Nightmares

[Valentine]

Does anyone else have nightmares like I do?
I frequently have nightmares or surreal and disturbing dreams. Sometimes I feel like I don't ever want to sleep again. Like tonight, I've been putting off going to bed for hours even though I am exhausted.

 

[Inator]

I see demonic eyes and faces over many surfaces, walls, tables, curtains, even the food and the bed. What I feel is just the inverse, I just want to sleep ASAP, as these creatures are even more visible in the darkness. But the nerves are so strong, that I find it very hard to get asleep. Then I wake up the next day, very sleepy. Having more than 48 hours without slept my brain begins to flash white lights on my vision, or sometimes the creatures "flash" in front of me as well, making things worser. Epilepsy-like attacks?

 

[Adora]

I have nightmares frequently, a lot of it is due to the trauma I have experienced over the years I sometimes will scream in my sleep that my husband will have to wake me up.

 

[tree]

I listened to the whole book on a CD a couple weeks ago.
This little clip is about nightmares.

 

[Valentine]

Thanks tree, I'll watch it Thursday if I remember because I'll be somewhere with better internet.

 

[Judge]

I don't often remember all the detail of bad dreams, but when I do I attempt to try to make sense of them. Especially in recalling what I saw on television or read about, or am deep in thought over. Usually I find some kind of link...and realize how much those sources of information can influence my sub-conscience.

My greatest concern though, remains being able to discern the difference between a dream and a possible paranormal experience. Better known as a "visitation". In rare instances I believe that has happened to me. Occurring only with either my mother, father or closest cousin. All deceased.

Sleep paralysis coupled with a hypnopompic hallucination. Yeah, I've had that happen a few times too.

 

[Ronin82]

Hey Valentine,

I get frequent nightmares due to PTSD. But, my dreams have always been very realistic and intense. I can hear, smell, touch, taste in my dreams, and often can't tell if I dreamed something or actually went through it. This is great if its good dreams, horrific if its not (which is most of the time). I find when it gets really bad (currently in my second month of extreme insomnia and short on sleep-hours), medications and/or beer are my only recourse. Hope you find something that works!

 

[Valentine]

That's how it is with me, they seem hyper realistic

 

[wight]

Val, I have been having nightmares for years (decades?)... I eventually learned lucid dreaming as a way to let my subconscious process stress, anxiety, etc. without losing too much sleep. I still have times when I only sleep 2 or 3 hours a night but they are less frequent.

Wiki, a little background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream
Tips to learn the process: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/7-steps-to-start-lucid-dreaming.html

It can be very disturbing at first to be aware that you are dreaming, especially a nightmare that you can't exercise any control over. And it can take some time (months) to get to where you can actually do more than "watch" as things happen. The first thing I wanted to learn was to NOT wake up and just let the dreams happen so I could try and understand what they were really about.

As an example: I used to have horrible nightmares about being chased. Sheer terror. Waking up soaked in sweat, panic, etc. Over the course of perhaps dozens of these dreams, I was able to eventually stop the dream and turn around to "face the monster" and there was nothing there. I still have that dream sometimes, but I know there isn't anything there so it's not quite so terrifying.

 

[Valentine]

I have had lucid dreams. Didn't always have control over them though.

 

[wight]

So yeah, lucid dreaming isn't fool proof. I don't always have control of what's happening. And sometimes I have nightmares that aren't lucid. It's the subconscious, theres only so much we can do.

But to answer your original post, yes, I have very vivid dreams, sometimes surreal, like stair cases that go on forever, or end up back where you started. Being able to breath underwater is a particularly strange sensation. When I was a kid I used to have this dream where I was hiding from killer robots (this was pre-terminator, so don't ask me where I got the imagery from)

 

[Adora]

I have had lucid dreams. Didn't always have control over them though.

I have heard of finding a way for people who have PTSD and trauma to lucid dream as a way to control nightmares I would love to be able to lucid dream.

 

[Gritches]

Just throwing this out there, but there's a prescription drug called Minipress that is supposed to specifically alleviate PTSD nightmares. I'm unsure if it works, I haven't dealt with the nightmares in a long time. They incidentally went away with the sledgehammer I took to my general sleep problems.

The proverbial sledgehammer is my patented cocktail of 19 sleeping pills (hey don't judge me, when I need to sleep I need to sleep right the fck now, no screwing around). Subtracting the straight tranquilizers, that leaves 5-HTP, GABA, Melatonin, and Valerian Root. Any one of those might be responsible for my absence of nightmares.

I realize that's probably pretty unhelpful, but that's what I got.

 

[Valentine]

Just throwing this out there, but there's a prescription drug called Minipress that is supposed to specifically alleviate PTSD nightmares. I'm unsure if it works, I haven't dealt with the nightmares in a long time. They incidentally went away with the sledgehammer I took to my general sleep problems.

The proverbial sledgehammer is my patented cocktail of 19 sleeping pills (hey don't judge me, when I need to sleep I need to sleep right the fck now, no screwing around). Subtracting the straight tranquilizers, that leaves 5-HTP, GABA, Melatonin, and Valerian Root. Any one of those might be responsible for my absence of nightmares.

I realize that's probably pretty unhelpful, but that's what I got.

I'm not completely sure it's ptsd related, but it's a real possibility. Unfortunately I have a chemical sensitivity that prevents me from taking most meds, so I won't be able to try any of that.

 

[WereBear]

How about nutritional supplements? In addition to valerian root (always get the capsules!) these have done wonders for my sleep:

Pregnenolone
Niacin with a b complex chaser
Glycine
Liposomal vitamin C

Also, if stuff like aspirin helps you sleep, then you have an inflammation problem and should look into anti-inflammatory strategies.

AND a dark room (I use a sleep mask) and avoiding blue light after sundown. Amber tinted sunglasses are a great help there.

I went from 2-4 hours a night to 8-10 hours a night, so I feel experty

 

[Valentine]

How about nutritional supplements? In addition to valerian root (always get the capsules!) these have done wonders for my sleep:

Pregnenolone
Niacin with a b complex chaser
Glycine
Liposomal vitamin C

Also, if stuff like aspirin helps you sleep, then you have an inflammation problem and should look into anti-inflammatory strategies.

AND a dark room (I use a sleep mask) and avoiding blue light after sundown. Amber tinted sunglasses are a great help there.

I went from 2-4 hours a night to 8-10 hours a night, so I feel experty

Well, I do have fibromyalgia and pain often keeps me up. Several of these things I've tried, but still... When I get relaxed enough the dreams happen. When I move I'll be able to get a new medicine and I have very high hopes for it.

 

[WereBear]

Well, I do have fibromyalgia and pain often keeps me up. Several of these things I've tried, but still... When I get relaxed enough the dreams happen. When I move I'll be able to get a new medicine and I have very high hopes for it.

Best of luck to you! My husband has a related illness, CFS/ME. We got tested for a MTFHR mutation; he has it, I don't. He's gotten good results from adjusting his diet and taking methylated B vitamins. So many with immune related illness have this mutation; it might be worth checking out.

 

[Valentine]

Best of luck to you! My husband has a related illness, CFS/ME. We got tested for a MTFHR mutation; he has it, I don't. He's gotten good results from adjusting his diet and taking methylated B vitamins. So many with immune related illness have this mutation; it might be worth checking out.

You know I used to take a b complex to keep the mosquitoes away for camping, I may try taking it again for this. Several people have said it helps them.

 

[WereBear]

Also, chelated magnesium.

Not regular magnesium. That has a laxative effect and trust me, that will not help sleep

But many people don't get enough magnesium in their diet, and this is a vital mineral that makes all our electrics work. It could easily be part of some people's insomnia.

 

[Valentine]

Also, chelated magnesium.

Not regular magnesium. That has a laxative effect and trust me, that will not help sleep

But many people don't get enough magnesium in their diet, and this is a vital mineral that makes all our electrics work. It could easily be part of some people's insomnia.

I had my magnesium and other things checked in the process of getting my fibromyalgia diagnosed, that's how I know I do not have a deficiency in vitamins or minerals. I had taken some supplements in the past too because I thought that might help.