Nightmares

You have my sympathy gillybob I haven't been a great sleeper for about 20 years. I don't usually have nightmares though. I did last night and It really unsettled me. Once I realised it was just a horrible dream I started to worry I'd had a premonition. Stupid really because I've never had a premonition in my life.

Yes, gilly my mind drives me mad too! Sometimes I think that my brain doesn't know how to relax,and I'm awake regularly in the early hours.

When my husband passed away I expected to have some nightmares, but I didn't, however occasionally I have a dream where he is alive and we are talking together, usually trying to solve a problem of some kind as we used to. I now have to solve all problems alone.

The dream feels so real and nice. Then I wake up and realise that we will never talk together again and it makes me very sad for several days.

Most definitely a problem for me too.

Sympathies, I know how you feel, especially horrid dreams about family.

Have you started any medication lately?

That happened to me for months after my mother died. falconbird I can still remember how very vivid the dreams were. Waking up filled with grief.

I was just going to post more or less the same as whitewave. I was prescribed some tablets and they gave me awful nightmares. Dr changed my prescription, and the nightmares disappeared.

My sympathies too gillybob. Nightmares can seem so real and be upsetting.

May I suggest that you try meditation this really helped me, I too had regular nightmares always involving loved ones it really is distressing

My sleep patterns aren't very good and I do get the odd nightmare. It's not a recurrent theme but always ends the same, with me screaming and shouting. I feel such a fool afterwards too. Once my cousin came to stay for a few nights and I had one of my 'moments.' Poor girl thought I was being murdered and I was so embarrassed.
I have now made my husband promise to wake me at the first sign of me having a nightmare particularly if we have visitors to stay or if we are visiting friends.?

I am on no medication, am not a worrier and have no particular problems at the moment, but I have been having these terrifying nightmares for about 10 years. Initially weekly, now every few months. The subjects are on occasion, so vile I do not describe them as it is the best way of eventually forgetting at least the detail.

Recently, when I wake from them my body is in full flight or fight mode, with that buzzy feeling you get with an adrenaline rush, which often stays with me for hours.

I have done some googling and these dreams seem to be particularly connected with the menopause/PTSD, although this doesn't preclude other people suffering from them. The only potential remedy I have read is having small protein dense snack just before going to bed. This snack was defined as a small plain biscuit with butter and small piece of cheese/ham/cold meat.

I have had nightmares so hideous I could never tell anyone about them, they generally involve family members and usually before they become ill. I hope I am not a witch.

Falconbird I recognise what you say. It's that horrible sinking feeling when you realise the nightmare is the waking bit and the dream is the good bit.

I would recommend some guided meditation ,you can buy cd's on Amazon ,it clears your mind and helps you relax and sleep peacefully

morethan2 and Anya - I don't feel so alone now.

Anxiety - this is what causes nightmares. As a life long sufferer myself, I understand my triggers now. It can be anything so tiny like worrying about paying a bill or driving to a new place, can trigger an awful nightmare. I have found doing a mindfulness course has helped so much!

This happened to me this week for the first time in years. It involved a dear family member and for some reason I feel riddled with guilt that I dreamt it. Why is that?

I dream all night every night and have done since I was a child. Some nights it's lots of random, choppy dreams and some nights it's like one, full-on blockbuster!

Only last night I had the most incredible nightmare - it was terrifying. I woke up still wanting to go back to sleep (it was about 3am) but when this happens I force myself to get up for a bit - go to the toilet, maybe have a cup of tea - because if I go back to sleep I go right back into it.

I would actually miss dreaming, even the nightmares, because I look foward to what the hell my mind will come up with next time. I wish I could plug my brain into the TV because I'd make an absolute FORTUNE selling my dreams!

However, if this is a new thing to you and all around you and people you love I would think the only thing you could do would be to look at strategies to stop worrying in the daytime because your mind is trying to finish the job for you while you sleep. If it is really, really bad, maybe counselling could help?

A friend of mine was prescribed statins and found that they gave her terrible nightmares. Luckily the GP was able to prescribe a different one and these don't have the same side effect. If you are on any medication it's worth checking out

I was sent to a borstal type convent boarding school at the age of eleven. A few weeks later my 76 year old father/grandfather died of cancer. I was punished by a nun who was waiting to say Grace for speaking to my friend who asked me why I was crying. I am now 71 but I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. I suffered terrible nightmares for thirty years, even having one whilst sunbathing & falling asleep on the deck of a cruise ship. I believe, as nasty as they are, that they are a healthy form of outlet for what we bury deep inside.

Hi Fiorentina 51, if your husband spots you having a nightmare, there is no need to wake you. He can talk you out of it. If he speaks calmly and tells you, he's with you, and you're safe. And tells you to relax and go back to sleep. It's amazing, you'll be able to hear him, without waking. I did it often, anytime my dear late wife had a nightmare. Believe me it worked. I hope you have no more nightmares, but if you do, try it. I'm

you could try Holy Basil capsules for anxiety and sleep ,I used them for a few weeks when I had problems sleeping due to anxiety

OMG the night terrors mine continue into the day and are horrific.

I shall try holy basil and hope is protects me...............

This really is close to what happens to me, I'm sorry I don't have an answer to your sleep problems, but to assure you that you are not alone.