According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), distressing dreams are a key intrusive or re-experiencing symptom of PTSD.
Impact of nightmares
Trauma-related nightmares generally occur during REM sleep, which is when we tend to have vivid dreams. When you wake up from these nightmares, you may experience fear, anxiety, panic, distress, frustration, or sadness. You can also wake up soaked in sweat and with your heart pounding.
People living with PTSD commonly complain of nightmares. Some studies report up to 80 percent of those with PTSD experience nightmares that have them reliving or re-experiencing the traumatic event for months or years after the actual event took place.
Intrusive memories
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
Trauma and nightmares
Nightmares can arise for a number of reasons—stress, anxiety, irregular sleep, medications, mental health disorders—but perhaps the most studied cause is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Many people who are stressed, sleep-deprived, and fatigued experience dream flashbacks and dream-like states while awake. Regarding anxiety, anxiety-caused hyperstimulation can stress the body so much that it becomes fatigued, which can also create symptoms of dream flashbacks and dream-like states of consciousness.
Posttraumatic nightmares are generally defined as threatening or frightening dreams that awaken a dreamer and may be marked by any intense negative emotion, such as fear, anger, or even sadness. These nightmares cause significant distress (both during the dream and after awakening) and may occur several times a week.
What Helps With PTSD Nightmares? You can make sure your bedroom is not too cold or too hot; start a nightly relaxation routine to prepare for sleep; ensure there isn't light in your room keeping you from sleeping deeply; exercise daily; talk about your dreams; and engage in Image Rehearsal Therapy (IRT).
PTSD can create a state of hypersensitivity in the brain, which may increase fixation on traumatic events, keeping them fresh in memory. When they're constantly on your mind, you may be more likely to have nightmares about them. The same brain changes may also impact dreaming.
1. Being chased. Being chased is one of the most common nightmares. If you dream that you're being chased by something, whether it's an 8-foot-tall rabbit or a shrouded figure, then it's an indicator that you're running away from something or someone in real life.
It's normal to occasionally have a nightmare or bad dream, but for some people, they recur frequently, disrupting sleep and negatively impacting their waking life as well.
“If someone has frequent nightmares, that's not normal and something that should be treated.” Nightmares are a core symptom of PTSD, probably because the difficulty with traumatic events lies in people's inability to process them, says Neil Greenberg, professor of defense mental health at King's College London.
The study authors also found evidence to suggest bad dreams led to greater daytime feelings of anxiety and depression and lower quality of life. In short, anxiety and nightmares can feed into each other, creating an unpleasant cycle.
Somniphobia is an irrational fear of sleep. People may worry throughout the day about not being able to sleep. This worry can cause difficulties with focus or concentration. Often, somniphobia arises from a fear of having nightmares or experiencing sleep paralysis.
Noun. oneirophobia (uncountable) The fear of dreams.
Not only do some of our best and most creative ideas come to us during the night, dreams also make a key impact on our mental health. Several studies in recent years have highlighted the connection between dreams and how we feel when we're awake.
If you are having weird dreams, it may be due to stress, anxiety, or sleep deprivation. To stop having weird dreams, try managing stress levels and sticking to a sleep routine. If you wake up from a weird dream, use deep breathing or a relaxing activity to fall back asleep.
Kahn, Dement, Fisher, and Barmack (1962) wrote that “with careful interrogation close to the time of dreaming, color was found to be present in 82.7% of the dreams” and Herman, Roffwarg, and Tauber (1968) discovered that coloured dreaming was reported after 69% of REM awakenings of their subjects.
Nightmares about falling were followed closely by dreams about being chased (more than 63 percent). Other distressing nightmares included death (roughly 55 percent), feeling lost (almost 54 percent), feeling trapped (52 percent), and being attacked (nearly 50 percent).
Shared dreams definition
Shared dreaming is the idea that two or more people can share the same dream environment. The degree to which the dream is shared can vary, from simply having common elements or events that happen in each person's dream, to the entire dream being identical.
An estimated 50% to 85% of adults report having the occasional nightmare. Nightmares tend to become less frequent and intense as you age. Women tend to report nightmares more often than men but are also more open to discussing their dreams and nightmares.
Feeling jittery, nervous or tense.
Women experiencing PTSD are more likely to exhibit the following symptoms: Become easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions, experience numbness. Avoid trauma reminders.
PTSD symptoms usually appear soon after trauma. For most people, these symptoms go away on their own within the first few weeks and months after the trauma. For some, the symptoms can last for many years, especially if they go untreated. PTSD symptoms can stay at a fairly constant level of severity.