Why Do We Have Nightmares?

Nightmares are anguishing dreams that typically forces half awakening. A person having nightmares may feel distressing emotions like guilt, anger, sorrow and depression. However, the two most frequent feelings are fear and tension. There is a wide variety of themes among nightmares. The most common is being chased. For adults, they are usually being chased by a man while kids are usually being chased by animals or monsters.

Almost everybody has had nightmares at a certain point in our lives. For children, the majority who has nightmares are between the ages three to eight years old. Nightmares are basically normal in the development of children and they do not indicate problems at all. Among adults, they are not that common anymore although studies show that they still have occasional nightmares. Research shows that about 5-lO% of adults have nightmares at least once every month.

There are several causes of nightmares. Some are caused by intake of drugs and medications or by immediate abstinence from them. It can also be caused by high fever or sickness. For young children, they are likely to show the struggle in dealing with their fears.

Traumatic events like surgery, accidents, loss of a loved or one or assaults can also trigger nightmares. This is most common among war veterans. Some people have nightmares due to stressful conditions like having problems financially, physically, emotionally and mentally. Creative, sensitive and emotional people are likely to have nightmares that are not related to their waking lives.

In handling nightmares you should be able to determine the cause of it. Consulting a physician is the most advisable thing to do before you rule out medications or an illness as the cause. Young children are encouraged to talk to their parents about their nightmares. In general, medical treatment is not necessary for kids experiencing nightmares.

However, if the child is experiencing repeated and very distressing nightmares, therapy may be necessary. The therapist may ask the child to draw or give descriptions of the nightmare, talk about the characters or create changes in the nightmare to make it less frightening. This will help the child deal with their fears as they grow up.

Nightmares caused by a traumatic event can be a sign of a normal process of healing that will lessen during the progression of recovery. If in case there is no change after several weeks, consulting a therapist is highly advised.
By nature, nightmares are very distressing. Nevertheless, nightmares can be understood in time. There are some methods to reduce the distress in nightmares including writing your dreams down, drawing it or creating a happy ending to it. Also, with continuous practice, the dreamer may learn to decipher the visuals and languages in the dream to see its relationship with the waking life.