Parasomnia - when your nightmares are living your life

You are a child, innocent, and life goes on. One day you have a terrible experience, so bad that it’s been recalled by your conscience day by day. You think that everything will be fine, but there is something that reminds you that no. Nightmares. Nothing will go well.

You want to cry and every night wake up with an anxiety attack. You scream during sleep, and you get easily irritated in the daytime. You go to the doctor. They prescribe you as many medications until you become a zombie. Goodbye, no more nightmares. These pills create horrible side effects, but hey, no more nightmares. But time goes by. You stop taking medication because you see that you are not advancing in your life. You feel stuck, and bad dreams automatically come back. Imagine spending your whole life having one or more nightmares every day, even with pills.

Just close your eyes and imagine it. Life will go on. You get older, and you will meet people who will change you. But that modified version won’t be you anymore, creating remorse and making you feel bad about yourself. Your mental state will affect your sleep routine again. Now the nightmares multiply, and anxiety and fear take over you. You are afraid to leave home, to be at home. Where is your comfort place? Where can you be good? You can’t find your safe and sound space because you think you don’t deserve it. Despite that, you meet people who try to accompany you throughout this journey. They will get scared when you wake up screaming. They will get nervous when you fall asleep, but they will understand that it is your dailiness after some time, and they will support you. Gladly, I have those people by my side.

Having nightmares are usual for all, mainly when you have a bad day or a stressful week… According to scientists, people who have the most nightmares are usually children from 3 to 6 years old, youth and adult women. It’s normal to have nightmares from time to time, but some people recur nightmares frequently, so it affects their daily lives – it’s called parasomnia. The nightmare disorder is produced by… reality. Everything can affect your dreams - traumas, stress and anxiety, depression, medications and drugs. Even personal problems that we do not know how to manage can be an impulse to have a nightmare.

I don’t know if you have noticed, but nightmares are not just in your sleep. They live inside us and affect our emotions and physical reactions. If this topic resonates with you, even a little bit, please talk with someone, go to a professional, and do therapy. There are a lot of alternatives to try to relieve the nightmares, for example, meditation, hypnosis, and talking about this with your friends. But the most important thing is trying to have professional support. That advice had a significant impact on me and improved my quality of life. And remember - everything’s going to be alright.

Laura Camps

Sources: Sleep Foundation: Nightmares