Frequent nightmares 😫

[FriendlyShadow]

Recently, I've been terrified about going to sleep because I know I'm bound to have a nightmare.

My dreams, for the most part, are usually about me drowning, getting surgery, being chased, my teeth/hair falling out, snakes, being suffocated in a plastic bag, turning a light switch on and there's no light, and very strange made up people. These nightmares have caused me to lose sleep and I want to make it stop. I hate torturing myself like this. What can I do?

 

[Pacific_Loner]

If I had nightmares to such degree that it would be problematic, I would try yoga, meditation and running, I would watch less TV and videos (and only happy stuff), I would take a walk every morning or evening, and I would stop eating crap completely and see how it goes.

 

[LoyalXenite]

I get nightmares quite often, Ive been told that if you exhaust yourself before bed it can help you not have nightmares as much. Sometimes that works. Not eating close to bedtime is meant to help too, but I dont know if that one actually does.

If you believe in dreams having subconscious meanings, those types of dreams are meant to show that you're feeling stressed and under pressure, so maybe figuring out the root cause and dealing with that could help.

 

[FriendlyShadow]

Well, these past couple weeks were terrible. Probably got at least 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I know, that's pretty bad. By the time the sun rises, I'm able to fall asleep for I think 3 hours. Either I have sleep dread/insomnia or I have a circadian rhythm disorder. I never used to be scared of falling asleep. I now started a job, am working with a peer specialist, and am also trying to get over a recent traumatic experience that kinda scarred me emotionally. I've had a lot of trauma happen to me as well, which could've worsened my anxiety over the years.

Sometimes, I get anxious about falling asleep because I don't know what I might be dreaming about or when I'll dream. Of course, I've slept and been alone my whole life so... maybe it's part of feeling lonely too. I feel most of the anxiety in my stomach and chest.... like I'm going into shock. It cripples you. My nightmares can sometimes be vivid too(graphic). As soon as I wake up, I also find it harder to go back to sleep. I just don't want my insomnia to kill me.

 

[FriendlyShadow]

I'd also like to add that I've tried GABA, cannabis, and CBD oil. I think the CBD oil was working fine on me for awhile but I used up the bottle. GABA doesn't really do anything for me. Medical marajuana helps me temporarily but still isn't that effective. I mean... should I do some kind of heavy work out before bed?