Depression and sleep disorders

hi there, I'm 20 now and ever since i was 13 i have had terrible sleep problems. I often wak up seeing things falling from the ceiling like birds or giant spiders. more often than not i see poeple watching me sleep either standing next to the bed looking down on me or even on my bed. It feels so real its terrifying. The other night i thought i could see a cartoon being prjected on the wall. It feels so real and i feel so awake i constantly wake my partner up to get him to look and im forever trying to convince him im awake and it is actually there. In the last 6 months ive been thru severe depression and ok moods to bad moods and irritibility. I have no energy and im finding it increasingly difficult to look after my 2 year old son. I dnt no what to do and i need to know whats going on. Is this normal?

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

It sounds to me like something traumatic happened in your household, or something threatening was about to happen, when you were thirteen, and you have become hyper alert every night.  This kind of sleep interruption has a psychodynamic cause, something going on in your mind, rather than your brain chemistry, and requires some form of psychotherapy to unearth the source.  If you can find a therapist to work with, and focus on what was happening in your household when you were thirteen, you might get quick relief with very few sessions.