Ideally, sleep should bring a person rest and calm, but it happens that we turn and scream at night, seeing a terrible or unpleasant dream. Why is it that some people do not know this at all, while others are stubbornly tormented by such a problem? Where do they come from - nightmares? Let's understand!
Causes of nightmares
According to observations of psychologists, terrible dreams sometimes dream half of all people. Here with what factors it can be connected:- stresses, both strong and light;
- restless legs syndrome (this name has a problem in which a person at night experiences discomfort in the legs and tries to eliminate them by movement);
- the habit of overeating before going to bed;
- unintentional holding of breath, apnea;
- fever, fever during illness;
- insufficient amount of sleep, overwork;
- depressive state;
- withdrawal syndrome of some medicines;
- period of withdrawal from alcohol dependence.
The use of terrible dreams
A very common cause of nightmares is the so-called post-traumatic stress. In such a state a person falls due to a terrible physical or moral trauma experienced. For a long time he may have nightmares associated with it. This is a necessary measure - the brain tries to adapt a person in the subconscious mind to keep his psyche healthy. In general, this is normal, but if the syndrome lasts longer than two weeks, it is better to seek help from a psychotherapist. Nightmares suffer almost all men who survived Afghanistan. Only when we are freed from anger and resentment in a terrible dream, we can come to a balanced state in reality.When can nightmares occur?
In addition to the post-traumatic period, nightmares often appear during personal growth - age crises, turning points. Forming a person is not an easy task, and nightmares are one of the tools that the body uses. After all, in fact, these are all our subconscious fears, and if we manage to defeat them in a terrible dream, we will be ready to move to a new level in reality. Also horrible dreams are dreamed, if our brain is concerned about a problem. You may not even be aware of this anxiety, since everything happens on a subconscious level. Dealing with unpleasant situations in a terrible dream, a person gets an answer to the question of how to act in reality.Analysis of nightmarish dreams
Scientists have been researching such dreams for almost a hundred years, regularly discovered something new. Now it is known that the frequency of nightmares is inversely proportional to age. So, if they dream 70-90 percent of teenagers, then only 5 percent of older people. The task for scientists is complicated by the fact that every nightmare is unique, and a person can not always properly tell about all the details of what he dreams. In 1935, the psychologist A. Zadra did 12 studies, but could not find anything unambiguous, because the results of each experiment differed depending on the person, circumstances and methods of research. To study the terrible dreams, the psychologist used interviews and questionnaires. Subjects kept a journal of dreams, but they could not write everything in detail, because what they dreamed about was usually forgotten a few minutes after awakening.What do terrible dreams mean?
Nightmares, like ordinary dreams, can be deciphered. Psychologists are engaged in this. They made a list of the most frequent horrible dreams. Of course, their details may vary, but the essence remains unchanged. So, the ten most common terrible dreams:- Trap. Any dream in which you feel trapped, symbolizes a similar situation in reality. Most likely, someone presses on you, forcing you to make decisions that you do not like and impose your opinion. Can you get out of this situation and unravel the contradictory tangle - you know better, depending on what is dreaming. But do something with this necessarily, otherwise the discomfort will lead you to a nervous breakdown.
- To sink or fall. Many people know the feeling of hanging responsibility, when the head literally bursts at the seams from the thoughts of what will happen if you fail. It is these feelings that can provoke a dream in which you fall or drown. Every such dream means your concern for any problem. It is also important to take into account the reaction of your subconscious mind to the frightening factor in a terrible dream, and, based on this, draw conclusions about the situation.
- A broken phone / computer. Does not sound scary at all? You need to look deeper here. The breakdown of communications in a nightmare symbolizes that in real life a person desperately wants to reach someone, find contact with him, but can not do it. Also, it may be a dream in connection with the loss of a close friend or the death of a relative. Depending on the cause of the nightmare, the actions to be taken in reality are also determined.
- A man without clothes or in bad clothes, who is in a public place. Quite often people of different ages dream that they were naked in front of strangers. It's easy to guess that in life a dreamer has secrets that he covers tightly. This symbolizes clothes in a dream. If the sleeper does not feel any negative from his nakedness, then he has nothing to hide.
- Global natural disaster. Anyone will get scared by hitting the epicenter of such a terrible event. As for dreams, the catastrophe in them signals an approaching catastrophe in real life, not necessarily natural. This kind of nightmare is a dream if we are afraid of approaching an important event or we doubt that we will cope with it.
- Exam. It can also be a nightmare about solving a difficult problem, even if the school years have been left in the distant past. Anxiety associated with the exam, visits people of all ages and is closely related to similar anxiety on the background of other events. The outcome of these events can be foreseen by the assessment received as a result of sleep, as well as from its perception - whether it seems to be too low or too high.
- Loss of real estate or other significant property. As a rule, in any dream there is a part responsible for the perception of the person's self, and the part responsible for the opinion of others. If the property in the nightmare is damaged, then a real crack in your life awaits you. If the house was robbed, a person suspects that they are deceiving him.
- Problems with the machine. Of course, in reality for the car owner the breakdown of his "iron horse" is unpleasant in itself. But in a terrible dream the car expresses our own body, the physiological shell. And everything that is under the hood - internal feelings and experiences. The meaning of a particular nightmare can be said by the nature of the breakdown. For example, if you suddenly lose control, then in life, rush along the slope, not trying to manage events. The accident symbolizes impotence before the circumstances.
- Wound, illness, death. This repetitive sleep often leaves a person unpleasant feelings at the subconscious level, but in fact, not everything is so unambiguous. For example, death can mean the end of another life stage and the desire to start the next. In another interpretation, death is a signal from the brain that you should consult your friends to get out of this difficult situation. The death of a close friend or relative in a dream means you can lose or have lost that important particle of yourself that you saw in it.
- Chase or hide. One of the most terrible nightmares for many - when you have to desperate to flee or hide from a certain person or being. Nevertheless, it is quite ordinary reaction of the brain to unforeseen circumstances in reality, from which we want to hide, hiding in our shell. The outcome of a dream is able to decide whether it is necessary to do it, or it is better to go out to fight with an open visor.
What if the horrors had a dream?
To prevent the repetition of unpleasant dreams, try to observe the following rules of healthy sleep:- Do not overeat at night, let the supper be easy and not later than 2 hours before bedtime;
- the room should be ventilated, get rid of unpleasant odors and stuffiness;
- use a bed linen made of natural fabrics pleasant to the body;
- Do not play at night in horror games and do not watch thrillers;
- you can use mild sedatives without a prescription, like valerian, only let it not become a habit.
Why do pregnant women have nightmares?
The reasons can be different. If a woman is the first pregnancy, then she experiences a lot of different fears, which are reflected in dreams. She is worried about everything - toxicosis, a changing body, strange tastes in food, a decrease or increase in libido. Only a very strong psyche can painlessly endure this period and get rid of unnecessary stress. An important role is played also by experiences for the future child, for his health. Many women are afraid to give birth to a sick child. And, of course, there is fear of delivery, especially if there were "well-wishers" who told her terrible stories about the tragic outcome of childbirth from someone of friends. There may be an anxiety about the sex of the child if the woman wants to give birth to a strictly boy or girl. And then she wakes up in a cold sweat, seeing a recurring dream about the birth of a child of the opposite sex. The task of the relatives is to reassure the future mother so that she understands - the main thing is the child's health, and love will come to the baby of either sex.How to get rid of terrible dreams?
There are several factors in the presence of which it is necessary to consult a doctor, rather than self-medicate:- you regularly suffer from insomnia;
- wake up every hour or more, and after awakening you hardly fall asleep;
- wake up in a state of anger, in a bad mood;
- wake up with a headache, in a cold sweat and with palpitation.