Recurring nightmares are much more than bad dreams

All of us, or at least a large majority, have had nightmares at some point. They are dreams that have frightening content. They cause anxiety and fear. The usual thing is that you wake up suddenly and feel your heart in your hand. The feeling of fear persists, even after waking up. Feelings of confusion and sadness may also appear.

The causes that give rise to a nightmare are many. They arise as a result of the ingestion of certain substances, fatigue, eating problems or emotional difficulties. Whatever the case, they mean that there is no good hygiene in the dream.

The situation becomes complicated when the nightmare becomes recurring. sometimes it appears the same dream over and over again, as if it were traced. Other times the context changes, but the scheme remains basically identical. It is in these cases when it is important to pay attention to what is happening.

Ordinary nightmares and recurring nightmares

Ordinary nightmares are those dreams of anguish that occur sporadically. It is accepted that having a nightmare every three months is within the range of what can be considered “normal.” In these cases, each nightmare has a different content from the previous ones.

The causes for this type of nightmares to occur may be:

A state of temporary stress.Alcohol consumption. Psychoactive consumption. Consumption of some medications with side effects on sleep. Frequent sleeplessness that causes fatigue.Eat dinner too late or too abundantly before going to sleep.

To control this type of nightmares, it is enough to eliminate the factor that is causing them. It is important to do so since otherwise they can affect your rest. It is best to dine early and avoid consuming liquor or other substances at least two hours before going to sleep.

Recurrent nightmares, on the other hand, arise when the person is unable to recognize a conflict they have in real life.. It can be a symptom of post-traumatic stress or the expression of a difficulty accepting traits of oneself or certain situations. As it remains at the level of the unconscious, all of this only has the possibility of emerging through dreams of anguish.

The usual contents of nightmares

There are some recurring nightmares whose contents are very common. They represent typical human conflicts, although only each individual can specify its exact meaning. The most frequent contents and their basic meaning are the following:

Chases. It represents the difficulty of accepting a part of ourselves that we unconsciously judge as gloomy or reprehensible.Falls. Expresses fear of feeling abandoned or unsupported.Extreme speed. It has to do with the feeling of being out of control.Exam. The nightmare is related to being failed, arriving late or unprepared. It refers to the lack of self-confidence regarding a situation that must be faced in the present or immediate future.Paralysis. It is related to the feeling of being stuck, the lack of genuine goals and the difficulty in expressing emotions.Nakedness. Generally the person dreams of being naked in public without others noticing. It has to do with insecurity in some aspect of life, in which there is a feeling of suffocation and lack of capacity.Mutilation. They are nightmares in which we lose our teeth, an arm, a leg, etc. They talk about a part of life that has been ignored or mistreated.be trapped. It is related to aspects of life that are repressed or blocked.Drowning. There are generally large waves or turbulent waters. It has to do with an overflow of emotions, which cannot be expressed or even recognized.Baby or demanding animal. It talks about an aspect of our childhood, or a vulnerable element of our personality that demands attention.

Although recurring nightmares are uncomfortable and sometimes very frightening, they should actually be seen as a positive and valuable element. It is a way that the unconscious has of sending us a message about some matter that we have neglected. and to which we must attend.

The ideal is that the conflict with ourselves, which appears during the recurring nightmare, finds a way to a solution.. The usual thing is that if that happens, a dream with similar content appears, but with a successful outcome. This indicates that the distress has dissipated and that terrible dreams are no longer necessary.

Treatment for nightmares

Behavioral techniques. They include the Systematic desensitization and exposure. It is a training in progressive muscle relaxation, hierarchical construction based on nightmare, evaluation and practice in imagination and application of Systematic Desensitization. In the exposure The patient is usually asked to write down his nightmare right after having it and review it in his imagination for at least one hour a day for four weeks.Cognitive techniques. It includes story line alteration procedures (thinking about what we would like to dream about that night) and nightmare coping strategies.Deactivation techniques. It consists of relaxation and hypnosis.You might be interested…

Images courtesy of Douglas Girard