Chronic Nightmare or Bad Dream?
There’s nothing unusual about having an occasional nightmare (defined as a bad dream that causes the sleeper to wake up) but as many as 8% of the adult population suffers from chronic nightmares, waking in terror at least once a week.
Sometimes the nightmares are so frequent and so upsetting that they make sleep impossible, bringing about fatigue and associated problems such as anxiety and depression.
Nightmares vary widely in their themes and content but all provoke negative feelings such as fear, sadness, anger and shame. They occur during REM sleep, typically in the latter part of the night.
In many cases, chronic nightmares are triggered by psychological stress, perhaps coming about as a result of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), a severe anxiety disorder that strikes people who have been exposed to or witnessed combat, violent assaults, accidents, natural disasters, and other terrifying ordeals.
Other causes of chronic nightmares include alcohol abuse, the use of certain medications, and sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy can be very effective in treating nightmares as it gives patients a space in which to reflect on any deep rooted emotional problems that might be causing them.
Another DIY technique which is known to work is detailed below:
- Jot down a brief description of a recent nightmare. If your most recent nightmare is too upsetting to think about, pick another.
- Think of a way to change the nightmare. Try and rely on your intuition to make an appropriate change.
- Set aside a few minutes each day to imagine this altered version of the nightmare. Simply paint a mental picture of the altered version.