You may want to check out EFT ..... I have heard about this before and people say it really works. I plan to check into this myself too.
40 Years of Nightmares Quickly Vanish
by CJ Puotinen
PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, turns lives upside down -- not only when something terrible happens but for months, years, or decades after that.
Detailed memories of past events can disrupt sleep, interfere with relationships, cause depression, hinder career opportunities, dictate one's lifestyle, and create health problems.
Why can't people with this problem just get over it? Just ask army veterans, victims of rape or violent crime, survivors of events like the World Trade Center collapse, people displaced by hurricanes, or those injured in accidents.
They'll tell you that it isn't a matter of making a conscious decision and sticking with it. When one's emotions are involved, the conscious mind isn't in charge. It's the subconscious mind and the feelings one has no control over that run the show.
A fortunate few can also tell you that there's a way to alleviate PTSD that bypasses the conscious mind and goes straight to the source of the problem.
Unlike conventional psychotherapy, this treatment is fast, painless, and does not involve drugs. It's called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT, and it works with gentle fingertip tapping on key acupuncture points, most of them on the head and torso.
The discovery here is that the PTSD symptoms occur because the "subtle energies" in the body (the Chinese call it Qi) become disrupted and cause a sort of "short circuit" in the system. Stimulating the energy meridians by tapping on them with the fingertips serves to repair the disruption and allows the energy to flow normally. Properly done, PTSD and other severe emotional issues start to fade.
EFT founder Gary Craig demonstrated this technique at a Veterans Administration hospital in California in videotaped sessions that are now available on DVD.
In just a few moments, the mental movies that played constantly in the minds of Vietnam War Veterans who volunteered to learn EFT transformed from vivid, haunting, detailed sound-and-light shows to normal, routine decades-old memories. The veterans could still remember what happened, but the events no longer carried an emotional charge. Additional PTSD cases are reported in detail at the EFT Web site.
An Example: Kay's Birth Trauma
Recently, Dr. Alexander Lees taught EFT to "Kay" (not her real name), a 64-year-old woman whose nightmares began 40 years ago when she was living in Canada's frozen North and pregnant with her second child.
Because her husband's job kept him away for months at a time, Kay had to be self-sufficient. She cut her own firewood, maintained a hole in the ice of a nearby creek for water, and did everything herself.
A friend who had assisted at the birth of Kay's first child was delayed by a storm, so she was unable to help with this second birth. Kay had already given birth and developed complications by the time her friend arrived. Under extremely hazardous conditions, Kay was evacuated by a bush pilot to his plane and then flown to a waiting ambulance.
Kay was treated in a distant hospital and she recovered, at least physically. Her mental and emotional recovery was another story. As she told Dr. Lees, "The doctors have tried all kinds of medication. They are really compassionate and concerned.
"I've been referred to several counselors over the years, and I take my medicines every day, but I still can't get past it all, even after all these years. I shake uncontrollably sometimes and relive that time over and over."
Dr. Lees wrote a detailed description of Kay's step-by-step treatment for the EFT Web site, explaining how two sessions of EFT transformed a lifetime of suffering.
Two weeks after her second session, Kay reported that her "shakiness" was more than 90-percent relieved. "The flashbacks are becoming vague," she said, "like I can see right through them." She had also made an appointment to see her doctor about reducing or eliminating her tranquilizers and other prescription drugs.
For those whose PTSD has been a living nightmare, results like Kay's sound unlikely at first. Yet according to Gary Craig and a rapidly growing number of EFT practitioners around the world, this technique is effective about 80 percent of the time for about 80 percent of those who try it. As a bonus, the basics are easy to learn and take only a few minutes.
In addition to alleviating Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, EFT has been a consistently effective healing tool for hundreds of other physical, mental and emotional ailments. For more information, explore the EFT Web site and its numerous success stories regarding fears, phobias, emotional traumas and physical ailments.
While a complete description of EFT is beyond the scope of this article, you can learn the basics from the free EFT Get Started Package on the EFT Web site. This includes a free download of the 79-page EFT Manual. Those wishing to save time and dive right in can get the affordable five-star training DVDs.
Please consult qualified health professionals before putting EFT into practice for yourself or others.
http://www.mercola.com/2006/apr/18/40_years_of_nightmares_quickly_vanish.htm
Heath, you're right, it could be PTSD, as my adopted son has it, and he is so afraid to go to bed alone at night, and when he does finally go to bed, he is awake all night. There are, like you said, hyperventilation, so many fears. Rachel, I hope that you will go to see a doctor so he can help you sleep better. Good luck dearheart, you have been through so much!!!! 