Question:

I've been having the same nightmare over and over during the past month. I dream that I'm visiting my aunt and uncle, who live about a half hour away by car. In my dream, I'm walking up the stone steps leading to their front door, and then I trip over something (my own feet, I think) and go hurtling backwards down the stairs. I feel a sudden pain in my head and begin to panic, which is when I wake up, gasping and sweating.

Though I know exactly what will happen, every night it is just as intense and horrifying as the night before. It doesn't even make any sense - how can I be feeling pain if I am not actually in pain? And yet, the dream is vivid and so very real; it almost seems like a terrifying memory.

The thing I don't get though, is why I would dream this? I mean, in real life, I never fell down those stairs. I don't even visit my aunt and uncle that often, and when I do, I always have a good time.

I've never been a particularly troubled kid, I mean, my life is pretty normal. I'm just busy with the regular hassle over tests, cleaning my room, worrying about developing my friendships and annoying my two older sisters.

The nightmare doesn't really interfere with my sleep, since I usually only dream it once a night. However, it is annoying and really not fun to wake up terrified in middle of the night. Do you have any ideas for how I might make the nightmares stop?

Answer:

To find a cure, it is usually necessary to identify the causing factors. However, with nightmares there isn't always a specific cause. As you say that nothing in your real life remotely resembles this nightmare, we can probably rule out psychological trauma.

You might be a bit stressed about things going on in your life at the moment. If you are overly worried about scoring high on tests or making and keeping friends, that stress might be contributing to your nightmares. If you think that might be the case, then try to calm down and live life one happy, calm day at a time.

Sometimes, however, nightmares have no obvious cause. Some people have reported having terrifying nightmares for as long as six months in a row for no reason whatsoever, and then realizing with astonishment that the nightmare has stopped as suddenly as it started.

Before you go to sleep, envision your dream, but with a better ending. You can create a new or changed dream to substitute the old one, and so 'fool' your brain into accidentally dreaming the good dream instead. As you only recall dreaming this once every night, then perhaps after you dream this good, alternate dream, you won't dream the other, more horrifying one.

If the nightmare continues to bother you to the point that it is disrupting your sleep cycle, and as a result, your day-to-day life, then you should seek medical help. Quite a few therapies exist to help participants take control over the bad dreams they are having and change them to good or neutral dreams.

Best of luck, and I hope you get a good night's sleep!