Chronic Nightmares
rockymtnlove
Posts: 215
in Chit-Chat
Anyone else out there have chronic nightmares?
I get nightmares almost every night, sometimes multiple times a night.
Sometimes they are scary. sometimes they are emotionally disturbing, sometimes just completely random but upsetting.
It has been going on for years now, and I don't know why.
Suggestions?
I get nightmares almost every night, sometimes multiple times a night.
Sometimes they are scary. sometimes they are emotionally disturbing, sometimes just completely random but upsetting.
It has been going on for years now, and I don't know why.
Suggestions?
0
Replies
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I used to have that same problem, I wouldn't be able to sleep because I would constantly have nightmares. I would set a few alarms on my phone to wake me up in case I was in the middle of one. Is there something triggering it? Maybe see a doctor?
I hope you can sort that out!0 -
Keep a log. Use it as inspiration to write books.
JM0 -
I'm the same way: intense, unexlainable, extremely detailed, vivid dreams.
Started taking sleeping pills a few years ago, was dreamless for about a week, and then it all went back to the way it was. Not really sure of a solution. Keep a dream journal, you never know what book ideas you may get from them! (I have a few I'm going to write about!)0 -
I would go to a doctor, but I don't have health insurance so I don't even go to the doctor when I am really sick, I am definitely not going to pay 100+ for them to give me some sleeping pills I won't want to take. I tried ambien in the past and it made me sleepwalk and drive my car and not remember. With a dream journal you are supposed to write it as soon as you wake up before you get out of bed right? My husband works night shift and I don't, so as soon as I wake up I have to sneak out of the room as quietly as possible without turning on a light or anything. I could try to remember it until I get out to the living room, but then I wouldn't be able to write any if they wake me up during the early morning or whatever. I don't know. I guess a dream journal might be the way to go. I am just so worn out and over it0
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I get these sometimes. They are very disruptive, because I have chronic insomnia as it is, so to then have a nightmare once I finally DO go to sleep is just rubbing salt on the wound. I have no idea how to combat them, really, as mine seem to happen at random times and be about mostly random things, but writing about them helps sometimes, as well as occasional meditation and turning screens off before getting in bed. (as in, no computer, no Netflix, no tv, etc...)0
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yeah I have insomnia as well, so it is frustrating having it take forever to fall asleep, then having nightmares every night after I do. I do meditate and stretch before bed almost every night, and don't turn on the tv or bring my phone into bed. its so frustrating. maybe its hormonal?0
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I get them. Sometimes for weeks on end. Sometimes I will go a month without one. I have found that if I have a cup of tea, and watch something uplifting or funny (Think touched by an angel, fireproof, courageous, I love lucy) I feel better when I sleep. Or I will listen to beethoven or Bach. Good luck, I know how miserable it can be0
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Anyone else out there have chronic nightmares?
I get nightmares almost every night, sometimes multiple times a night.
Sometimes they are scary. sometimes they are emotionally disturbing, sometimes just completely random but upsetting.
It has been going on for years now, and I don't know why.
Suggestions?
yeah, but I'm crazy.
medication is your friend.0 -
I don't get them every night, but a few nights outta the week for years. ever since I was a kid. my husband had night terrors till he was 13, and my baby has them every so often. some I can feel the chilling terror like I am about to die if I walk through that door, or something. I take sleeping pills for the nights that are really bad.0
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I'm the same way: intense, unexlainable, extremely detailed, vivid dreams.
This is me. I can't take sleep aids very well though. Most just shut my limbs down and my brain is still 100% on and changing channels (I'm very ADHD) constantly. It's also interesting the events, faces & people that show up that I have encountered during the day. I've had some crazy ones. I also have certain settings/scenarios that reappear with regularity.
JM0 -
When I go to sleep listening to inspirational words or music -- no bad dreams. I like Daily Audio Bible (podcast, online, etc.)
http://dailyaudiobible.com0 -
I'm so sorry you have these. I've had them for years and eventually 'learned' how to wake myself up. I honestly don't even know how I can do it, but I know that if I'm in the middle of a nightmare and I tell myself to open my eyes, I wake up, realize it was a nightmare, then go back to sleep. It's kind of creepy waking up with my eyes open. I did it just last night after dreaming that my 2 year old grandson was drowning and I couldn't get to him. It doesn't stop the nightmares but at least I can escape them. Strange...0
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Mine come and go. I used to have them very often, but I blame it on my subconscious. I can always link my dreams to something in my life, so if something happens to me, or if I have an experience and I don't want to dream about it, I purposely think about it and say to myself, I don't want to dream about that. I don't know for sure if that is why it works, but so far so good. It works the opposite too. If I dream about something, I can usually trace it back to something that I thought about the day or two before. I wish you well. I know that dreams can be disturbing and difficult to get over.0
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I'm so sorry you have these. I've had them for years and eventually 'learned' how to wake myself up. I honestly don't even know how I can do it, but I know that if I'm in the middle of a nightmare and I tell myself to open my eyes, I wake up, realize it was a nightmare, then go back to sleep. It's kind of creepy waking up with my eyes open. I did it just last night after dreaming that my 2 year old grandson was drowning and I couldn't get to him. It doesn't stop the nightmares but at least I can escape them. Strange...
I can do that sometimes actually, but the nightmare usually continues as soon as I close my eyes, even though I am awake, so I just end up getting up no matter what time it is0 -
Anyone else out there have chronic nightmares?
I get nightmares almost every night, sometimes multiple times a night.
Sometimes they are scary. sometimes they are emotionally disturbing, sometimes just completely random but upsetting.
It has been going on for years now, and I don't know why.
Suggestions?
yeah, but I'm crazy.
medication is your friend.
like what?0 -
I'm so sorry you have these. I've had them for years and eventually 'learned' how to wake myself up. I honestly don't even know how I can do it, but I know that if I'm in the middle of a nightmare and I tell myself to open my eyes, I wake up, realize it was a nightmare, then go back to sleep. It's kind of creepy waking up with my eyes open. I did it just last night after dreaming that my 2 year old grandson was drowning and I couldn't get to him. It doesn't stop the nightmares but at least I can escape them. Strange...
This is lucid dreaming: acknowledging the fact that you are dreaming. I do that frequently, and it helps me escape some of the real nasty ones.0 -
Anyone else out there have chronic nightmares?
I get nightmares almost every night, sometimes multiple times a night.
Sometimes they are scary. sometimes they are emotionally disturbing, sometimes just completely random but upsetting.
It has been going on for years now, and I don't know why.
Suggestions?
yeah, but I'm crazy.
medication is your friend.
like what?
I take Lexapro for an anxiety disorder. It seems to help with the dreams.0 -
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?0 -
Sleeping with music or something on isn't really an option for me. I sleep in ear plugs because I am a really light sleeper. The cat running through the house will wake me, or a car on the street. Seeing as my husband gets home from work at 6 am, makes food, watches tv, then comes to bed I have to do the ear plugs or I would be getting up at 6 every day0
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I used to have them all the time, about 3 or 4 nights a week! I was eating really badly and drinking a lot of Coke, and I would have a really bad nightmare and then wake up and then I would have restless legs and leg cramps. It was so strange, and I lost a lot of sleep. I don't know if it was changing my diet that helped, or stopping drinking caffeine that did it, but now I only have nightmares like once every couple weeks. The other day I went out to eat and had a cherry coke and then that night I had a nightmare that seemed to last all night and then when I woke up, leg cramps again. Another guess as to why I was getting them was that I used to eat late at night before bed, and now I usually don't eat after dinner... These are just all guesses that my husband and I have come up with to try and figure out what was going on, I don't really know why they stopped, hope this helps...0
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Anyone else out there have chronic nightmares?
I get nightmares almost every night, sometimes multiple times a night.
Sometimes they are scary. sometimes they are emotionally disturbing, sometimes just completely random but upsetting.
It has been going on for years now, and I don't know why.
Suggestions?
yeah, but I'm crazy.
medication is your friend.
I thought the same thing... about medication and your cray0 -
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 chance taking an Rx heart burn medication?0 -
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.
.
.
.
These tips have helped me a ton over the years. Maybe they'll help you?
Above I went into detail why I can't really journal my dreams as soon as I wake up, or even do it while in the bedroom. My husband works night shift so when I wake up, he has only been asleep for a few hours and I can't make noise, turn on a light or anything. I just sneak out of the room as to not wake him. When we have the same sleep schedule someday I definitely want to keep a dream journal though. the other 3 though I do practice. Sometimes I can link my nightmares to a real life situation, not that it helps make them any less disturbing.0 -
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!0 -
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 am only taking birth control and metformin for PCOS0 -
don't fight the dark side.
welcome it...embrace it....enjoy it0 -
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 don't eat dairy, so that couldn't be it. I have valerian root pills, I haven't tried them yet though until I found out more about them. I have a lavender pillow spray that helps me fall asleep quickly, but does nothing for the nightmares. I feel like I have tried everything, and it just has continued on for like 2.5 years now0 -
I used to dream a lot about being in a tornado and/or being chased by an unseen person or thing. I looked those up in some dream dictionaries and online to figure our the meanings. Once I figured out what could be causing my stress or whatever, I started having them less frequently. I haven't had a chase dream in quite a while, but I do still dream about being in a tornado now and then.
My husband is on some medication that is for blood pressure, but is taken for him to make it so he doesn't remember his nightmares. He has them almost every night.0 -
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-nightmares0 -
I'm so sorry you have these. I've had them for years and eventually 'learned' how to wake myself up. I honestly don't even know how I can do it, but I know that if I'm in the middle of a nightmare and I tell myself to open my eyes, I wake up, realize it was a nightmare, then go back to sleep. It's kind of creepy waking up with my eyes open. I did it just last night after dreaming that my 2 year old grandson was drowning and I couldn't get to him. It doesn't stop the nightmares but at least I can escape them. Strange...
I've heard that you can learn techniques for doing this. I bet a web search would lead straight to it. I think we can be lucid through part of our dreams and that is why it works...0
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