What is Nightmare Disorder?

[@drakeishere]

I've had nightmares almost every night my entire life. They're frightening, highly vivid and detailed, physically painful, very disturbing, grotesquely violent, and cause anxiety and paranoia while I'm awake. I'm often too scared to go to sleep so I'm pretty much perpetually sleep deprived. I've tried everything to solve it and nothing seems to work. To everyone out there struggling like me, try to keep your chin up. You're not alone.

[@hallierose6630]

I was diagnosed with this a few weeks ago when I started seeing a therapist, she immediately switched up my anxiety medication and this week was the first time that I've been able to sleep through the night in close to a year.

[@Karmah01]

I have 3 nightmares that I keep having over and over at least twice a week for the last 20+ years. It's very disturbing! Every time I wake my heart is beating overtime and I wake most times in a cold sweat. *I HATE IT!* I am also a sleep paralysis sufferer, I hate that more than *_ANYTHING!_*

[@anastasiar9625]

I haven’t been diagnosed with nightmare disorder, but I had nightmares since I was a child. Few years back I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and was given a machine to help me breathe during sleep. My nightmares almost instantly stop, only occasionally I will have a have a bad dream that I am able to recall it. My health over all improved so much being able to get proper sleep during the night. I am no longer afraid to sleep alone or scared of the dark. I use to not be able to be alone in house at nigh because of the constant fear I experiencing from my intense nightmares that felt so realistic at times.

[@mikayla4222]

I haven’t had a pleasant dream since I was a kid and even then I had frequent nightmares. My nightmares are extremely vivid to the point where all 5 of my senses are activated during the bad dream. They’ve gotten worse and worse over the years to the point where I sometimes don’t sleep at all. Coupled with a severe phobia which is usually activated at night, my sleep schedule is so off that I’m practically nocturnal. Most times I don’t sleep at all or only get a couple of hours and go the entire day with no rest and if I’m lucky I can take a short nap in the afternoon/evening. Having reoccurring nightmares and an obsessive phobia sucks. I’ve started writing down as much of my nightmares I can remember right after waking up so I can have a log of what’s happening. Everyone I know brushes off what I go through and blames it on me sometimes watching crime shows when that’s far from the cause.

[@MariaSilva-ek6fy]

I’ve been having vivid dreams for the past year. It’s so draining. My dreams vary. It’s not related to a specific trauma . It’s about everything. I feel like Im living in another life when I’m sleeping. I wish this would stop

[@CocoSpuzzillo]

I have PTSD but these nightmares don't stop I can't sleep anymore I hate this

[@krissievailolo8028]

Colleen Spuzzillo I have the same issue!

[@roozief9349]

I am at my breaking point with this no one should see this kind of shit... It feels like hell

[@johnharrisjr2808]

At work I have had guest(clients) tell me that they have had nightmares but it usually was a single episode and not repeated occurrences. Great explanation of nightmare disorder

[@DalCecilRuno]

Hah! Finally I find a licensed specialist explicitly confirming that nightmares and suicidal tendencies and attempts ARE related. Sir, I was born with nightmares. I don't recall a time of my life when I had regular sleep, ever. I still remember the silly nightmares I had as a toddler. I couldn't even speak properly and I used to wake up crying and therefore waking up my mother too, and I was trying to let her know that I had a nightmare. This went on and on and it is still present now that I'm in my late 20s. I am suicidal, I have to be very cautious if I'm feeling my thoughts going in that direction. So the days when I'm thinking about jumping from a bridge, I stay home and find a way to cope. Luckily, I am taking antidepressants now, I am also diagnosed with depression, and the nightmares are still there sometimes, but less and less effective over my mood and functioning. I know I still have a long way to go. Thank you for this video!

[@Aloszka7]

I can relate so much! Nightmares since I can remember, every freakin night. Diagnosed with ptsd, depression, anxiety and panic dis.

[@cheridehart7771]

I find this very interesting. I have had nightmares all my life. Like in most of my life I made a decision to let them not scare me any more, but they still wake me.

[@KJT3000]

I had nightmares all my life frequently. The last 6 months of my life it's every night. I wake up scared, heart pounding but not really fast, feeling like I got an adrenaline shot. Takes 20 minutes to get back to sleep. And it may happen again after 3 hours. This SUCKS. It's affecting my life. It just happened 10 minutes ago and I'm agitated. My dreams are psychotic and I'm always chased or trapped. The stress and anxiety it causes is getting to me. It's the adrenaline shot feeling that gets me, like I'm breathless for a few seconds and feeling like I watched a jumpscare video. And I get up, drink water, and try to fall back to sleep. I'm very healthy and fit too, no sign of "sleep apnea"....and F****K those people who always default to that being the cause.

[@examinestairs712]

Honestly weirdly excited to see this disorder represented somewhere! I find the severity bit kinda interesting because sometimes (rarely) I can go a week without, often it's atleast once a week and then multiple times a year I go through weeks/months at a time of nightmares every time I close my eyes. Naps, everything. I have PTSD and childhood trauma so I guess that likely makes the diagnosis invalid here. But my nightmares do not repeat themselves and are not flashbacks, and I've been having them as long as I remember. There's no denying though that nightmares play on your fears and with PTSD I may have more than some. Either way thanks for doing this, and thanks for stating even if you don't meet the criteria how utterly destructive regular hugely disturbing nightmares can be! Treated the whole topic with respect so thanks :D.

[@TheSarahbee23]

i was given a medicine called Prazosin for nightmare disorder caused by cPTSD, and it took a while for it to work and a dose change but now, im ACTUALLY having dreamless sleep. and, knock on wood not to jinx it, ive had my first 3 normal, undisturbing dreams in years. for anyone struggling with this, i know mental health help isnt easy to get depending where you are, especially here in the US. but if possible, id say try the medicine, its literally change my life

[@tsbcmhc2083]

Thank you for the clarification! Really makes me wonder how Freud would view this through dream interpretation.

[@tracey2910]

I've had nightmares and night terrors for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I also had recurring dreams and one had things in it that I was far to young to know about. I envie people that have nice dreams. I'm too scared to go to sleep sometimes.

[@alysskennedy8661]

So, I have dreams/nightmares every single time I sleep. They may start out (not healthy) but I’m good with it. Then it always turns out bad BAD. I wake up rapidly and remember everything for a while. I remember my most recent me clearly.

[@Katherine_G.Pierce]

I will go to sleep at 12:30am and wake up at 3am from a nightmare. I have the same recurring nightmares all featuring my boyfriend who is really good to me but in the dream he does not love me or does not show me love and is not being honest with me that he doesn’t love me but he’s giving me all the signs that he doesn’t love me in the nightmares.

[@GetBant]

Well this is what I’ve been living with for almost 2 months now. Every night around 4am. It’s never going to stop

[@TheZombienightmares]

This morning I woke up five times with the same nightmare. Each time I woke, I'd take a min to calm down by smoking a cigarette and then go back to sleep... continuing on with the same dream, like someone had pushed pause. Each time i wake up screaming and crying, I HAVE to smoke a cigarette to calm down. I've had nightmares like this since I was a child, I'm now 32. They've been different fears over the years. For a majority of my life it's been zombies, hence the name thezombienightmares, then it changed in my late twenties to cheating, demons, my children being murdered or run over, my dog being eaten... My nightmare this morning was cheating. They're vivid, and play like movies with intricate detail. I started keeping a dream log years ago with hand drawn maps because they were so frequent and detailed. Sometimes I know I'm dreaming, but not always. I have nightmares about 3 times a week but don't always continue the same dream after waking. I've suffered Childhood trauma and an abusive relationship resulting in PTSD. I also suffer from manic depressive bipolar disorder. I was taking sertraline, but the suicidal thoughts were unbearable. After my episode this morning I decided to do some research which lead me here. If anyone has any information or tips on how to combat this disorder, please, let me know. My heart goes out to anyone who suffers from this, it's absolutely terrifying.

[@shinjisami]

Treatment Treatment for nightmares isn't usually necessary. However, treatment may be needed if the nightmares are causing you distress or sleep disturbance and interfering with your daytime functioning. The cause of the nightmare disorder helps determine treatment. Treatment options may include: Medical treatment. If the nightmares are associated with an underlying medical condition, treatment is aimed at the underlying problem. Stress or anxiety treatment. If a mental health condition, such as stress or anxiety, seems to be contributing to the nightmares, your doctor may suggest stress-reduction techniques, counseling or therapy with a mental health professional. Imagery rehearsal therapy. Often used with people who have nightmares as a result of PTSD, imagery rehearsal therapy involves changing the ending to your remembered nightmare while awake so that it's no longer threatening. You then rehearse the new ending in your mind. This approach may reduce the frequency of nightmares. Medication. Medication is rarely used to treat nightmares. However, medication may be recommended for severe nightmares associated with PTSD.

[@kimberlylouie3748]

I've had this for at least 30 years, since I was in middle school. Since 2000 I've had very, very few nights without nightmares. About 18 months-2 years ago I was officially diagnosed, and my psychiatrist and psychologist thought I should try taking Prazosin. If you don't know, it's a drug for blood pressure that has an effect on nightmares, especially for PTSD related nightmares, although they don't know how or why it works. It does help me, but not really by getting rid of the nightmare. I still have the nightmare, but my body doesn't react physically. So no racing heart, gasping for air, cold sweats, and less teeth grinding. Side effects are mild, so it's easy to live with. I just wish something would work to make my brain be totally quiet, just for a night. Good luck with your search for help.

[@user-tw8dq7iw3f]

Ive had the same since i can remember from age 4 till now im 20 and its just got worse

[@roemip]

I’m 25 and have had this for the past few weeks. Same thing happens, and I also try cigarettes to calm down a bit

[@roemip]

TheZombienightmares also WOW, my most recent dream was about demons, that’s crazy that these nightmares can be about the same things

[@Blizzard757575]

I've had nightmares since I was about 5-6 years old, I'm 35 years old. I have them several times a week and they are very vivid. My twin brother also gets them to the point his wife makes him sleep in another room because he curses and thrashes in his sleep. I sleep with a light on because I often wake up disoriented. Often I start to fall asleep and I feel myself spiraling into a dream immediately. I have a lot of control of rousing myself awake. I've observed the time to make sure I'm not just thinking I'm going right into a dream or nightmare. The nightmares are extremely vivid and sometimes I am lucid. They can include graphic violence like me being shot and going to an afterlife to me stabbing an evil entity violently to an intricate apocalypse kind of scenario to intense familial plot lines. I have anxiety and I take paxil for it. I would say Paxil does somewhat control the frequency. If I miss two doses the nightmares are extremely intense but I attribute that to withdrawal. I'm rarely ever scared in my nightmares anymore or scared upon waking. In fact, sometimes I miss them and the adrenaline they provide compared to my low energy kind of life. I am rarely helpless in these nightmares and I think I have pretty good hand/eye coordination with practice lol. I generally require a lot of sleep and wonder if I am also narcoleptic or have some kind of REM disorder.

[@susanc.3771]

Thank you for this information. I have bipolar disorder and PTSD. I think the PTSD causes my nightmares. I take several psych meds including lithium, risperidone, Latuda, Xanax, and prazosin. My nightmares are usually about serial killers and are horrific and gruesome. I can't seem to shake these images; these nightmare images can stay in my mind for months or even years. My psychiatrist tried putting me on clonidine, but it made me feel bad. For the most part, my bipolar is stable and I rarely have hallucinations. I wish I could get a handle on these nightmares.

[@jaydenbrumous2582]

I have used Weedborn CBD products and have healed without any problems. Now my whole family is healthy.

[@DynastyHeroes]

I've noticed as my mental health has been deteriorating I've been having more nightmares.

[@veronicabetz9452]

I would like to know the reasons behind Nightmare disorder being more prevalent in female and children.

[@kathelenora1493]

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[@virginiamurrey9139]

Nightmare Disorder sounds as if it disrupts individuals lives significantly for those with specifiers in longer duration and greater frequency. It was very interesting to hear that the disorder affects children more than adults, and female children more than males. This makes me wonder why this occurs more in female children.

[@wandamixon5360]

This overview is informative. I had not clinically considered the difference.

[@predeterminedmeat5024]

Didn't know that was a disorder just thought i had a lot of nightmares and was paranoid after them. Most of mine are bizzare things in which i'm being hunted by an unstopable lovecraftian horror. One time i was so mortified i hid under my blankets for half an hour convincing myself if i lifted them i would be killed

[@theangelicsentinel5758]

When I was 6-8 ive had nightmares almost every night, but nightmares that were the same also were in this time, and I think extended out to 9, the repetitive one involves me being in a dark area, a lot of objects appear around me I keep picking up the same object while a huge spinning wheel is spinning on a black wall, I hear loud bangs getting faster and louder and when I pick up the last of the same object the loudest one occurs, I instantly wake up crying and moving round and the only way to calm me down is to put water on my face, before I ut water on my face I still keep on hearing the bangs really loudly, my family even said it happened a couple times when I was awake but I dont remember those, last time it happened was more than 4 years ago, when I woke up gonna grab breakfast and I hear slight bangs, I stop moving and try to calm down, that was the last time it happened Is this related to anything cause I dont really know, family said same stuff happened to my dad before to but it does not happen to any of my brothers, just wondering cause I never found out what it was.

[@mikayla4222]

My nightmares are on the same level as the worst and most graphic banned films. Maybe in the future I can write a book or make a movie based on these awful dreams.

[@Copynnpaste]

During a nightmare or bad dream I manage to wake myself but my body is frozen, yet I fight it off and wake up

[@effytraveler6155]

My longest duration of nightmares and no good dreams is two years. I rarely have good dreams.

[@donnagpalk912]

If I was making movies like Steven King I could put him to shame👺 I have nightmares every night for years. Some times as soon as I dose off the nightmare hits me & wakes me up. I cuss, scream & hit. Sometimes they come true. I'm tired. I wake up tired. Feel as if I haven't slept. Had em since I was a teenager.. Guess I need to tell my doctor.. Thank you doc🐰💗

[@bloodypommelstudios7144]

Sertraline gave me horrific nightmares every night (real apocalyptic stuff), maybe once a week on average I'd also wake up shouting, punching or kicking, not great when you have a partner. My guess is it the anxiety the medication stopped me processing during the day was revieling itself during sleep though generally more disturbed sleep was probably a big factor.

[@kikixiong6156]

Interesting. Thank you for your detailed explanations.

[@JoeDirt-el2fr]

This must be hard for someone to deal with. I have heard of nightmares but not to this extent. This is an interesting area to look at because it involves dreams. As much as we think we know, where does one's consciousness actually go when they are asleep?

[@MaurandisDaRadusFilms]

I had like 4 nightmares all in a couple of hours of sleeping. And it was day timem

[@kerrygriffiths4391]

I found this very very helpful and intresting

[@spacesage533]

I tend to never have good dreams they’re always nightmares. I don’t have dreams or nightmares very often meeting. I don’t remember what happens when I wake up but when I do, it’s always bad is extremely Bevan and I can remember nightmares from when I was like eight and 12 etc. The nightmares always include it a level of desperation like I’m always trying to escape from something or somebody’s coming after me or I’m falling off of a cliff anyways, thanks for listening. I just thought I had a problem because I never have good dreams.

[@fentmeth2580]

For the past month I’ve been having nightmares every night or every other night that I wake up from screaming

[@AkiyamaKatsuko]

I've had terrible nightmares that started with frequency as well. The thing is, I don't think it has to do with stress, anxiety, or PTSD. Nor have I had any major traumatic moments in my life besides one of my relatives passing away. It's frustrating.

[@badservice6852]

My dreams be so wild I be Paranoid in real life , I have Déjà vu of me dying in places I be around and I always feel like something watching me and I can’t barely sleep. The dreams I have be SOO bad & wild that I’ll wake up outta my sleep 4 inna morning and just go for a drive downtown and look at the water and question “do somebody really wanna kill me” cuz I have nobody to talk to and if I did talk to them they’ll think some wrong with me or wouldn’t understand.... this been goin on for 2 year na im 17 now I can barely sleep at night I be so terrified. It’s like a full time job just staying focus in public and school. My mind runs like a hurricane sometimes

[@davidsweeney111]

Is there a disorder which describes the anxiety, fear, sadness that occurs when the night comes and there is a reluctance to relax and go to bed and difficulty in sleeping, often going to bed only when feeling exhausted at around 2am, which is worse in the winter when the day length is shorter and the days often overcast and gloomy?

[@yunhe2695]

I am the opposite. Night brings a sense of comfort whereas the day brings anxiety. I heard this symptom is a sign of minor depression.

[@roemip]

I think just insomnia, which I think I might have, I go to sleep at just about any time, sometimes it’s 7 or 8 pm, sometimes it’s 10 am

[@agoogoose4059]

I have nightmare disorder and i actually get stuck in these nightmares for what feels like hours and they repeat getting faster and faster each time until im about to wake up i just hear a ringing silence and i wake up to sleep paralysis only to get forced back to sleep as soon as the sleep paralysis is over its not very enjoyable

[@TheDonnellymarie]

I am back to having frequent nightmares so much that I do not want to sleep has a result. I have never slept well but it is still distressing to live with. most UK doctors are useless at diagnosing and quick to dismiss unknown conditions, I am having trouble sorting out my mental health.

[@aimenjawad4638]

I always have bad dreams once I even woke up sobbing, yesterday I woke up with so much pain in my heart because I was so scared and distressed from what I saw that's when I started researching because this has been going on for 3years but this time it actually hurt and wasn't just scary and woke me up

[@jinajustine]

YES>>> finally,, Im 53 and they are in severe catagory and started when I was young i remember I would stay awake as long asi could in elementry schoool.. Now its differnt I am super verbal during sleep and my family record me . Help cause its exhausting..

[@elsadunand208]

I am 21 and I have never heard of the term nightmare disorder before Since I was a child I remembered my dreams very vividly every nights, and they are all nightmares They are all about the same topic : I keep dreaming i see dead people, sometimes I wake up and i feel extremely anxious, depresses and exhausted and on the edge, paranoid, but most of the time I am so used to it i am not afraid of going alseep, even though waking up feels bad and stressful. I am not kidding my friends think I am a medium or something (I don't believe in this obviously), it's really bad Maybe I should get tested for this ☹️ Like, I thought it was normal?

[@kelly4321]

This is extremely interesting, most particularly because I know someone who suffers from this. Without this prior knowledge though I thought it was just a regular nightmare that is had by the person a lot. I am glad that this is actually a thing, maybe I can suggest that the person goes to a therapist to get some help with trying to get this to either go away or at least diminish. I know it will put the person that I know at ease knowing that there may be help with dealing with this.

[@Itz_._mayur8383]

I have night mare at every night when dream is broke I cant get up quickly I dont know why

[@jackiesorrells5571]

I have worked with adolescent children with this struggle. This is exasperated by overuse of social media and technology.

[@janicedixon2051]

You mentioned in terms of nightmare disorder that in order to differentiate between a nightmare and a bad dream that a person will either be oriented or remain asleep. I’m wondering with no regard to this disorder can nightmares and bad dreams be classified using those differences? For instance, there has been times where I’ve waken up and stayed asleep when I had a “bad dream” but when I woke up would that have been a nightmare? And when I remained sleep would that have been just a bad dream? I’m curious and thinking if I should change my wording when referring to these dreams.

[@jaynewton5278]

I have suffered with these shit horrible dreams for about 15 years,,,, i am 47 years old and don't know why they are getting more intense. They are taking me away from the daily life.

[@romanaangersbach1176]

Just try Weed Born

[@wordsofsolitude71]

What is it called when you wake constantly in the middle of the night by getting into a nightmare with various places and feelings in the nightmare that gives you a headache?

[@jaynewton5278]

Right ok i may have the ptsd fm child hood. So why last night did i dream of looking into someone's front window and seeing a grandad and two maybe 17 yr old males with their heads absolutely smashed up with blood and taking their last breaths while the females were in total god damn shock. Pls give me an explanation. My dreams are something that I would not anyone else to have.

[@luisajanau2601]

Not only i have recurent nightmares, i wake up due to them and cant sleep in the middle of the night

[@Copynnpaste]

My body goes into a trans or like a stuck vibrating feeling before having a nightmare.

[@TheSuperandroid17]

holy shit i get that too, and its usually before i get sleep paralysis

[@ashleegp8596]

Well I assume that I had have dreams that resume but I might have a had a nightmare of having a nightmare

[@amongsus1910]

God bless everyone some of us have similar stuff but I have some that are SCARY u don't want to know but mines are WORSE MY GOD! I don't even want to sleep I have trouble sleeping I tell my mom but she's always yelling at me.. :/

[@lilnative]

I have night mares every night and today I remember all 6 from rem and they were all night mares I hate sleeping it's been like this for a year and some of my dreams come true and I hate it help

[@chrischamberlain4846]

I was having a terrible nightmare but mine was different. For three nights I was visiting with an entity . Each one was a continuation of the night before . It was like the first one was the first visit , the second night was the second vist and third was the third . Way too much detail to explain here . So what kind of a nightmare was I having ?

[@43658hgt]

Thankyou

[@fluffyhedgehog7963]

So with repeated nightmares does that just mean I have a nightmare every night but each nightmare is different in it’s content or does a repeated nightmare have to be the same content nightly?

[@confusedspoons]

Are nightmare sleep disorders correlated with sleep apnea? Ive always had nightmares.. I didn't realise it wasn't "normal" until about a couple of years ago. But I was recently diagnosed with central sleep apnea. I checked my wave patterns seem to have issues with REM sleep and entering third stage sleep. So I'm curious if they are linked?

[@RR-kz4hq]

Wow so because im not waking up my bad dreams are normal and fine and i need to just get over it.........?

[@ilshim3473]

What does DSM stand for?

[@kinadafurry7353]

I’ve had nightmares 4 times last week iv had them for years I average 2 a week

[@kerrygriffiths4391]

How can I help myself

[@elizabethdiaz4731]

I have demonic dreams I never had a good one

[@bloodypommelstudios7144]

I have a hypothesis about why women and children are more prone to nightmares. Men are probably on average more accustomed to physical confrontations so are less likely to experience the extreme adrenaline spikes which in a dream would wake them up and remember the dream. Anecdotally after a few years of regular martial arts training I no longer had the kind of dream where you try to run but keep tripping over or can't seem to move anywhere. I suspect those kinds of dreams are you partially waking up due to adrenaline and your subconscious mind becomes aware of your real body being in a paralyzed state which in turn messes with the abilities of your dream body. Thoughts?

[@annimalasenko7326]

I didn't know that's a thing, a thought it's just PTSD ... wtf

[@xilla1539]

i dont think im normal, i stopped having dreams AND nightmares around like 9 (im 13 now) so when i sleep it just waits untill i wake up

[@highcolorz]

It doesn’t. You have about 7 dreams every night, you just don’t remember them. The brain only remembers information in dreams that seemed helpful, which is why it’s more likely to remember a dream about your crush vs flying around a palace. You’re dreaming, you just don’t remember them.

[@highcolorz]

I experience the exact same phenomenon as you (aside from when i have nightmares).