How To Get Rid Of Ptsd Nightmares

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing

EMDR therapeutic approach is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing Model whereby nightmares are viewed as manifestations of disturbing events that have not been adequately processed but encoded and stored in a state-specific dysfunctional form. EMDR therapy elicits the recall of these distressing images while activating one type of bilateral sensory input such as hand tapping or side to side eye movement. By overloading the working memory, emotional reactivity is dampened and imagery becomes less vivid. It is speculated that this technique produces emotional and physiologic alterations resulting in a relaxing response including respiratory synchronization, reduction in heart rate, and reduction in galvanic response.

Accept That Sleeping Problems Are A Normal Part Of Ptsd

If you have suffered chronic or severe trauma, possibly involving other problems such as chronic pain, your sleep is bound to be affected because your nervous system is in a constant state of stress. You may find that your sleep routine is erratic, punctuated by nightmares and night-waking and non-restful sleep. This is normal its just your nervous system doing what it is designed to do stay alert and protect you. Dont get upset with yourself for not being able to sleep normally. Dont force yourself to sleep normally.

Explore Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a widely studied and practiced therapy that un-jams your mind after a trauma. Often, past traumas and the emotions stay with you and paralyze you in that moment. This frozen nervous system can then seep into your sleep and cause nightmares. What EDMR does is confront the negative self-beliefs that you carry after a trauma and replace them with more positive outlooks and beliefs.

Recommended Reading: Bipolar Anxiety Paranoia

Ptsd And Night Terrors

Approximately 96% of people with PTSD experience terrifying nightmares that are so vivid that they seem real. Unlike bad dreams, night terrors have physical manifestations such as thrashing, flailing, screaming, and even sleepwalking. Night terrors should be addressed early on because they can put you in serious danger. Sleeping beside someone who suffers from PTSD-induced night terrors can also cause emotional distress.

Night terrors come in episodes, and in a sleep terror episode, you may:

• Start with a scream
• Turn aggressive when restrained
• Have no memory of the night terror episode

Any of the above behaviors are not normal and should not be shrugged off as if it were just a nightmare. Night terrors is considered a serious condition.

Nightmares Vs Night Terrors

Although nightmares and night terrors may seem similar, theyre quite different experiences. Nightmares are scary, vivid dreams that usually cause the person to awaken immediately. These dreams are often easily remembered.

Night terrors are hard to wake up from. A person may experience extreme agitation, such as flailing about, screaming, or even sleepwalking. Despite these physical reactions, people who experience night terrors usually sleep through them.

Night terrors and nightmares happen during different stages of sleep. When you doze off, youll typically move through four stages of sleep. In stages one and two, youre in a light state of sleep. In stages three and four, you slip into a deeper sleep.

Roughly every 90 minutes, you enter what is often referred to as the fifth stage of sleep, which is rapid eye movement sleep. Night terrors generally happen when youre in non-REM sleep, while nightmares occur during REM sleep.

In many cases, treating recurring nightmares involves treating the underlying condition.

Recommended Reading: Pristiq Effects

Create A Safe Sleeping Space

Your sleep space goes beyond your physical bedroom to include your mind. Start by ensuring the physical space you sleep in is comfortable and promotes relaxation. Then, work to set your mind to a calming station, as you would a radio. A great way to get your mind in a peaceful and happy place is to practice meditation for 10-30 min before sleep.

Difference #: Age And Gender

Nightmares can happen to anyone at any age, though frequency declines from childhood on. Still, about 4% of adults have nightmares at least weekly. Nightmares are more often reported by women, but its unclear if women are also more likely to report or not.

For night terrors, the highest frequency is also among kids, affecting up to 6.5% of children. Night terrors may start around age 3 or sometimes earlier, are most common from 5-7, and usually taper off by age 12. Only about 1-2% of the adult population experiences night terrors on a regular basis. In childhood, theyre more frequent in boys, but in adulthood, night terrors affect men and women equally.

Recommended Reading: Can Anxiety Mimic Diabetes

Ptsd And The Importance Of Therapy

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious mental illness triggered by experiences that are terrifying, life-threatening, or perceived as life-threatening. Potential causes of PTSD include being a victim of assault, witnessing violence, being in a terrible accident, or seeing combat in the military.

Not everyone develops PTSD after a traumatic experience, but those who do struggle with disruptive, frightening, and difficult symptoms including:

• Intrusive and scary memories
• Irritability and angry outbursts
• Difficulty concentrating

Because this mental illness is so disruptive to a normal, satisfying life, professional treatment is essential. Therapy is the foundation of treatment, which teaches patients to change their negative thoughts, cope with difficult memories, and relate better to other people. There are several types of therapy with a trauma focus that can be very helpful for managing and reducing symptoms.

Footnote From Page 395

This refers to a group of people in the waiting list scheduled to get the intervention in the future, who serve as the control group while the active group receives the intervention. This method is usually used in psychotherapeutic outcome trials. Usually everyone receives the intervention by the end of the study.

You May Like: Spasmenagaliaphobia

B Read The Nightmare Story Aloud

Listen for the themes in the story. What are the fear messages? I think it is helpful to be able to read this to a therapist or other support person who can keep you from being overwhelmed and can provide some insight into things you may not immediately see. Just dont make someone listen to your nightmare that is not emotionally able to hear the story.

A Write Out As Full A Description Of The Nightmare As Possible

Getting it down on paper tames the story and makes it manageable. It also allows you to go back over it and add missing details. In step C you will be rewriting it with added insight.

Remember that it is a normal process for your brain to use your dreams to make sense of your experiences. In dreams, your brain will turn the experience around and examine it from all sides. Your brain may also play out multiple alternative endings for the event. It is not the dream that is the problem it is the connection between the dream and fear that makes this a nightmare.

If you have several versions of the dream try to write them all down.

Read Also: Withdrawal Symptoms Of Pristiq

Are There Any Effective Treatments For Posttraumatic Nightmares

Nightmare symptoms often get better with standard Treatment Basics. If nightmares persist, there are treatments that can reduce how often they occur.

One treatment is Imagery Rehearsal Therapy . In IRT, the person who is having nightmares, while awake, changes how the nightmare ends so that it no longer upsets them. Then the person replays over and over in their minds the new dream with the non-scary ending. Research shows that this type of treatment can reduce how often nightmares occur.

Also, treatment for breathing problems that occur during sleep may reduce the nightmares that follow trauma. High levels of sleep-disordered breathing have been seen in trauma survivors. In one study, patients given a treatment to improve their breathing during sleep no longer had violent, scary dreams.

Little research exists on the use of medicines to treat nightmares from trauma. The medicine with the most promise is prazosin. Two studies have found that prazosin reduces nightmare symptoms. More research on prazosin is under way.

You May Also Be Interested In

Apps for self-help, education, and support after trauma.

Get help for PTSD

If you need help right away:

• Call 1-800-273-8255
• Call 911 or visit a local emergency room

Connect with us

Leave The Midnight Snack

Sometimes its hard to resist a midnight snack or those delicious leftovers from dinner, but leaving those for the next day can really help you get a better nights sleep.

Like any human function, digesting food takes brainpower. As your body digests the food, it can increase your metabolism and make the brain more active. A more active brain will increase your REM sleep time, which is when nightmares tend to happen most.

If you just cant wait until morning, leave foods that take longer to digest out of your late-night snack. Foods such as meats, cheeses, or other dairy products can sit in your stomach much longer than others. Try a few crackers or a bowl of dry cereal as an alternative.

Also Check: Mary Kate And Ashley Eating Disorders

Children And Young People

Trauma-focused CBT is usually recommended for children and young people with PTSD.

This normally involves a course of 6 to 12 sessions that have been adapted to suit the child’s age, circumstances and level of development.

Where appropriate, treatment includes consulting with and involving the child’s family.

Children who do not respond to trauma-focused CBT may be offered EMDR.

Stay Safe During Night Terrors

An otherwise loving and gentle partner can become agitated, upset, and even violent in the middle of a night terror. As you try to help your partner through these episodes, put your safety first. Trying to wake them during the episode could cause them to lash out and hurt you unintentionally.

If your partner seems agitated, back away. If they begin behaving violently, swinging their arms, kicking, or even coming after you, get somewhere safe. Go to another room and close the door until they have calmed down. You cannot help them if they lash out and hurt you.

Night terrors are terrifying. As the partner of someone struggling with this PTSD symptom, itâs scary for you and difficult to see your partner go through it. Encourage your partner to get treatment first and foremost, but then also take steps to help them manage night terrors and get better sleep.

Also Check: Phobia Of Bees And Wasps

Take Control Of Your Night

Try setting your alarm clock for just before the time you usually experience night-waking. Deliberately waking yourself up disrupts the negative sleep patterns that your brain has developed and creates the conditions where you can develop a more normal sleep routine. Its often actually easier to fall asleep after waking up in a different phase of the sleep cycle than when you are awoken by a nightmare or heart palpitations. Even if this doesnt appear to be working at first, try and stick to it for a week and give your sleep pattern a chance to change. It might be the week from hell but it will be worth it if you can get a better nights sleep.

Exposure Rescripting And Relaxation Therapy

Variants of imagery rescripting interventions have been developed since the late 1970s for the treatment of idiopathic nightmares. The exposure, relaxation, and rescripting therapy involves psychoeducation about sleep and nightmares, relaxation, sleep hygiene, exposure, and nightmare rescripting. While IRT focuses on changing the nightmares by building imagery skills, the exposure element of the ERRT protocol requires individuals to write down their target nightmare and read it aloud so that the event evokes an affect similar to that experienced in the presence of the actual stimulus. The exposure element offers the opportunity for the subject to face the fear in a safe place and habituate to the anxiety.

Read Also: Odds Of Getting Schizophrenia

Seek Out Things That Provide Comfort

Kids could benefit from objects that provide comfort such as a stuffed animal or special blanket. As an adult, you may not have a stuffed animal, but holding a pillow could offer solace. Individuals who sleep with a partner may also benefit from cuddling at night, as research shows that physical affection helps release hormones that can improve your mood and help you feel more relaxed.

Sleep Hygiene After Trauma

In addition to seeking professional support when coping with the effects of trauma, it may be helpful to consider strategies to support healthy sleep hygiene.

• Remember that symptoms may be normal: Immediately after having a traumatic experience, its normal to have difficulty sleeping. Be gentle on yourself and remember that your body is attempting to process and cope with the event.
• Maintain your usual sleep routine: Sleep and routine go hand in hand. After trauma it may be tempting to withdraw or change our normal daily activities. Try to keep to your usual sleep routine to give your body the best chance for a restful night.
• Relax before bed: Instead of trying to pressure yourself into falling asleep, focus on finding ways to calm your mind and body before bed. Turn off electronics and try some relaxation methods that may help you fall asleep.
• If you cant sleep, dont stay in bed: Staying in bed when you cant sleep can create an unhelpful association between the bed and sleeplessness. If you find yourself lying awake for more than 20 minutes, try getting out of bed and doing something relaxing, like reading a book or listening to gentle music.

Experiencing trauma can increase the risk of a multitude of mental and physical health issues, including suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Also Check: Does Anxiety Cause Blurry Vision

How To Manage Trauma

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

By Dr. Gabriela Sadurní Rodríguez

With the current climate in 2020, such as COVID-19, the fight against racism and racial injustice , and Black Lives Matter movement, many people are experiencing an increase in trauma-related nightmares, more anxiety, and many other trauma-related symptoms.

Interestingly, a lot of people go through life-threatening events or potentially traumatic experiences in their lives and successfully recover over time however, an important minority of people do not recover as easily and develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder .

If you are experiencing trauma-related nightmares, this article is for you.

Did you know that currently there are approximately 8 million people in the United States with PTSD?

People with PTSD can experience a wide range of symptoms like:

• Frequently having thoughts about the traumatic event
• Feeling like they are reliving the traumatic event
• Being constantly on alert
• Having increased negative feelings or
• Avoiding triggers that remind them of what happened

Among the re-experiencing symptoms, nightmares are very common. The rate of nightmares in individuals with PTSD can be as high as 72%, while other research suggests that it can range from 71%-96%. Regardless, it is a very high number.

Many people report that their nightmares include:

Sound familiar?

Treatments For Nightmares In Adults

Fortunately, there are steps you and your doctor can take to lessen the frequency of your nightmares and the effect they are having on your life. First, if your nightmares are the result of a particular medication, you may be able to change your dosage or prescription to eliminate this unwanted side effect.

For people whose nightmares are caused by conditions such as sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome, treating the underlying disorder may help alleviate symptoms.

If your nightmares aren’t illness- or medication-related, don’t despair. Behavioral changes have proven effective for 70% of adults who suffer from nightmares, including those caused by anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Imagery rehearsal treatment is a promising cognitive behavioral therapy for recurrent nightmares and nightmares caused by PTSD. The technique helps chronic sufferers change their nightmares by rehearsing how they would like them to transpire. In some cases, medications may be used in conjunction with therapy to treat PTSD-related nightmares, though their efficacy has not been demonstrated as clearly as that of imagery rehearsal treatment.

There are a number of other steps you can take on your own that may help reduce your nightmare frequency. Keeping a regular wake-sleep schedule is important. So is engaging in regular exercise, which will help alleviate nightmare-causing anxiety and stress. You may find that yoga and meditation are also helpful.

Show Sources

Also Check: Pristiq Definition

What Can Irt Help With

First, what exactly is a nightmare? Nightmares are vivid, realistic, and disturbing dreams typically involving threats to survival or security, which often evoke emotions of anxiety, fear or terror, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine .

IRT can vary based on your needs and each therapists approach. But at its core, IRT directly targets nightmares to reduce bad dreams.

The AASM IRT to treat nightmares and nightmare disorder associated with PTSD.

Nightmare disorder affects about

How To Get Rid Of Nightmares: Useful Tips On Avoiding Bad Dreams

Christian FlaptonRead full bioChristian’s personal site

Learn about oureditorial process.

If you or someone in your family is suffering from nightmares, going to bed every night can become a source of anxiety and fear, which in and of itself will increase the likelihood of having these bad dreams. This results in a poor quality of sleep, which affects your energy levels, your mood, and in the long run, can have a pronounced negative effect on your overall mental state, so you may be wondering how to get rid of nightmares once and for all.

Pretty much anyone aged 1-100 can have a nightmare, and in singular cases, theyre usually nothing to worry about. However, if you find yourself dreading going to bed in the fear that youll have to go through yet another distressing sleeping experience, and are looking for solutions, youve come to the right place. In this article, well cover when nightmares can happen, the most common causes of bad dreams in kids and adults, and measures that you can take to avoid having this experience altogether.

Don’t Miss: Is Pristiq For Anxiety