How To Handle Nightmares

[rosepearl]

Hi, I'm new.....and will do some formal intro. later, promise.

It's 12:40 A.M. and, thus, I thought I'd start a topic on handling nightmares. I'll keep it brief. I almost never had them and then would have nightmares in droves at times. Currently, the topic is on my mind because I have not been remembering any dreams for months until recently. A nightmare of a house on fire. And then last night 3 nightmares...ugh.

I wonder how people handle them or if there is a point of recovery where the nightmares go away?

I am better about them. Last night I let myself cry and not do things like smoke or binge.....It helped my dog was with me and a friend is staying with me for a while so, I wasn't completely alone. I came to understand why I had the nightmare and it wasn't a surprise. Still they can be exhausting. I went back to sleep twice and had 2 more nightmares. Like I said, ugh. Granted I just had surgery and there are great triggers for nightmares. My focus is on the ongoing issues of nightmares in my life and how to handle them better. I know that I block out remembering them and I don't think that's a good long-term solution. The best I've heard of is to pray before sleep and ask God to be with me in sleep -- personally, that hasn't been very effective.

Well, I do need to try to sleep again. Maybe sharing this bit on the topic will help someone or me. I do miss having memories of dreams and I like to think that as I'm less afraid of nightmares and what they will recall for me, then my psyche will start to let me remember dreams as well. Hey, there's a reward for working through these things. Good luck to anyone who has similar questions.

 

[shadowchaser]

I'm not all that great at dealing with them. Normally I just wake up when my arm lashes out and thwacks something.

 

[Vee Lagrome]

Ugh, I suck at handling nightmares. I will have a nightmare and I will know it didn't really happen, but I will be so angry with whoever was in my nightmare or if someone was in it and I will still feel strong emotions from the nightmare. I also have extremely gorey nightmares on rare occasions that have been traumatizing in themselves. I try to just sit up in bed and take a few deep breaths, think about what the nightmare meant, the "residue" from recent events and all of that. It does help a little bit. I wonder if anyone has found a really good way to handle nightmares, maybe??

 

[Missy]

Totally awful. Some days are worse than others. I do green tea, cookies, and get in the shower on a good day. On a bad day....stare off into space and cry.

 

[Shelley_S]

Hi all,

In conjunction with trauma therapy, I have found Imagery Rehearsal Therapy to be extremely beneficial. Incase you are unfamiliar with it, IRT is a brief, well-tolerated treatment that appears to decrease chronic nightmares, improve sleep quality, and decrease PTSD symptom severity. The treatment assumes that: (1) nightmares may be caused by uncontrollable and traumatic events, yet may serve a beneficial purpose immediately following trauma by providing information and emotional processing; (2) nightmares persisting for months may no longer serve useful purposes and may be viewed more pragmatically as a sleep disorder; (3) nightmares may be successfully controlled by targeting them as habits or learned behaviours; (4) working with waking imagery influences nightmares because things thought about during the day are related to things dreamed about at night; (5) nightmares can be changed into positive, new imagery; and (6) rehearsing new imagery ("new dream") while awake reduces or eliminates nightmares, without requiring changes on each and every nightmare.

Having been a PTSD sufferer myself for many years, I have found IRT extremely beneficial in decreasing my nightmares and improving my sleep quality. I have also found that, as a result of consciously directing my dream imagery while I am awake, I am now able to exert more control over my dreams while I am asleep as well. I still have nightmares, but the outcome is always under my direct control.

Take care,
Shelley

 

[jesse]

Shelley how did you find the resource for this therapy? I would like to try it. I have a chronic sleep disorder and nightmares are normal for me but it sure would be nice to know what it feels like to have them subside somewhat. I guess I never really considered there was a therapy for your subconscious duh on my part. I would like to hear more about it please.

 

[rjtransient]

I would also be interested in learning about IRT for nightmares, if you're still around and willing to share.

 

[Shelley_S]

Hi Jesse and Rjtransient,

I first came across IRT as part of my trauma therapy 13 years ago. Sadly, my therapist is no longer with us so I can't ask him what specific treatment model he used with me. I did manage to find, however, a research article titled "Imagery Rehearsal Therapy for Chronic Nightmares in Sexual Assault Survivors With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" (see full text article here:[DLMURL="http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/286/5/537.full"] http://jama.amaassn.org/content/286/5/537.full[/DLMURL]), which details the treatment assumptions I listed in my previous post.

Basically, the article states that in the first session of IRT, patients are encouraged to examine 2 contrasting views of nightmares: nightmares as a function only of traumatic exposure vs nightmares as a function of both trauma and learned behaviors. Patients are asked to explore the possibility that although nightmares may be trauma-induced, they may also be habit-sustained. At the end of the first session, patients practice pleasant imagery exercises, learn cognitive-behavioral tools (e.g. Systematic Desensitization and Progressive Deep Muscle Relaxation Training) for dealing with unpleasant images that might emerge, and are asked to practice pleasant imagery.

At the second session, imagery practice is discussed and any difficulties addressed. Then, patients learn how to use IRT on a single, self-selected nightmare. The patient writes down her disturbing dream, then is instructed to "change the nightmare anyway you wish" and to write down the changed dream. Afterward, each patient uses imagery to rehearse her own "new dream" scenario for 10 to 15 minutes. Next, she briefly describes her old nightmare and how she changed it, both in her written attempt and, if applicable, during the actual rehearsal process. After this initial exercise, patients are encouraged to not write down the old nightmare or the changed version but to establish the process mentally. They are instructed to rehearse a new dream for at least 5 to 20 minutes per day but never to work on more than 2 distinct "new dreams" during each week.

Descriptions of traumatic experiences and traumatic content of nightmares are discouraged throughout the program in a carefully designed attempt to minimize direct exposure. To facilitate this approach, patients are instructed to work first with a nightmare of lesser intensity and, if possible, one that does not seem like a "replay" or a "reenactment" of a trauma.

Although IRT might not solve all of your sleeping problems, and from personal experience it does take a while to master (around 6 months in my case, dealing with simple PTSD), it can help you to confront what frightens you and take control of the situation.

Hope this helps.

Shelley

 

[Gene Georgiou]

Nightmares are nasty and I don't think I deserve them. After suffering psychological and violent abuse as a child I thought running away would solve the issue. But it seems I've been on the run all my life and my abusers are still in my head, at times like this when I open up I feel like crying.

My nightmares of mum dad and the lodger sadden me to the core, I just hope that God sees what is happening to me. One good thing came out of last nights nightmare, I woke up and loved my life now more then ever before.

I did come to the net for some help but all I found was stories and sites like this, I might just try that warm milk trick and go back to bed Good bless you all. Speak to God And drink some warm milk with a lil sugar in it.

Now I wish to dream of the sea side.

This site helped me because it let me open up and talk I gues that helps too :) All the best

 

[Gene Georgiou]

Ugh, I suck at handling nightmares.

Talk about it then have some warm milk with a lil sugar go to sleep and think of nice things .