How can i stop nightmares?

Question

Is there anything I can do to stop having terrible nightmares?

Answer 1

Eval first: Please seek evaluation. A comprehensive evaluation by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist may shed light on the matter. Sometimes a polysomnogram is required to assess isolated sleep problems.

Answer 2

No More Nightmares: Dreams with unusual content are not uncommon after disturbing or stressful events. The issue is not the dream content but rather the problem of being woken up by the dream. If you sleep peacefully through your dreams you won't remember or be disturbed by the content of your dreams. Try Planned Dream Intervention from my No More Nightmares class. Most people are no longer woken up after the class.

Answer 3

Assess Why: Nightmares can be associated with beginning or stopping medications and drugs. They can be related to sleep disorders (sleep apnea, restless legs, etcetera). They can occur with irregular sleep / wake cycles. They can occur with traumatic stress and other disorders. They may also happen with none of these. First figure out whether there is a cause. If not consider behavioral therapies.

Answer 4

Get to root of it: Nightmares are not uncommon in adults and usually have a cause. Psychological; unresolved issues, trauma, untreated anxiety, ptsd, mood disorder etc. Medical; restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea etc. Medications; benzodiazepines, antidepressants, melatonin and anti hypertensives etc. Do consult with your psychiatrist/ physician to rule out the above mentioned things.

Answer 5

No More Nightmares: Dreams with unusual content are not uncommon after disturbing or stressful events. The issue is not the dream content but rather the problem of being woken up by the dream. If you sleep peacefully through your dreams you won't remember or be disturbed by the content of your dreams. Try Planned Dream Intervention from my No More Nightmares class. Most people are no longer woken up after the class.

Answer 6

Nightmares: Depending on how severe or frequent this is, you may need help with your nightmares. They could be a symptom of ptsd or other personal problem that needs attention. A psychologist or other therapist could be a good resource in assessing what's happening with you, and in working through it. There are also some medications that might help -- a psychiatrist or sleep medicine doctor can advise.

Answer 7

Consider: talking with a therapist. Minipress (prazosin) can be used off-label to help with nightmares.

Answer 8

There are some: medications that can reduce nightmares, but I'd also talk to your doctor about helping you determine if there is a cause for these? Are they more than nightmares (e.g. sleep paralysis can be quite frightening), are there symptoms other than nightmares? Talk to your local doctor.

Answer 9

Because?: Many hypothesis exist, none was confirmed, about the reason for this (to a certain extent) normal phenomenon. It is believed that plays some role in the balance/normal physiology of brains (even animals have them). If they are excessive, very intense and terryfing, featuring repetitive themes, or reflecting some painful real event, it may be abnormal, deserving a discussion with dr. See my comment.

Answer 10

Everyone gets them: We all have anxieties and encounter things in life that scare us. Nightmares may be a way to help us to work through some of these in a symbolic form. They almost always occur in rem sleep. There are nightmare disorders as seen by sleep docs. Psychiatrists are likely to see bipolar patients with gory vivid dreams and people with ptsd with nightmares and dream flashbacks. As to why? God only knows.

Answer 11

Anxiety.: You need to see a psychiatrist. There are safe medications, such as prazosin, which can help, but the anxiety must be diagnosed and treated before the nightmares will ease.

Answer 12

No More Nightmares: I developed an original theory, Planned Dream Intervention, that is a skill, not therapy, you use to teach the sleeping brain to be able to sleep through dreams. More information available from this provider.

Answer 13

Yes: You need an evaluation, sleep study and psychiatric evaluation will help clarify this question.

Answer 14

Nightmares : Cognitive behavioral treatments (cbt) such as imagery rehearsal therapy (irt) and exposure are the treatments of choice for nightmares. These is a discussion of these treatment options including references to self help methods here: http://onlinelibrary.Wiley.Com/store/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2010.00894.X/asset/j.1365-2869.2010.00894.X.Pdf?V=1&t=h9m2lf9o&s=a92247866696811bea11b8b9508889f2e9a4425c.

Answer 15

See below: If nightmares are a constant problem, please obtain a psychiatry referral from your primary care doc. There are many different causes for nightmares that should be ruled out before one can conclude that it is a coping problem.

How can i stop nightmares?

Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers — it's anonymous and free!

Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers — it's anonymous and free!

HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.

Ask your Child Psychiatry question free

Talk to a primary care doctor now for a personalized answer to your Child Psychiatry question

Trusted by millions since 2010

Similar questions

I am having nightmares - what can I do?

Why do I keep on having nightmares and how do I stop having them?

Can I stop myself from having a nightmares and waking him up?

What can I do to stop having nightmares all the time?

Related questions

Are my nightmares being caused by my depression and us there anything I can do to stop them?

I dream that my gf gets hit with a car or something.. I keep having nightmares about it.. Why won't this stop?

I have nightmares of my family dying and i wake up crying why do i have dreams of my family dying? what can i do to make them stop?

Last night i had nightmares and was yelling in my sleep. I only know this because i shared a room while traveling. What does it mean? How do I stop?

It seems I get nightmares days before period consecutively. I also wake up an hr or 2 before my alarm. Can I stop this? Healthy eater & healthy weight

Found in:

People also asked

Related topics

Disclaimer:

Get the Free App for Members

Get the Free App for Doctors

Product

Company