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NIGHTMARES AND HOW THEY AFFECT YOU
You
have an eight-legged creature chasing you in the dead of the night and
there seems to be no one around. Your exam is about to start and you have
no idea what you’re going to write. There’s a huge snake coming after you
as you run through a maze of buildings and streets. We’ve all encountered
these at some point of time. And nightmares — defined as vivid and
terrifying dreams which awaken the dreamer from sleep — are as disturbing
as they get. “We really can’t pinpoint where they come from,” says Dr Seema
Hingorrany. “Anything can cause a bad dream troubled interpersonal
relationships with spouses, children a job loss, bullied at work or in
school, break-ups, some kind of academic or job failure.” She adds.
BEING CHASED, HAUNTED,
KILLED…
What goes on in a murky nightmare? The most common scenario is where
the dreamer is being pursued or attacked. Psychiatrist and dream analyst Dr
Shefali Batra says the level of development in leads to the level of
dreams. “That’s why nightmares about monsters occur mostly at a younger
age. Adults have more reality-based fears, like being a failure in a job,
not meeting a work deadline, dealing with a bad relationship, etc. Most
common are hands trying to claw at a person, even a Dracula or ferocious
creature who stands for someone you are unhappy with or afraid of.”
She analyses why these nightmares occur. “According
to Freud, the reason why we dream is a ‘daytime residue’ that spills over
into the night. When you are going through something that you can’t deal with,
when your defences are not adequate enough to deal with the trauma in
consciousness, that is when your subconscious mind tries to play it out.
For instance, people who do wrong things and commit crime actually dream
about being punished,” she explains, adding, “I had a person who had a
recurrent dream where she was naked and she’d suddenly meet her family
members in that state and wake up terrified. The problem was finally
identified to when she told her boyfriend, who she loved and wanted to
marry, about a past relationship. He had reacted badly and called her
names. She felt emotionally naked for having exhibited her true feelings
for him and this is what led to the nightmare.”
HOW THEY AFFECT YOU
Grappling with nightmares can be traumatic, says Dr Hingorrany. “These
stem from deep rooted unresolved conflicts in mind. They indicate complex
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress disorder). People who suffer from chronic
depression can have nightmares. Frightening events in the real world
trigger more frequent nightmares. I have had people saying they have
nightmares about snakes, being trapped in an elevator, of academic exams,
robbery and being killed. The common one is, ‘I can see my plane crashing’.
Movies that disturb, plus books, abuse or a harsh conversation too, can be
a trigger for these. Such a bad dream can actually spoil your whole
morning. It robs you of sleep, appetite and hampers social and occupational
functioning.” She adds, presenting tips (see box) to deal with the
disorder.
WAYS TO AVOID THEM:
Resolve the conflict that you were or are facing. Express what you feel
with your friends, which releases the blockage. Write out the nightmare;
familiarising yourself with it won’t make you as terrified when you wake up
from it. Maintain regular sleep hours Avoid anxiety-inducing films before
bedtime Do plenty of activities in the day; exercise like yoga helps.
QUICK POINTERS
There is no age for getting a nightmare, though children have them the
most, say experts. It usually occurs in the latter half of the sleep cycle
during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. The person who wakes up alert and
scared. He or she might be able to recall the nightmare clearly.
Researchers in UK warn that persistent nightmares in childhood could be an
early warning sign of psychotic disorders. A study says women have a
tendency to dream of emotions, relationships and family members. In
contrast, men may have a tendency to dream of violence, strangers, cars,
and intimacy with unknown partners.
RESEARCH SUGGESTS AROUND 85%
Adults experience nightmares once a month
SLEEPWALKING
Children who experience night terrors may sleepwalk
MEN vs WOMEN
Men are more likely to dream of physical aggression, women are often
more likely to dream of verbal aggression.
Ismat Tahseen BT140310
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