The Student Room Group

Psychological after-effects and Nightmares?

I'm firstly posting anonymously because I don't want anyone to know about my problem, especially as a few of my friends use this board.
I've been having a lot of nightmares recently and they have caused me to suddenly wake up in the early hours of the morning and not being able to get back to sleep. Is it possible for people to have psychological damage after having nightmares? I have weird flashbacks of my nightmares and it's starting to make me a bit funny (jumpy etc). Are there any ways to prevent having nightmares? Usually the nightmares are of people I know, and I see them doing disgusting things, so when I wake up, my opinions about them have changed and I act differently around them because I'm paranoid.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
Reply 1
I used to experience something similar, where I'd start to get really jumpy and nauseous around bedtime and be frightened of going to sleep in case I had nightmares. It happened when I was quite young, but I felt like there was something wrong with me psychologically. However, I got through it by establishing a kind of routine at night e.g. settling down with a hot drink and book to relax, listening to soothing music, forcing myself to think about positive things before going to sleep. Eventually, as I got older, it went away.

Here is some advice I found on a website:

What causes nightmares?

There are a number of possibilities. Some nightmares can be caused by certain drugs or medications, or by rapid withdrawal from them, or by physical conditions such as illness and fever. The nightmares of early childhood likely reflect the struggle to learn to deal with normal childhood fears and problems. Many people experience nightmares after they have suffered a traumatic event, such as surgery, the loss of a loved one, an assault or a severe accident. The nightmares of combat veterans fall into this category. The content of these nightmares is typically directly related to the traumatic event and the nightmares often occur over and over. Other people experience nightmares when they are undergoing stress in their waking lives, such as difficulty or change on the job or with a loved one, moving, pregnancy, financial concerns, etc. Finally, some people experience frequent nightmares that seem unrelated to their waking lives. These people tend to be more creative, sensitive, trusting and emotional than average.

What can be done about nightmares?

It really depends on the source of the nightmare. To rule out drugs, medications or illness as a cause, discussion with a physician is recommended. It is useful to encourage young children to discuss their nightmares with their parents or other adults, but they generally do not need treatment. If a child is suffering from recurrent or very disturbing nightmares, the aid of a therapist may be required. The therapist may have the child draw the nightmare, talk with the frightening characters, or fantasize changes in the nightmare, in order help the child feel safer and less frightened .

The nightmares which repeat a traumatic event reflect a normal psychic healing process, and will diminish in frequency and intensity if recovery is progressing. If after several weeks no change is noted, consultation with a therapist is advisable.

Adults' nightmares offer the same opportunity as other dreams for self-exploration and understanding. With practice, the dreamer can often learn to decode the visual and symbolic language of the dream and to see relationships between the dream and waking life. The nightmare by nature is distressing, however, and the dreamer may need to reduce the distress before looking more closely at the meaning of the dream. Some techniques for reducing the distress of the nightmare include writing it down, drawing or painting it, talking in fantasy to the characters, imaging a more pleasant ending, or simply reciting it over several times. The more relaxed the dreamer can be while using these techniques the better. A number of good books are available for learning how to understand dreams. Alternately, the dreamer may wish to ask a therapist for assistance.

Sometimes nightmares are related to intense stress or emotional conflict that is best dealt with in consultation with a therapist. One should not hesitate to consult a therapist when in doubt.

It may be surprising to learn that many people are not really disturbed by their nightmares, even though the experiences themselves are distressing. Research has shown that about half of people who have quite frequent nightmares regard them as fascinating and creative acts of their minds, and either view them as very interesting or dismiss them as "just dreams". This illustrates the fact that one's attitude toward nightmares is quite important.