Flashes Before Bed (mini-nightmares)

[PossumInPetticoats]

I often find that before bed I start to have short flashes that last a few seconds at a time, then I'll twitch, wake up, and repeat again until I can fall all the way asleep without being interrupted by one of these flashes. This is especially apt to occur if I've had a day of being on-edge or before a nightmare.

Has anybody else found themselves prone to these?

If so, have you found anything in particular to be helpful?

 

[Delta62]

Talking it out with others as much as you can, taking medication if a physician recommends it, and acknowledge it exists. Deep breathing and guided imagery helps me.

 

[piratelady]

I sometimes have the same problem when trying to go to sleep. It doesn't happen every night for me, just sometimes. I am sorry to say I haven't found a solution yet. Perhaps others will have some insight to offer.

 

[BloomInWinter]

I've had these, and they're far worse when my baseline anxiety level level is up andI'm in a hyper vigilant.

I've established a sleep hygiene routine which works for me. I have no caffeine after noon, I listen to relaxation routines on my iPad, and I am on meds.

Hang in there. It gets better when you process your traumas.

 

[LittleL]

I get them really often, both as mini-nightmares and as random bursts of unexplainable anxiety. When I get mini-nightmares as I'm falling asleep, I try using imagery. So, once I get out of it, I usually think of something nice and guide myself trough a dream of whatever nice thing comes to mind.

I usually have to fight to keep the dream from turning into nightmare, so I just consciously change things as I fall asleep. Sometimes it even develops into it's own positive dream! I don't lucid dream, so more often than not, I have a nightmare anyway. :( If it's just random anxiety, I try deep breathing, meditating, or getting up to drink water to sort of reset myself.