every night in the middle of the but can’t get the images out of his head and
night, afraid. So after being woken nightly, they terrify him. He has said that he needs
we eventually put a mattress on the floor of to occupy his mind so that he doesn’t think
our room for him to sleep there in the hopes about the images and turns on music at night,
it was a blip and would pass. We tried that in order to distract himself and go to sleep. I
for a week, but even with the mattress in have tried various approaches, but nothing
our room, he was too afraid to stay on the seems to have helped much.
mattress on the floor and came into our bed.
Last night is a good example of where he is
Before it really escalated, I had been trying at present. He wouldn’t leave the living room
to get to the bottom of the issue. At first he to go to bed unless someone was with him
told me that he saw something scary last to walk him to his room, and wouldn’t go
Halloween and that was the issue. For quite to bed unless someone lay down with him
a long time, when we drove by the old J&R until he fell asleep. After 30 minutes I tried to
building at City Hall (in lower Manhattan) get up and he stirred and woke himself and
he would look away because he had seen insisted I stay, so I stayed another 30 minutes.
large billboards with frightening costume Got up to leave and he woke again. I insisted
advertising on the wall, at Halloween last I couldn’t stay any longer, and he needed to
year, and didn’t want to drive down that go to sleep. After some protesting and trying
road. He has complained intermittently about to get up and crying he eventually stayed.
scary advert posters on buses, etc. When it Several hours later when I was going to bed,
got much worse some weeks ago, he confided I found him still awake and looking at the
that he was playing a kids game online and light down the hallway. He said he couldn’t
a zombie advert popped up, with much gore fall asleep. I spoke with him for a while and
and violence, and it freaked him out. He said then insisted that he had to sleep by himself
that he couldn’t get the images out of his head and work through the fears, and went next
no matter how much he tried. It was a night- door to my bedroom, with the doors open.
time scene. He now expresses extreme fear of He started whimpering about how afraid he
the dark. Right after he saw the zombie clip, was, which escalated to crying and calling out
he was very afraid of the dark, and whenever for mama or dada to stay with him. After a
we were out and about he would ask to leave few minutes, that started escalating to panic

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