Terrified

Previously I had written about my insomnia,  waking up in the night and general inability to sleep.

Now, my nightmares are so bad that I'm terrified of falling back to sleep.

It's 1am and I'm exhausted from my previous  nightmare and I'm trying to  stay awake.

Do other people here suffer from severe nightmares? 

  • ...S'Me, adding to My reply...I am still thinking some after-thoughts about this... because I did forget to put down also --- the business of sleeping off the bed, or not in the Bedroom sometimes. Also, the putting on of (soothing) Music during sleep. These are other recommended techniques. (...Links, anyone?)
    ...About M'self, when I can, I sleep in another Room and then return to the "Bedroom" to finish off the recommended-minimum-eight-hours-sleep. Eight hours *good* sleep and I consider Myself Fortunate...
    ..."Confusing" Dreams are kind of better than Outright Bad Dreams, I am certain. Sleep is supposed to be about Recuperation - but I have trouble doing that due to having a lot of Allergies to fend off... (!)

    :-/

  • I've had nightmares, I now try to go to my happy place as I fall asleep. If I have a nightmare I think of my happy place again. It's a small cottage surrounded by flowers. Theres birds singing, I grow my own vegetables and no one's around lol

  • Glad Tidings, to Mr.Math-Photographer, from Myself... (FWIW?)

    ...For many reasons, some of which I shall not say, I keep thinking about this Thread. And I do Respect You, and so, well, take whatever You may from this Post of mine...

    I do notice that Threads upon the Topic of DREAMS do not seem to last very long upon this Forum, Less than a Week or so. And not just because of now (summer). There is much I could "waffle" about the Subject, which would not really apply to anyone else here - but! - I write because I also have Bad Dreams and Nightmares, fairly every Night. (I have said before that I always dream about some Government Corporation who can influence My dreams!)

    ...Here, now, however, take from this Post whatever may help Your good Self, Sir.

    I Myself used to watch violent (Rated over 18) Films and Television... but then I would dream about whatever happened... and so now I do not do that anymore.

    I also used to suffer from "Dream Paralysis" (dreams simulating waking but stuck dreaming whilst unable to move)... but I wear a Blindfold and that largely put a stop to that.

    I still have unpleasant Dreams. But blocking as many external inputs (stinks, noise, sounds, sight, memory) can alleviate this. Also doing "calming things" can help (meditation). It is not always possible to block stuff, but they can be lessened. The usual advice is using Window Blinds, Earplugs, Candles, Scents / Insence, Blankets of different sorts (heated, weighted, different textures, or blankets/beds of different compositions (feather, foam, steel, wood, spring, etc.). Also orientation and times for sleeping.

    ...Very complex, yes, but everyone is different and so see what works, and then stick with it, of course...

    (...But first of all I say cut out watching gory violence before sleeping...!)

    End of My Post. Good Fortune to You, Sir, & My Preferences towards Your Wellbeing.    

  • Potential analysis of your rats eating cat dream - You are experiencing an individual being persecuted, ganged up on or bullied. Maybe you like cats so there is some sympathy with the person represented by the cat, or maybe you don't like cats so you are not too bothered about the person being ganged up on or bullied, but you just can't stand the act itself, which would fit if the cat was also going in the bin. Maybe putting them in layers of bin liners was to separate them to stop the act or just to put it out of your sight. I'm not saying this is an anxiety that has caused your nightmare, but that is the sort of lines I would analyse my dreams on.

  • I have always had nightmares (I'm with plastic on death and injuries front) and used to be really affected by them when younger. I think I have just accepted them over time. I now try to treat them as just weird dreams with slighting more anxiety related subjects in them. Try analysing them. If you wake up in a panic, rationalise what was going on. This usually kills the anxiety a bit and stops you drifting back into the same scenario. Another thing that sometimes works is to picture the scenario you have just woken from, but then manipulate the situation into one that results in a calm outcome. Doesn't work often but can disrupt the nightmare when I get back to sleep. I usually find they have a connection to either things stressing me, the days events, upcoming events, or often dodgy Sci-Fi Horror films watched before going to bed. One vital tool for me when it is on is watching snooker in bed. I know they say not to watch television in bed when trying to sleep, but this is better than anything else for me. Calming, but just enough physics going on to keep me interested. I also don't like complete darkness and have always had a light on outside the room, although not bright.

  • Night light really help in keeping mind relax.

  • I understand how she feels.

    Sometimes my dreams are connected. I wake up.  Fall asleep and the new dream is a different continuation of the previous dream.

    One is about shopping in a very very large market. In the next dream I'm trying to find the shops from the previous dream.  But they strangly aren't there or they are different or selling everything except what I'm searching for. 

  • Yes. They get worse on certain medications I've found.

    Without medication of any kind then I always have incredibly vivid anxious dreams.

    I often wake drenched in sweat.

  • My daughter suffers from terrible nightmares, she literally screams hysterically wakes up terrified and takes hours to settle back down (if at all) 

  • I have lots of unpleasant dreams with horrible things happening but I don't really judge my dreams - I just go along for the ride and see where it goes.

    This morning's dream was a benign 'do not understand' dream where I was on a bus but didn't recognise where I was - so I was logging all of the shops and scenery we passed trying to build a mental map to align with my knowledge of the area but nothing fitted so I was totally lost - so there was a gentle stress of being on the wrong bus etc.  The journey went on for ages.

    Others are more untidy - like being a soldier and having to reach an objective but being shot and bleeding profusely  but still able to function enough to go on - and all my dreams are fully featured - smalls, tastes, feelings, vivid colours etc. - as real as life.

  • A large cat was being eaten alive by about dozen large rats.  

    And I was trying to get both this cat and the rats eating it into layers of black bin liners and into a wheeliebin. 

    I was terrified that the rats would break loose and attack and start eating me.

    I'm not sure if the half eaten cat was still alive.

  • What do you class as a nightmare?    I have ultra-vivid dreams where lots of strange stuff happens (I've been killed many times or horribly injured) but what is it specifically that you class as terrifying?

  • Not sure why that would give you nightmares? It sounds nice. Perhaps you really want to stay awake and keep doing those activities so your sleep is disturbed?

    Eating oranges is a good move. Low blood sugar can give you the terrors in the early hours.

  • I spent an hour awake (12:30 to 1:30pm) watching a bit of TV and eating fresh oranges. Then slept relatively peacefully. 

    The day before the nightmares I watched too much television. A full episode of 'A touch of frost '  and DVDs of ' Terminator the sarah connor chronicles ' 

    As well as one of my hobbies of tracking down filming locations of films and TV programmes and photographing them.  last Saturday I visited Holmfirth and the surrounding area,  taking photos of Last of the summer wine country.  Yesterday I was comparing my photos with the scenes on my dvd collection. 

  • There is podcast on Spotify called Nothing Much Happens. Literally bores you to sleep. Or any familiar story in a nice calming voice  low on the headphones.  The trick is to actually follow the story. Soon be zzzzzzz...

    I would never advise medicine for anyone but I do take sleeping tablets which you can get in any pharmacy. Occasionally. No bad dreams and no groggy head in the morning.

    The thought occurs that ASD folk like something heavy or comforting such as an extra blanket. Weight = calm.

  • Might a night light help? Not too bright but not complete darkness? I find it quite comforting.

    Or you could try watching some boring videos or do some work that you need to do but don't enjoy in bed until you naturally fall asleep.