Coping with nightmares can be a difficult experience. You can limit the chances of having them, but it's not always possible to prevent them. When they do occur, you can employ some techniques to help you deal with them in the best way.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Recovering Contact with Reality
Step 1. Calm down quickly
When you wake up from a nightmare, you probably experience a momentary situation of panic. Take the following steps right away to help you defeat anxiety and start reconnecting with reality:
- Sit down quickly after waking up from a nightmare.
- Sit on the edge of the bed, with your feet on the floor.
- Focus on your surroundings. Start naming the items in your room.
- Calmly reassure yourself. Remind yourself that you are safe and wide awake.
- Try falling asleep again. If you can't do it after 15 minutes, do something relaxing to help you get to sleep.
Step 2. Awaken the senses
In addition to calming your mind and reminding you that you are awake, safe and sound, it is equally important to reassure the senses and the body. Bring them all back to reality by implementing the following steps:
- Taste. Try eating something strong, like mint. Avoid sugars, as they will negatively affect sleep.
- Touch. Touch an object with a rough or cold texture, such as an ice cube.
- Smell. Keep an item that smells soothing and strong next to the bed, such as coffee or cloves.
- Hearing. Choose a soothing sound or listen to soothing music.
Step 3. Learn to breathe slowly
Breathing calmly can help slow your heart rate and reduce panic or stress from a nightmare. By following the steps of this technique, you can greatly improve the speed of recovery from a bad dream:
- Breathe in through your nose, mouth closed, and hold your breath for five seconds.
- Breathe out slowly. Think of words like "relax" or "calm down" while doing this.
- Hold for five seconds, then inhale again.
- Practice this breathing throughout the day, before bed and after a nightmare.
Step 4. Don't dwell on nightmares
Immediately after waking up from a nightmare, try not to think about the experience. Sitting in bed mulling over the bad dream will only increase your anxiety, which will prevent you from falling back to sleep without any problems. Plus, you run an increased risk of having another nightmare.
- Wait until the morning to analyze and examine the nightmares.
- Get out of bed and immediately reconnect with reality. Try making a cup of tea, reading a soothing book in soft, soothing light.
- Reassure yourself by repeating yourself that you are safe, check that the doors and windows of the house are closed.
- Remind yourself that, although the nightmare scared you, it ended and it was just a dream.
Part 2 of 3: Finding the Causes of Nightmares
Step 1. Keep a journal about it
In the daytime, when you are awake, write about nightmares in a journal. By carefully recording the details, themes, images and dialogues of nightmares, it will be easier to examine them and perhaps trace any causes in daytime life.
- When describing nightmares, go into as much detail as possible.
- Look for relationships in your daytime life. For example, dreaming that someone scolds you or harms you could be linked to a hostile work environment.
- Take note of the emotions, even if you can't remember why you felt them in the dream. Knowing that you feel desperate in your dream is important.
Step 2. Talk to trusted friends and family
Tell someone you trust about your nightmares. Support from friends and family can also help calm you down and reduce the likelihood of bad dreams coming back.
- Talking about nightmares with others can help you remember details and examine dreams better, so you can understand if they are related to experiences in your daytime life.
- Only talk to people you trust and who make you feel safe when describing your nightmares.
Step 3. Look for possible causes of the nightmare
Bad dreams can be caused by a variety of activities. Eliminating or changing certain behaviors or habits can put an end to nightmares. Examine your daily actions and identify everything that could be behind your dreams, including:
- Extreme stress in your life. All sources of tension can lead to the subconscious and cause nightmares. Analyze your daily routine and try to understand if there are excessively stressful activities. Try to improve this situation, make it less difficult and see if the nightmares subside.
- Traumatic event or post-traumatic stress disorder. If you have had a shocking experience in the past, this may be the cause of nightmares. Generally, bad dreams that result from trauma will have upsetting elements within them and will often be repetitive.
- Stop or start taking a new medicine. Talk to your doctor to find out more about any medications you have been prescribed or ordered to leave. This way, you will understand if nightmares are among the side effects.
- Alcohol or drug abuse. These substances can disrupt sleep mechanisms and patterns, resulting in nightmares. Examine the consumption of these substances and the possible connection with dream activities. Talk to your doctor to help you quit.
Step 4. Make an appointment with your doctor
If nightmares persist for more than a week or prevent you from sleeping well, call your doctor and make an appointment. Be prepared for the following questions and procedures during the session:
- When and how often do nightmares occur?
- Are you sleeping well? Do you often get up with a start and find it difficult to go back to sleep?
- Does the nightmare cause intense fear and anxiety?
- Have you recently been sick or have you endured a great deal of stress?
- What medicines are you currently taking? Do you use drugs or alcohol? How often and in what quantity? Do you use medicines or do you follow alternative therapies?
- Your doctor may have you undergo a physical exam and a neurological / psychological session.
Step 5. Try to approach your nightmares with art
It may not be ideal for people with severe trauma such as post-traumatic stress without having professional guidance, but for many, analyzing dreams through expressive art can help them understand and get rid of them. This includes:
- Expressive arts: painting, drawing, sculpture
- Music: composition
- Performing arts: cinema, dance, theater
- Creative writing: poetry, short stories, novels, blogs
Part 3 of 3: Using Imaginative Repetition Therapy
Step 1. Find out what Imaginative Repetition Therapy is all about
If you have nightmares due to trauma or recurring bad dreams, you can try this technique. It has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency with which nightmares occur.
- Imaginative repetition therapy involves active rewriting of the nightmare.
- It has proved quite useful in its simplicity.
- Talk to your doctor or psychotherapist to understand how to apply it specifically to your case.
Step 2. Describe the nightmare on paper
Remember the bad dream while you are awake and tell it as if it were a story. Try to rework the narrative order of the nightmare and any details you deem relevant.
- Don't be afraid to rethink the nightmare. Remember why you are revisiting it.
- Be as honest and accurate as possible as you remember it.
Step 3. Make changes
Take the nightmare in hand and rewrite all the parts you want. The main idea is to transform the negative aspects of the bad dream into positive elements. By restructuring the nightmare, you eliminate the mental cause behind it. Try changing the following features:
- Change the ending to be positive.
- Change the general theme.
- Change the plot to improve the progress of the dream.
- Change any details you like.
Step 4. Mentally review the new script
Actively imagine the nightmare during the day, this time with the changes you have made. Repeating the bad dream in this way will allow you to explain to your mind that the new positive plot you have created will replace the old nightmare.
- Do this at least once a day for a few minutes.
- Repeating these changes can amplify the effectiveness of the method.
Advice
- You're not the only one. Nightmares are extremely common, eventually affecting 80-90% of people in their lifetime.
- Very often a psychotherapist is able to help overcome nightmares.
- Try to remember that the sounds you hear in your dream may actually belong to your daily life at home.
Warnings
- Nightmares that interrupt sleep or prevent you from getting a good rest for an extended period of time require a doctor's visit.
- If you have nightmares more than once a week, talk to a doctor.
