Does anyone know anything about possible mental illness? :(

[Wealden]

My husband woke me up in the night. He was utterly terrified and crying. He said his brain was working on its own and was separate from him. He kept saying things like 'what if I die and it keeps just going on forever?' he was incoherent and I didn't understand any of it - he's the least dramatic or attention seeking person I've ever met. This morning he's saying that I should just forget it and that there is no way he will see anyone - I don't know what to do.

Sounds like a nightmare or night terror to me. They can be very vivid and disturbing when they happen but they are not necessarily a product of mental illness. Is he under any kind of stress at the moment? Had he been drinking coffee or eating cheese too close to bed-time?

Thank you Cogito - I don't think he had been eating anything - he had a very normal meal at 6pm. He's under a great deal of stress at work. I have never seen him like that - he was like a small boy

That makes a lot of sense. Easier to say 'de-stress' than to do it for real but that's rather going to be the answer. If he's not prone to being dramatic and doesn't like attention you probably need to find a way to encourage him to talk about his fears and anxieties. As someone with a history of stress-related nightmares (think wandering about locking doors at 2am and sobbing about keeping Nazis out... hoo-yeah... bonkers) I find it helps a lot to air the problem rather than bottle it up - even if you can't find a solution.