If they didn't have kids/my son in them I could probably cope better. I work in the media and there is a MAJOR link to what I see at work and how bad the nightmares are. I don't watch tv at home and limit all other news intake. They just switched me to Ambien and it was horrible...I just went back to Lunesta and the difference is amazing. It doesn't help the nightmares but it does help me get "better" sleep in the long run.

Nam--- I wanted to tell you I feel your crap. When I was a child, I remember my dad having nightmares after he returned. Unbelieveable stuff....jumping out of bed thinking he was being attacked, screaming and yelling and walking in his sleep. And then he'd be up the rest of the night smoking and pacing and drinking. Just as the drinking never stopped...I don't think his nightmares ever did either. But he never talked about it or looked for help or anything. So you're way ahead of the game!

OMG, ga_yankee ... YES!!!

I have walked around for whole days thinking a good friend of mine is dead, because the nightmare in which I saw or learned about her dying was so real, I was sure it had happened.

For about 18 months I had a terrible time identifying what was dream and what was reality. And I felt entirely embarrassed and ashamed to admit that because it sounds so stupid! Like, I am a full-grown adult, should I not be able to tell dream from reality?! Sheesh. But it's not that kind of thing. The nightmares are so real, they have the detail and feel of reality... the smells, the sounds, the heat, and yes I can feel objects in them ... they are full-sensory experiences.

Mine also always follow the same theme. I know what they mean, I don't need them analyzed. :) I know exactly what my hang-ups and problems are, and my nightmares are just expressions of them.

I have never taken medications for the nightmares specifically. I worked on my core issues with my therapist, which helped a lot. I only get the really bad nightmares a couple times a month right now (100% dependent upon stressors and my regular meds). The rest of the nights I "just" have what healthy people would classify as bad or unsettling dreams.


But yeah, been there, doing that, riding the wave through it.

Bailey

I don't yet have permission for a diary on this site, so I will wait till then to share my recurring nightmare in detail. But they are exhausting, not just the disrupted sleep, but the physical/emotional toll of the nightmare. The next morning, I would feel almost hung over.

Even after the nightmare woke me up, now fully adrenalinized, I would try to scream but I was still in sleep paralysis so it would take a few seconds to wake up enough so I could scream. Not being able to scream was terrifying in itself. And even though I was awake, I could still see a dark figure moving in my room. Real? Hell yes.

So how did I (almost) get rid of the nightmare?
- Lots of psychotherapy, but EMDR was the most effective
- Severed all ties with the perpetrator. His presence in my dreams symbolized/represented the power he still had over me in my life
- The nightmare is not totally gone but I only have it once a year or less and only if I am sleeping in a strange place or am feeling insecure

I don't have any experience with medication, but I have found a 'chakra clearing' recording by Doreen Virtue of tremendous help. It might seem hokey, but if I play it as I am falling asleep, I usually konk out before it even finishes. There are probably some subliminal messages in it as well.