How to Cope With Nightmares

Coping with nightmares helps prevent them from becoming a big deal in your life. Here's how.

Instructions

1. Make sure nothing is causing the nightmare. You may be getting nightmares because of daily stresses or a traumatic event. Consider counseling if you think this is the reason for your nightmares. Counseling will help you deal with the trigger for nightmares and give you tips for coping with them.

2. Learn how to be aware of your dreams. Some people will constantly ask themselves if they're awake during the day, knowing this will translate into asking the question during dreams after a few weeks. Other people will notice impossible things happening and realize they're experiencing a dream.

3. Change position in your bed. Sometimes nightmares freeze us or make us feel like we can't move. Simply changing positions might break the spell.

4. Turn on the light. If you don't want to wake up your bed partner, turn on a small light or a pen light. Flash it into your face.

5. Think about something else if a nightmare wakes you up. Rehashing the nightmare over and over simply makes it more real. Get up, wash your face, turn on the TV or read a few pages of a book to help the dream fade away.

6. Grab something small to eat if you feel very odd or if you can't shake the nightmare.