What are Nightmares?
What are nightmares? Nightmares are very distressing. They can cause us to feel fear, anxiety, sadness, and other intense emotions. In this blog post, we will discuss some basic information about nightmares. We'll define a nightmare, talk about the two types of nightmares (Idiopathic vs Trauma-related), and more!
What is a Nightmare?
Defining a nightmare is more difficult than it sounds. In fact, different people may use a slightly different definitions. In general, I'd describe a nightmare is an intense dream that typically causes a strong emotional reaction. The dreamer may experience fear, anxiety, or any other intense emotion. Nightmares often occur during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep and typically involve vivid images and extreme emotions. However, there's some evidence that trauma nightmares may be more likely to happen in N2.
A Definition of Nightmares
In a recent training, I went to for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares, Dr. Kristi Pruiksma shared a definition of nightmares as "well-remembered dreams with distressing emotions that cause awakenings."
She also shared the acronym DARC (Dream, Awakening, Remember, Clinically Significant Distress) as a way to remember the components of this definition.
Types of Nightmares
The two main types of nightmares are Idiopathic Nightmares and Trauma-related Nightmares.
Idiopathic Nightmares:
These types of nightmares occur randomly. They typically start spontaneously with no underlying cause or reason. They may involve intense imagery, such as monsters, ghosts, or other scary figures, but they are not directly related to a traumatic event.
Trauma-related Nightmares:
These types of nightmares are often related to a traumatic event and happen after something traumatic. Trauma-related nightmares may really change your sleep patterns and even prevent you from getting the amount of REM sleep your body really. needs.
Trauma nightmares can be either replicative (very similar but usually slightly different than the actual trauma), similar (dream of an assault but circumstances are different than what actually happened) or dissimilar (creepy dream of something different than the actual trauma).
How Common Are Nightmares?
Nightmares are fairly common, especially among children. However, having nightmares is not normal, healthy sleep. And normal, healthy sleep is important. It helps us manage our stress, clear out toxins from our brain and gives us the energy we need to tackle the next day. So if you are having trouble sleeping due to nightmares, it may be time to seek help.
Therapy can effectively treat Nightmares
If you are experiencing frequent nightmares, you should consider reaching out for help. You may want to reach out to a board-certified sleep clinic or speak to your doctor about a full sleep study. But you may also want to reach out to a mental health counselor or therapist. While nightmares are incredibly disturbing and disruptive in your life, there are effective treatments that can help.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for nightmares (CBTn) is a novel, really effective approach to helping people reduce the intensity and frequency of their nightmares. There is a little older, specific treatment called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) that can help specifically with insomnia and has been around for years but didn't always help resolve nightmares. Luckily, some of the professionals leading the field in insomnia have now developed CBTn to really specifically target nightmares.
As I mentioned above, I was lucky enough to attend intensive training on CBTn given by Dr. Kristi Pruiksma & Dr. Hannah Tyler from the University of Texas Health Science Center at the "ABCT 2022" conference in New York City. After years of treating nightmares (primarily using the nightmare protocol in the DBT manual), I was excited to attend this training before the final manual is even fully released. This is like a refined version of the treatment I've done before, so I'm now not only using this specific protocol for treating nightmares myself but getting other members our of clinical team trained as well.
Help to Stop Nightmares in Missouri
Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash downloaded 11/19/22
In the next couple weeks, I'm going to try to write a couple more blog posts you may find useful if you're struggling with nightmares. However, if you're ready to start counseling, I'd love to help you right away using CBTn. I can take on a couple clients for short term (about 6 sessions) nightmare treatment, but I'm also training a couple other clinicians at our practice and having them go through an online version of what I attended. Additionally, we have access to a weekly consultation group to help us more effectively deliver CBTn even more effectively if it doesn't feel like your nightmares are fully responding. In other words, our team is equipped and ready to help you really, effectively treat your nightmares.
Counseling for Nightmares in Missouri
Our counselors are able to meet you in person in our Mid-Missouri office. However, we also offer online counseling and are able to meet with people who are anywhere in the state of Missouri.
So, if you're ready to kick your nightmares to the curb and improve your sleep:
Reach out via our contact form or by calling 573-328-2288
Meet with one of our clinicians who have been trained on CBTn
Get some relief from your nightmares in a matter of weeks.
About the Author:
Jessica Tappana is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the owner of Aspire Counseling in Columbia, MO. She specializes in treating trauma and anxiety-related issues as well as providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBTn). Jessica has attended a five hour, in-person training for CBTn by Dr. Kristi Pruiksma & Dr. Hannah Tyler from The University of Texas Health Science Center. She has a passion for helping people get relief from nightmares and is excited to bring this treatment modality to her clients.
If you're ready to start sleeping better, reach out today!