PARASOMNIA
Sleep walking, screaming and talking were my normal…The physicians called it ‘Parasomnia.’
The Beginning
Since my early childhood, I have been aware of sleepwalking. I can clearly remember one of my experiences, though I’m not sure when it began. The incident I can recall was when I was around ten years old and got up to go to the bathroom, but instead I tried to get inside the refrigerator. My father found me and stopped me. If he hadn’t heard me when I made the noises and called, I think I would have woken up inside the refrigerator.
From then on, different experiences have been occurring.
My Experiences
Maybe they stopped for a season and came back; or I became more aware of them in the university.
I remember during my 4th year, I shared a room with Lisa and Sis Aniebiet Umokaso who happens to be my shepherd – one of the leaders in church who was saddled with the responsibility of helping me grow. Usually, when I wake up, they would tell me that I had jumped up or yelled in the middle of the night. Or that at night, I would sing while sitting up. Aniebiet would occasionally explain that every time she opened the room door, I would get startled in my sleep. What made this strange was that, even while I knew I used to sleepwalk and sleep talk, I was never truly cognizant of it. In most cases, I found out the following morning because I was informed. Every now and then, when Aniebiet asked me about my dreams from the previous night, we discovered that they had nothing to do with whatever I had physically manifested.
Fast forward in my fifth year, I was still experiencing episodes. I spent the holidays at home, and for some reason, I had more intense experiences there. I found that my encounters at school tended to be more infrequent. My dad used to come to my room to ask what was going on when I would scream so loudly (during the lockdown). I believe I made my folks worried during that time.
In the latter half of my fifth year, I lived with another classmate of mine as a roommate and of course, I continued experiencing episodes. I always felt sorry for her since she sometimes woke up screaming because I had sleep-walked to her bed. To be honest, I always considered her bed to be mine. The following morning, she’d tell me how I walked to her bed, or how I’d wake up and start reciting what I read the previous evening, or wake up screaming over something. Over time, she grew accustomed to it. Nevertheless, I didn’t. As the months passed, I started to get really worried about it.
My experiences worsened when the indefinite ASUU strike which lasted from March – October 2022 began and I had to go back home. I can still recall taking off my bed sheet and carrying it as I left my room one night. My father overheard me that night as I was ready to leave my room and inquired as to my whereabouts. My dad didn’t believe me when I sounded so sure of where I was going as though I was completely awake— but he knew I was clearly sleepwalking.
I can’t narrate all the experiences now because they’ll be too many. I believe everyone that has lived with me or stayed around me in the same room has a story to tell.
In all these, I carried my shepherd along with me through everything. I informed her of it and let her know how worried I was. In the same breath, I felt humiliated and concerned. I was afraid that one day I might wake up and discover that I was somewhere I had never been before. Thank God, I was always on the bed the next morning. God was still watching out for me.
My shepherd and I spoke for months before she eventually suggested that I speak with Pastor Ita. I was studying for my examinations at the time, so it took me some time to see pastor, but I did. I told him everything I had gone through in our meeting. He then inquired about my dreams, to which I replied that they had nothing to do with the experiences I had. He requested that I make sure I got a God’s Lighthouse roommate in my next allocations and that I meet with PIT to inquire. He provided me battle plans and prayed for me as well. He urged me to play GLH music and instructed me to pray in the spirit each night.
Following this, I got to meet the prophetic team, and they shared some interesting words from their prayers. I got words about the experience being ‘intercession burden gone wrong’. Though I didn’t fully comprehend it, I held it close to my heart.
Interestingly It turned out that new allocations were being made at that time, and they were being made online. Getting a GLH roommate wasn’t simple, but I eventually succeeded. That in and of itself is testimony.
The Journey to My Deliverance
Edidiong Robert turned out to be my roommate. In hindsight, I’m glad she was the one, since I’m not sure who else could have handled it. I told her about my experiences once we moved in together.
As time went on, the events persisted and were increasingly disruptive. By this point, I had begun to obey pastor, so I would pray in the spirit and listen to GLH songs before going to bed. If I did this every night, I would sleep soundly, and they would temporarily cease and return when I forgot to pray or play the songs. It also returned whenever I watched triggering movies like war or action movies. Thus, I started to comprehend the precipitating and relieving factors. This made things a lot easier because I knew what to do and what to avoid.
As I mentioned earlier, the encounters got more intense, I yelled, struggled, and screamed.
In the mornings, Edidiong Robert would always be there to encourage me. She’ll ask me about the events and I’ll tell her if I recall and sometimes she’ll tell me herself.
My deliverance actually began very gradually. I knew that fear was a major factor in all of it because pastor had prayed for me to overcome fear numerous times. The most memorable moment for me was during the prophetic conclave in 2023, when pastor prayed and spoke about the “spirit of deep sleep.” I noticed myself sinking to the ground and I began shouting strange things like, “I’ll throw her out the window.” Pastor came to where I was and rebuked the spirit. After pastor prayed for me, I observed a significant decrease in the encounters.
Now, I still occasionally talk while I sleep, but the sleepwalking and yelling has decreased so much. When I wake up now, I recognise myself more. At night, I feel nudges to wake up, and when I do, I realise who I am and I’m no longer in the realm of slumber. Sometimes I feel like the Holy Spirit is waking me up. I began to understand the prophecy that the experiences were ‘intercessions gone wrong’.
In all of this, I’m grateful for God’s help all through as I can have a good night’s sleep without being told the next morning that I was screaming the hostel down. I’m also thankful that despite all of those experiences, I didn’t injure myself or wake up to discover that I had jumped from a roof in my hostel or entered someone’s room which I almost did once.
I thank God for my shepherd, who never failed to support me when I came to her with questions and concerns about this.
I am appreciative of Bro. Michael for being present and offering prayers for me during my episodes. He saw quite a few of the incidents firsthand. In addition, I thank God for giving me Edidiong Robert as my roommate back then. She was always there to offer me words of encouragement when I woke up feeling depressed.
I’m grateful for Pastor Ita, his counsel and the songs from this house. That period I fell in love with GLH songs. The soothing voice of Pastor Ita while I slept was something truly wonderful. My nights of sound sleep were the ones when I remembered to play those songs.
I give thanks to God.
I trust that He will perfect my deliverance, Amen.
Sis G.F
31st December 2023
ⓒ God’s Lighthouse 2024
