Nightmares/Night Terrors

Are there any ways to prevent them? I thought it was caused by stress on your mind before you fall asleep. My nightmares are usually tied with my trauma of being molested at the age of 3. Or if I view something that's triggering..I usually wake up in the middle of the night. I've tried exercising before bedtime with a hot shower but I still wake up around 2am, breathing deep from a nightmare one which sometimes I don't remember. I've had a few disturbing ones too. I just want to ease my mind.

Night terrors to me are freaky. I never knew I experienced them until one time when my ex stayed the night..the next morning she kept asking if I were alright..and I was heading off to work at the hospital and I had no idea what she was talking about. Later that night when I returned she was like you don't remember what happened last night..and I was like I went to bed with you and woke up in the morning. Apparently I woke her up in the middle of the morning when I rose up and froze. She stared at me and put her hand on my shoulder to ask if I were okay..to which I pushed her off and huddled in the corner of the bed screaming "don't touch me, don't touch me." I was crying and hysterical, breathing heavy, my heart was racing.. and she kept saying my name but all I did was stare at her until I fell on my side and went back to sleep. I had no recollection of this ever happening. My other night terror was when I spent the night at my mothers. I woke up that morning, exhausted and we were both heading to work to which she rudely told me "thanks for keeping me up all night" and I looked at her not knowing what she was talking about..and she told me in the middle of the morning I sat up in my sleep and screamed at the top of my lungs and started hysterically crying..she said she had to be next to me the entire time to make sure I didn't hurt myself. I don't know if those are the only times where I've done this because I'm not always sleeping near or with someone. Both of these terrors happened in the spring which makes me kind of nervous for the springtime to happen.

Can night terrors be seasonal depending on trauma? That's a question I have.

And are there certain therapeutic techniques or things to help ease yourself into sleep..or to stay in sleep and not wake up in the middle of the morning. I know my girlfriend is completely supportive and helps me through anything and she knows of my entire life and trauma..but I'd hate to always wake her up everynight. Any tips will be appreciated.

I'm guessing that any human behaviour or malady can be affected by seasons. Sleep certain can.

There are several sleep disorders, you should go to a sleep study overnight stay and have your sleep watched and recorded

I suffer from extreme night terrors, nightmares and sleep walking so I know the pain you're going through. Mine, was an every night thing as a child. I slept walk six nights of the week, woke up screaming and would even hurt myself and not remember any of it in the morning. My father was abusive and after leaving him my night terrors improved. I suffered a little less as a teenager. Now, as a young adult I still suffer from night terrors, nighmares and sleep walking. I do find that stress is a big factor. If something in my life is going on that has be upset, a fight with a loved one, something I dread coming up or school it does get worse. I can go a few weeks with no problems and then suddenly go two solid weeks of sleep walking and hurting myself. It's frustrating and exhausting, unfortunately I haven't found anything that stops it completely. Stress is a factor, though as terrible as it is you mat have to just weather it until it passes. I do NOT recommend any form of sleeping aides. My doctor warned me against them before, but since I also suffer from insomnia I once tried a sleeping aide. If you read the label they all warn that they cause "nightmares and sleep walking" Mine definitely got worse on the pills and it's more difficult to wake up in an nightmare. I hope you find something that helps, it's quite debilitating and exhausting.