nightmares

Would anyone have any suggestions or ideas on how to stop nightmares or how to sleep without having nightmares. I know this may sound very silly but i am actually scared of falling asleep. I force my self each night just to stay awake because i dread closing my eyes. As soon as my eyes trying to settle to sleep the nightmares start. I am just feeling very run down right now, i really don't know how to stop it. i just want to sleep.

You may talk to your pdoc about prescribing something to sleep. I hope you start to heal from what is causing your nightmares. I know how you feel as I have the same problem. I hope you get some relief.

arianna, sleep is so precious. I spent most of my life wishing I could learn how to do it. Night terrors stalked me in my crib on up into adulthood. Making your sleep space safe is number one in my book. A relaxation tape or routine of self talk and meditation at bedtime can help. Nightlights, soundmachines,
flashlights in bed with you....... just keep trying stuff, talk to your t about meds, nap when you can. Hang in there, it can get better.

((((((arianna))))) I went through a phase once of this and boy it is hard to have any kind of life with no sleep. Have you started any kind of new medication of late, I found once that a pill I was taking was causing that problem... just a thought. If not I will gladly buy your nightmares from you... virtually of course (native american tradition).. here is a quarter and now I hope that you sleep extremely well tonight.. Linda

Hi Arianna,

I know your situation all too well. Recently, my nuerologist gave me 10 mg of elavil to take at night. My night terrors disappeared! I sleep well and any dreams I remember, which is seldom, are pleasant. I was stalked by night terrors to the point I would do anything to keep from going to sleep. Ask your Dr if you can have elavil. Ten mg is an extremely small dose, but it was all I needed for a miracle.

My best to you.

January

((((((((((arianna)))))))))) My husband has sleep problems with nightmares and my daughter has really bad sleep problems. She gets really tired and run down from missing so much sleep. The doctor has tried several things but she isn't doing much better. Now she has started catching every bug that comes along.

I hate this for her and I hate that you are going through this too. I wish I knew the solution.

Sometime to try immediately is NOT to eat three hours before bed... don't watch or read any invigorating stuff... fill your mind and all with loving, soft, wonderful thoughts and music... think while falling asleep...tell yourself and picture good things of what you would like to dream about..

I also use a delta brain wave CD to put my brain into that mode...

sweet dreams

Arianna,

Your words sound exactly like mine. My problems started with a known situation (that was a trauma). I agree with you.....I won't allow myself to go to sleep because I don't want to go through the nightmares. My Pdoc had given me seroquel to deal with my anxieties & the other things that I have been experiencing. I decided to take a larger dose of the seroquel at night to see if it might help with sleep. I finally experiemented with the dose until I increased it to the point that it knocks me out......no dreams.....no nothing. The dose I use knocks me out for about 8 hours which allows me to get a great rest. I still have some problems with the inbetween (sleep & wake).....that is when I am also haunted with the dreams.....(haven't found anything to help with that time. For me, it is the seroquel that allows me to have sleep......without it now, I can go days without sleep.

I also use the seroquel for my horrible anxiety attacks that keep hitting. When I can't handle the anxiety, I take the same amount I do to sleep....it knocks me out & then I sleep soundly. When I wake up, it takes me awhile to remember what it was that caused my anxiety which gives me some relief from my anxieties too.

I know for me, I would be very happy if I wasn't depending on meds to make me sleep, but the truth is, I need sleep & that is the only way I can get it without being continually woken up by nightmares.

Hope you can find something natural to help you, but if not.....maybe your pdoc can help you find something that will work for you. It sometimes takes some experimenting to find out exactly what will work.

Debbie

I was thinking more on this... sometimes when ppl who have been traumatized sleep during the daytime, they don't have nightmares....

Thank u all for taking an interest. I just want to say, i dont have a pdoc or any type of counsellor. I am a med student and I feel very stigmatisied by doctors if i talk to them about any mental issues. I dont know how to ask for medication or discuss anything. i am really stuck . i just dont know how to move forward. I would really appreciate any advice from anyone.

Arianna,

Do you have a trusted counselor or student advisor? Perhaps you can talk to her/him. You really need to just tell someone what you've told us, even if it means printing out a copy of your post and handing it to him/her. You must be your own advocate. Med school is enough to drive anyone to have nightmares!

I wish you all the best.

January

I have LOTS of problems getting to sleep and then qa couple hours or so Im back up because of nightmares. I do lots of things to help the situation. The first thing I do when starting my nighttime routine is get something to eat. I do this because if I don't the empt stomach feeling triggers me into memory pieces (alters) and I end up spending the night eating. there is only so many times a night that I will go with the flow when stepping onto a plate of food on the way to the bathroom.

Then I take 2 benedryls. they contain dyphenhyramine (an over the counter sleep aid found in things like tylenol pm, and other sleep aids on the shelf)

After I have ate and taken the benedryl I go take a bubble bath while listening to some relaxation music and write in my journal.

When I start getting drowsy I get out of the tub and into bed. once in bed I put on my head phones and listen to the relaxation visualization my therapist and I recorded while doing it during a session. Most of the time I am out for the count befor the tape ends. My tape player/recorder does not SNAP off so I wake up just enough to hit the off button and Im right back out again.

when I wake in the night in painic attacks and nightmares I just repeat the process and Im soon out for the count once again.

Everyone has their own things that make themselves comfortable and calm for instance I have to eat before bed and sky does not recommend it.

How I came up with my routine is that I thought about what things I like to do. If you like to do it the making it into a regular routine is easier. for example if you don't like to journal you most likely won't keep doing it night after night.

Write down a list of things that you like to do. Then go through the list and mark the ones that it is possible for you to do before bed. I like to bike but Im not about to do that at 11-12 nidnight.

Once you have the list of things you like and have picked out those you can do at home at nighttime, list them in an order that goes from most active of the list to quetist and calmest. Include some sort of outlet for your thoughts so that at when you are doing the quietist and calmest activity your brain doesnt suddenly kick in gear because something is worrying or upsetting you.

After that its just a matter of turning your new routine into a habit by doing it at the same time every night.

take care