question about nightmare..

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SpiceHD

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have u ever got a bad nightmare where u woke up but u cant go back to sleep cuz ur mind refuse to let go and every time u tried to sleep you immediately got the same spot where u were waking up from? its like it was an open book that ur mind wont close and put it away. every time u go back to sleep u get the same dream but it doesnt start over but instead started where u left off. ever happened to u?

reason i asked is cuz thats what happened to me right now and now i want to go back to sleep but cant lol. now im wondering why? whats going on wiht my brain that seems to want to go to that dream ? whats the best way so that i can go back to sleep without dreaming that again? what the cause of nightmare? lot of questions lol so im going to do a bit research but was curious if that ever happen to u?
 
Sounds like you subconsciously have something on the back of your mind you have not come to terms with. Dream analysts usually associate the people/objects in your dreams as characters you are used to, but for many reasons, also represent the source of your problem. It's like a movie that uses past people/objects in new situations. Try to determine what major actions are done to you or by you, and look at the characters reactions. You may tell whats wrong from this point.
 
I've experienced this many times. I have flashbacks and nightmares because of something that happened to me. What I've found helpful is to keep my BrailleNote (a PDA for the blind) near my bedside so that when I have a nightmare, I can write notes about what the dream entailed and how it made me feel. You could do the same by keeping a pen and paper near your bed or write a dream journal on your computer. Sometimes I see patterns in my nightmares which helps me identify why they are occuring. If you can't afford to hire a dream analyst, I would look for basic information on the Internet regarding dream interpretation. Keep in mind that you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but at least it will be a start in helping you determine why your nightmares are taking place and what might be the root cause of them.
 
Sometimes they say if you keep getting the same dream over and over, it could mean something.

Sometimes dreams are something that could give us predictions, hints or puzzles that are left unsolved. I've had some dreams that predicted of what could happen in the future and some did really happen and I was surprised at first...but dont always happen so it's pretty rare.


It may only been a dream however if you do getting those dreams like that so recently, then it must be trying to tell you something.
 
I have those all the time SpiceHD. To be honest the same happens to me matter what I do before falling back asleep, the dream continues. That is pretty much the best shot because for me because the more I try to get out of it the more I sink into it. So maybe what you can try is breathing during the dream, remembering you're breathing, get through it, know while you have it that it is a dream (or if it's a flashback that it happened but it's not happening now) and then wake up once it's finished. When it's finished that's when waking up and doing something to get it off your mind helps.

SpiceHD, if you're open to acupressure or alternative medicine in general, I can also give you some holds that help tremendously with nightmares/flashbacks.

Hope you feel better.
 
Nika said:
I have those all the time SpiceHD. To be honest the same happens to me matter what I do before falling back asleep, the dream continues. That is pretty much the best shot because for me because the more I try to get out of it the more I sink into it. So maybe what you can try is breathing during the dream, remembering you're breathing, get through it, know while you have it that it is a dream (or if it's a flashback that it happened but it's not happening now) and then wake up once it's finished. When it's finished that's when waking up and doing something to get it off your mind helps.

SpiceHD, if you're open to acupressure or alternative medicine in general, I can also give you some holds that help tremendously with nightmares/flashbacks.

Hope you feel better.
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nika,

what do you mean by "breathing during the dream?" could you explain further? thanks.

by the way, i'd be interested in learning more about alternative medicine. i frequently have flashbacks and nightmares and would like to find a way to help deal with them besides writing.
 
Hear Again said:
nika,

what do you mean by "breathing during the dream?" could you explain further? thanks.

by the way, i'd be interested in learning more about alternative medicine. i frequently have flashbacks and nightmares and would like to find a way to help deal with them besides writing.
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i SUPPOSE that controlling your breathing is one of the way to control your own dream... just like in real life. You need to control your breathing (to stay calm obviously) if you got very afraid.... if not - then you lost the control of situation around you.

:dunno:
 
When one is dreaming, one is unconscious. The autonomic nervous system takes over the act of breathing. One cannot control their breathing and be asleep and dreaming at the same time. You must be conscious to regulate your breathing through thought.
 
jillio said:
When one is dreaming, one is unconscious. The autonomic nervous system takes over the act of breathing. One cannot control their breathing and be asleep and dreaming at the same time. You must be conscious to regulate your breathing through thought.
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:hmm: but when you're reliving nightmare - isn't it same thing as when you're conscious such as flashback/hallucination?

why is it that when you're having a nightmare - you started doing same thing as you do in real life - sweating, irregular breathing, and perhaps screaming. So this makes me think that the autonomic nervous system no longer controls the act of breathing because your brain thinks you are actually experiencing real thing.
 
Hear Again said:
nika,

what do you mean by "breathing during the dream?" could you explain further? thanks.
Click to expand...

I meditate on my breath. While I am having the nightmare/flashback, I think to myself, "I am still breathing, I am still breathing."

I also notice how fast my heart is going. Usually during these it's going really fast (maybe as high as 200bpm) and I control my breathing so that my heart rate slows down. I also think "I am alive, I am alive" and "I will come out of this alive."

I don't know if that helped at all. I'm not really sure how to explain it.

As for acupressure/jinsin jitsu, for mild anxiety, use one hand to hold the index finger of the other. For intense anxiety, hold the pinky finger. It doesn't matter which hand holds which finger.

You can also tuck your hands under your arms, tucking them far enough back so that your index fingers are in contact with the back of your armpits. Your arms will be crossed in front of you.

Another thing you can do is sit on your hands, with the palms up. Make sure you're sitting on bones and not muscle. These all help with anxiety and fear.

Obviously you can't do this during the dream, so what you can do is when you make up from a nightmare or flashback, do one of these holds. It should help. Try to do it for ten minutes minimum.

Hope that helps you all.
 
Jiro said:
:hmm: but when you're reliving nightmare - isn't it same thing as when you're conscious such as flashback/hallucination?

why is it that when you're having a nightmare - you started doing same thing as you do in real life - sweating, irregular breathing, and perhaps screaming. So this makes me think that the autonomic nervous system no longer controls the act of breathing because your brain thinks you are actually experiencing real thing.
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I get your logic, but you are still unconscious. You cannot consciously control your breathing in an unconscious state. And sweating, etc. are also controlled by the autonomic nervous system. You can't control those reactions when you are having a nightmare either. They only stop once you wake up. If the autonomic system fails to control respiration, you die. Unless they get you on a ventilator pretty danged fast.
 
jillio said:
When one is dreaming, one is unconscious.
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There is such a thing as lucid dreaming where you are conscious and aware of the dream as it's happening. Oftentimes really bad nightmares or flashbacks are lucid where you are aware of it and may even think it's really happening again.
 
jillio said:
I get your logic, but you are still unconscious. You cannot consciously control your breathing in an unconscious state. And sweating, etc. are also controlled by the autonomic nervous system. You can't control those reactions when you are having a nightmare either. They only stop once you wake up. If the autonomic system fails to control respiration, you die. Unless they get you on a ventilator pretty danged fast.
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:hmm: interesting interesting. :ty: for clarification!
 
Jiro said:
So this makes me think that the autonomic nervous system no longer controls the act of breathing because your brain thinks you are actually experiencing real thing.
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Yes that's right. During disturbing nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks, the amygdala kicks in, which also stimulates the sympathetic response, which then releases adrenaline (sweating, fast heart rate, etc.) Deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic response (relaxing, falling asleep) because opening the chest cavity causes the release of noradrenaline. Deep breathing also helps because it psychologically reminds you that you are just having a nightmare/flashback, especially if the nightmare/flashback content includes a life-threatening memory.
 
Nika said:
There is such a thing as lucid dreaming where you are conscious and aware of the dream as it's happening. Oftentimes really bad nightmares or flashbacks are lucid where you are aware of it and may even think it's really happening again.
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Lucid dreaming is an altered consciousness state. In order for one to dream, or to have a nightmare, one must have entered REM sleep where the brain causes the body to be immobilized.

A flashback is not the same thing as a nightmare. The OP was asking about nightmares. She specifically said she "woke up" from the experience. Obviously she was not having a flashback.
 
Nika said:
Yes that's right. During disturbing nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks, the amygdala kicks in, which also stimulates the sympathetic response, which then releases adrenaline (sweating, fast heart rate, etc.) Deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic response (relaxing, falling asleep) because opening the chest cavity causes the release of noradrenaline. Deep breathing also helps because it psychologically reminds you that you are just having a nightmare/flashback, especially if the nightmare/flashback content includes a life-threatening memory.
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whoa! way too complicated for my simple mind to comprehend :dizzy:
 
Nika said:
Yes that's right. During disturbing nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks, the amygdala kicks in, which also stimulates the sympathetic response, which then releases adrenaline (sweating, fast heart rate, etc.) Deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic response (relaxing, falling asleep) because opening the chest cavity causes the release of noradrenaline. Deep breathing also helps because it psychologically reminds you that you are just having a nightmare/flashback, especially if the nightmare/flashback content includes a life-threatening memory.
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Again, you cannot control your breathing when you are in an unconscious sleep state. Perhaps you can be trained to do so during a flashback, with a great deal of practice, but not during the sleep state necessary to produce a nightmare. And, chances are, if you can gain enough control over your flashbacks to regulate your breathing, you can prevent the flashback from occurring. This is not the case with nightmares.
 
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