Ephialtes (illness)
An anxiety disorder identified in 1753, linked to nightmares and sleep paralysis.
Ephialtes is an anxiety disorder identified by John Bond in 1753 in his treatise "An Essay on the Incubus, or Nightmare." The Greek physician Galen had already used the term for nightmares in the 2nd century AD. The condition involves a sense of suffocation and terrifying dreams of being crushed or sexually violated, attributed to a spirit that lies upon the sleeper.
Quick Facts
- Identified by
- John Bond
- Year of identification
- 1753
- Treatise
- An Essay on the Incubus, or Nightmare
- Earlier usage by
- Galen
- Century of earlier usage
- 2nd century AD
Facts from the source article.
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