Today at attachment and trauma therapy we started to address sleep.

Younger Boy has trouble waking up.  You have to back it up from there though.  He has trouble going to bed.

He regularly sleeps curled up in the fetal position on the floor in front of his dresser with no blanket or pillow.  Since he has lived with me he hasn't ONE TIME slept between the sheets on his bed and under the blankets or comforter.

Therapist C asked a lot of questions about why.  It is interesting because logically he can sit there and tell you it is safe to sleep in a bed and you get better sleep in a bed under covers.  He just can't bring himself to actually do it.  The original reason he gave was because if you are under the covers you can't get out of the room fast if there is a fire.  To my knowledge there has never been a fire, so I am not sure what that is all about.

He then said it is hard to be safe in a bed.  We asked if there were homes where he had to sleep on the floor to feel safe.  We asked if there were homes where he slept on the floor as a consequence.  He didn't think so, but he really couldn't remember.

He commented about not wanting to sleep deeply.  That is a sign of feeling the need to be "on alert" at all times.  He said it is safer to sleep during the day than it is at night.

Clearly there is something there, but it isn't going to come out in a single session.

For this week he is to practice getting between the sheets on his bed during the day and then trying to sleep in his bed in between the covers all night and see if it brings up big feelings.

Praises for help in this area.  We need significant help when it comes to bedtime.