How to Cope with a Nightmare

Most people love a good scare now and then, especially if it's all in good fun. But nightmares, especially recurring nightmares, can lead to insomnia and other sleeping disorders. The worst part of nightmares is the feeling of helplessness to avoid or address them. Fortunately, there are a few ways to cope with your nightmares.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Avoid having nightmares. I, for one, avoid emotionally disturbing images. They give me nightmares without fail. For you it may be other images, such as gore, infomercials, or curling irons (did you see SleepAway Camp?). Dreams are images in our minds, so often it is the images we see that lead to nightmares.

2. Address and redirect your nightmares. If you find yourself having a nightmare, try becoming the director of that nightmare, and changing the outcome. For example, if you are dreaming that spiders are swarming around you, visualize that you're riding a giant lizard who is eating them all up (unless you're even more afraid of lizards of course). The trick with this is to sit up in bed, clearly visualize what you want to happen, and then try to re-dream your nightmare immediately.

3. Redirect your thoughts from your nightmares altogether. If certain nightmares are particularly disturbing, try reprogramming your thoughts. Try to replace the images in your mind by watching tv or looking at pictures, so your mind has fresh, pleasant images to recall in dreams. This may be why many moms feel the need to visually check on their kids during the night.

Tips & Warnings

• Step 2 works very well with young children. It may be helpful to talk about their revised dream out loud, so that it's perfectly clear when they go back to sleep.
• People who grew up pre-color-television are more likely to dream in black & white. People who grew up on color tv are more likely to dream in color! - Discover Magazine Feb/09
• If a specific nightmare bothers you incessantly, seek professional help. Nightmares happen to everyone now and then, but severe nightmares may be a sign of a medical or mental illness. When in doubt, seek medical help.

[LEJockimo]

on 1/21/2009 BirchMan is real. He lives outside of the cabin in the woods where I tried to vacation this summer - caught our first glimpse of in the headlights on a stormy night and my sister & I both screamed like little girls LOL I took his picture for the ol' scrapbook - nice, huh? ; )

[jae603]

on 1/20/2009 Creepy BirchMan, dude!

[sneedc]

on 1/20/2009 It's our subconscious, how can we redirect the way it plays out? That seems like messing with nature. But anyway, what I wanted to say really was my LIFE IS A FRIKKEN nightmare, and I keep waking up daily having to come back and do the same thing over and over like as in Ground Hog Day!?! What gives, dream weaver? I believe you can make it through the ni--high-t. 5*