Nightmares – How to deal with them?

First thing to do immediately after waking up from a nightmare is to realize that you are out of it. So once you wake up try to calm down by following these steps. Sit on the edge of your bed with your foot touching the ground. Look around and start naming the objects around you which will assure you that you are in a location you are aware of. Reassure yourself you are safe.

Stand up and walk or do some small activity like looking into your phone for images or music to get yourself diverted. Try sleeping after 15 minutes as you will feel a little relaxed by then. If you are still in panic then ground your senses. Touch something cold, eat something strong, listen to mild music and also smell something soothing and comfortable.

Sometimes nightmares repeat and this is troubling. It will take a huge part in your head and will keep interrupting too often than ever. It is necessary that you get closer to them rather than ignoring them in this case. This can help you find the roots and weed them from there.

Reassurance: Talk to someone about the nightmare. Explain to them what ever happened.

Analyze: Your dream might be interpreted psychologically and this will help you get out of the depression. But remember not everything that is interpreted is right. So don`t fall for false stories and theories behind these dreams. Some coon events do have psychological reasons behind them and one can work on them.

Act: In most cases there are life events which are related to such episodes. Try to imagine a better ending to the episode. These are called imaginary rehearsals and here an individual is expected to imagine a better ending and enact it to make sure your brain remembers the act happening. This has been proven to help most people as actions that occurred are more powerful than those thoughts which are lingering in your head.