akito

Lately (since friday) I've gotten little to no sleep, and when I do sleep, I wake up VERY often throughout the night. As of late I've found myself waking up essentially drenched in sweat and a little shaky. I can't really explain the nightmares, since they're different every time I go to sleep, and I can't remember them in their entirety after I wake up, but it's scaring the hell out of me.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with nightmares moreso than I do and, if you do, if you have any advice to curb these things. I cherish my sleep, and i want it back.

Thanks in advance.

maleficent

I go thru spurts of nightmares - Mostly it's the same 4 -6 nightmares every single time, or some variation of the theme... I don't get them all the time., but when I get them, the come in bunches and I know I'm good for many days of them.

It sort of helped to do some dream analysis on the symbols in t he nightmares, it might help get to the bottom of what's on your mind thatis causing the nightmares. As soon as you wake up- keep a notebook by your bed and turn on the light and write down everything you remember while you remember it.

Figuring them out might help...

One thing I have noticed that cuts down onthe severity is lavendar extract... I will put a few drops on a cloth under my pillow -- there's somethig about lavendar that is supposed to relieve tension and stress and help ensure a restful night sleep.. SOmetimes it works sometimes it doesnt.

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Squishor

I've has nightmares for many years, and sometimes they can be verry disturbing and horrible. My best suggestion, aside from writing them down to gain some insight into what's bothering you, would be to find a place where you can talk about them, maybe a friend or family member who will listen. Somehow just by talking about it you can get flashes of insight into what's going on, plus that way it kind of takes away their ability to scare you as much.

MEAD

I know how disturbing a nightmare can be, but dont let it affect you. We are all capable of creating terribly horrible images in our minds, dont think you are the only one. Don't let if affect you they are most likely a product of stress, and worrying about them only worsens the stress situation.

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clavus

It sounds like this is a sudden change in your sleep habits.

What happened 24-48 hours before this started. Your first answer will probably be "nothing." Don't stop there. Talk it out. Even talking it out loud to yourself can help. Verbally walk through your days before this started. What you say might surprise you.

It sounds like you have something you need to deal with. Good luck.

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guthmund

Clavus is on to something there. Since your sleep problems didn't start until last Friday...well, I imagine there is a connection there.

That being said, I have bouts of nightmares from time to time and for me, trying to figure them out seems to work best.

Doesn't matter if the interpretation is complete crap and doesn't apply 100%. It just gets me moving in the right direction. Once I get going in the right direction, I can usually figure out what the dreams mean (if they mean anything) and fix accordingly. If that doesn't work, then I usually turn to the big guns...sleeping pills.

For what it's worth, my sister swears by soothing scents (Mal, mentioned lavender, which is big with my sister). If it gets real bad, she'll re-arrange all the bedroom furniture making sure to place the head of her bed in a different direction (I'll admit, I do this too, but only if I'm not sleeping well, not to ward of nightmares).

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Elphaba

I agree that Clavus has the right approach to understanding the nightmares. "Something" has triggered them and it wasn't necessarily an actual event. You may have read something, or saw something on TV that is troubling you at the subconscious level.

If you can determine the general content of the dreams with the method Mal suggested, it is possible that you can pre-script how you wish the nightmare to end. Ummm, that's about as clear as mud so I'll give a personal example. When I was a child, I had an ongoing nightmare of falling to the concrete basement floor from the top of the stairs. I would wake up just before my face hit, all but screaming in fear. I scripted an ending that prevented the landing by deciding I would simply fly away rather than crash. Silly, but it actually worked. Heh, I fly a lot in my dreams now.

Good luck. Please let us know how things go on this.

stevie667

Right, we'll i've just sat through 3 hours of dream documentaries, and heres my take on getting rid of nightmares:

Think and talk about them on a concious level with someone else. Nightmares are usually the brain trying to process disturbing or troubling information/events. If they take on a similar theme, but can still change, it can often mean that the brain is getting 'stuck' and cannot move on. Think and talking can help the sleeping brain cope with what it's doing.

Lots of nightmares suddenly appearing can be caused by diet, sleeping pattern changes, mental distress, or underlying issues that are poking through. see if you've done anything different, or have had some large stress over the past few days.

Think on the matter is the best advice.

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TM875

I've noticed over the years that the amount of dreams that I have (and whether or not I remember them when I wake up) are heavily based upon what happened to me in the past 24 hours.

Now, this might be from rejection, excitement, stress, contentment, or, my favorite, alcohol (you never have more vivid, entertaining, happy, and realistic dreams then when you go to sleep blitzed). Anyway, all the previous posters have it right - re-evaluate what when on in your life recently. If the nightmares continue to be bad, change something in your life. Play soothing music, take some NyQuil, don't eat before bed (or do eat before bed), etc... just do something that is different than your usual routine to see if that may sort it out.

If they continue to be bad, you'll probably be able to find a local sleep specialist. Eventually, you'll get one night of sleep that changes your [ir]regular pattern so that the corresponding pattern of nightmares drifts away.

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