I know what you’re talking about it. I’ve never sought help for it because it fortunately doesn’t occur with any great frequency. It’s as if the dream is simply too much, my body physically responds to it, waking me up, leaving me unable to psychologically play out the dream to a more natural, rested state. Because my body is so active at that point, sleep is impossible. I get up, may be able to get back to sleep after a few hours, and then manage to get 1–2 hours of sleep again before the alarm goes off.
There have been a few occasions where it happened shortly before waking, and this seems to leave me in a sort of stupor, it happened this morning, for example. I felt as though I was alcohol impaired, my judgment was poor and thought process less responsive than normal, it felt as though I simply had woken up too soon.
You know, they do that sort of crap in basic training, wake you up in the middle of the night when you’re most likely to be in a dream state and then you’re expected to get with the program. In that state I have to admit we were all psychologically malleable.
You recognize that stress is a factor, most likely unfinished business. It’s a good time to set goals, even if they’re simple. Finish a certain task or project to wipe it off of your psychological slate. Make a list and work through it before you go to bed so that you can somewhat address the unfinished business that you’re taking to dreamland with you.
Good luck. I did find this website, which may offer some insights: Sleep Disorders.