Chronic Nightmares

I have a vivid dream problem. They can be nasty nightmares. Work on learning to control them ("lucid" dreams). I used to take classes at The School of Metaphysics for help with that.

Things I learned that helped curb the disturbing aspects of my dreams:

1. as an above poster said, WRITE THEM DOWN. Every morning. Have a notebook under your pillow or on the bedside table. Write them down as soon as you wake up, or you'll lose the details. Even if they wake you in the middle of the night, write them down. I don't know why this helps, but it really does. Something about writing down these dream experiences seems to signal the subconscious that you're not scared of them, or something. Whatever...

2. Meditate in the evenings. Still the mind before going to bed and your last thoughts and emotions are less likely to turn into scary stuff to chase you around in dreamtime.

3. Take care of the body. Eat well, exercise regularly, and destress as much as possible.

4. Identify real life events that are influencing your dream metaphors. My mom dreams of tornadoes when there's illness in the family or financial woes. I dream that my teeth are falling out when I'm having relationship problems. I also dream that I'm going to have relationship problems when nothing bad is happening at all. Sometimes nightmares are for obvious real world issues, sometimes not. But identifying triggers helps you overcome the helpless feelings of dream fears. Seasons, moon phases, and body cycles also seem to have an effect on some people but not others. Writing dreams down then analyzing when they happen might help you identify times in your life that the dreams are worse than others.

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These tips have helped me a ton over the years. Maybe they'll help you?

I have the same issue; I did some self-help for it about 6 months ago it was/is quite a process.
I was a counselor before changing to therapy/education this is common.. There are thing you can do, if you would like to talk more you can send a private message and I can send a flow sheet of activities to do. My dreams were so bad I would refuse to fall asleep, were talking the worse horror movies ever made did not compare. Keep in mind that medication can cause them to be worse. I had the same issue as a child for about 5 years in a row.
Are you by change taking an Rx heart burn medication?

I had night terrors so badly as a child that I was medicated. I believe the most common explanation is that the child is so exhausted, he or she is fighting sleep and that causes the nightmares.

I have them as an adult occasionally, and I used to get them a lot more than I used to. Watch your dairy intake at dinner, try doing something to pamper yourself before bed, read something pleasant, and go to bed early. Try writing in a journal or blog before bed too... My nightmares are directly proportional to my general anxiety in life. If I'm worked up over something at work or among friends or family, I get nightmares. Journaling can help you sort your thoughts, think things through, and perhaps soothe any anxiety you've got going on. Tea can also help (nighttime tea or Valerian root - although I'll warn you - valerian root STINKS TO HIGH HELL and if you have a cat, she will go batsh*t crazy for it). Johnson & Johnson does a nighttime soothing bubble bath for babies, and I believe Walmart has their own version of it for cheaper. That worked well for me... smelled wonderful!

Good luck!

I would try the herbal route first. My herbalist loves ashwagandha for improved sleep (among other benefits). I did a quick search & here's an interesting link:

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2012/09/03/herbs-to-help-fight-nightmares