Why the fuck is this happening to me??

[scarydreams]

Has anyone ever been through a phase of having awful nightmares? How can I stop it happening?

basically I’ve never had a problem with nightmares before but now I get them every night. It’s always the same type of dream where I’m in my room looking at myself sleeping. Sometimes I’ll stay in my room but other times I’ll walk about my house but there’s a really menacing thing there and it makes the most awful laugh and I get a horrible dread feeling because I know it’s watching me and coming for me, then I run back to my room and go to bed and I end up waking up. It’s exactly like the movie insidious except obviously I’m not actually watching myself sleep, I’m just dreaming that I’m doing that, and I’m dreaming about the menacing presence but when I wake up it’s still bloody terrifying even though i know it’s just a dream. When I wake up I can hear the laugh ringing in my ears for ages afterwards, it’s horrendous

this has started out of the blue and I don’t understand why or how to stop it. Yesterday after it happened my heart was beating over 175bpm when I woke up because I was so terrified and my bed and pjs were absolutely drenched in sweat. I’m scared to go to sleep now because I know it’s going to happen.

please tell me someone has some advice on how I can stop this? I’m fucking petrified to fall asleep now because I know it will happen.

Are you going through any stress or depression at the moment? What do you tend to do before bed?

This might sound crazy (ok I fully know it does, even as I am typing!) but my first thought was that you should talk to a priest. Maybe they can do some kind of driving-away-of-menacing-things blessing?

Yes!! This happened to me years ago.

I had an absolutely horrendous series of dreams. Very traumatic and I was scared to go to sleep and horrified by what my brain was coming up with.

What helped was looking into the meaning of dreams and understanding what my subconscious was trying to tell me. I got a book and really worked through the symbolism of the dreams. When I unpicked it all, it made sense and the dreams stopped.

Oh gosh OP, how horrible. I have a similar issue with nightmares and it’s awful, as you describe. Last night I woke up screaming at 2am and drenched in sweat, my DH thought I was physically ill! It’s really tough because it doesn’t seem like there is an easy fix or solution.
I seem to notice a pattern with my hormonal cycle throughout the month although it’s not specific. They got very bad during my recent pregnancy. Are you ovulating/due on/peri-menopausal/menopausal? Have you started any hormonal contraction or HRT recently? It might be worth tracking to see if there is any link for you.

If you can, put on a funny TV show or watch funny videos on your phone. It can be helpful to just at least take your mind off it until you fall asleep.

Are you on any new medication? I had the most intense, nightmarish dreams for quite a while after starting a prescription, even though it wasnt a listed side effect. Stopped eventually but it was crazy there for a bit

I’d second this. When I took anti-malaria tablets on a trip abroad I had the most awful nightmares. The only other time has been when I’m really stressed

Are you too hot or cold?
My ex had night terrors when he got cold and would attack me, even though in his dream he was protecting me. I have odd dreams when I’m too hot or at high altitudes ( but unlikely in this case)😴

You might be able to change the dream slightly, perhaps by conjuring up a friend or loved one to be there to support you.
Or turning to face the owner of the horrible laugh.
Tell it to fuck off, or say “that's a really horrible laugh you've got there”; ask it the time or to get you a cup of tea. Say hello or ask for a name.
I know it sounds daft, but it works for me! Scary people or things get confused or turn out to be friendly.
Or sometimes by doing this you can end up lucid dreaming, in which case you're totally in control and can turn them into a fluffy kitten or make them dance, or disappear.

This sounds like sleep paralysis. I often get it in the morning (like5/6am) if I wake up a little but not fully.

Im always in my bedroom in these “nightmares”, sometimes there is a creepy figure or other times it’s like my body is flying around the room!

Try hypnosis. I went through a stage if waking each night thinking someone was breaking into our home. Literally every night for years. A friend recommended Hypnosis and after one session it completely stopped

Medication? Too hot? Cheese?

Agree with Giggorata, look up Justin Havens how to stop ptsd nightmares (I know yours isn't ptsd but the dream completion technique should work well for you if you stick at it - follow the instructions to the letter, its easy). There's an animation on YouTube of it.

This is 100% sleep paralysis. I only get it when I’m stressed out

How's your mental health in your regular (waking) life OP?

Dreams are a reflection of your subconscious, so there must be something going on that is difficult.

I really feel for you. I get night terrors. I have similar dreams with the menacing entity, but I feel awake as I do now typing this. I tried to tell it to go away last time and it said 'you'll regret this', it was awful!

Try not to talk or think about it. I feel this makes it more real and it lodges more in my memory. Have a nice relaxing bedtime routine. I find sleeping irregular hours can set it off, particularly staying up late. The advice to avoid any stressful or emotional TV helps me.

Know this sounds strange, but it works for me. As I was having horrible dreams for a while. So to get out and wake up. Just growl and snarl in your dream. I am aware how batshit this sounds but it disrupts your sleeping pattern somehow. No idea how. But it does work. 🤞

On a more mundane level - do you have any gas appliances/boiler. Do you have

Do you have a carbon monoxide detector?

Have you started any new medication within the last few months ?

god this sounds awful OP! If none of the above apply (new prescriptions etc) maybe you could try taking magnesium glycinate. I’ve been really struggling with sleep due to a recent loss and it’s really worked wonders for me. Have a Google of the benefits.

I am a lifelong nightmare sufferer. There’s not a huge amount you can do about it but some tips I have learnt… don’t get too hot, keep your room cool. Don’t watch anything remotely exciting, tense or scary on tv or read any books along the same vein! Keep drinks before bed to a minimum and go to sleep with an empty bladder. These things can help but if you’re not normally a person who has nightmares. I suspect something is going on in your life to cause this. Try and figure out what your subconscious is worrying about. Writing down your stresses and worries and what (if anything) you can plan to do about them helps.

How old are you? I only ask because nightmares, for me, was definitely one of the symptoms of peri menopause. I used to have horrendous nightmares and wake up with my heart absolutely racing. I was even sent for an ECG to rule out any problems. Now I'm on HRT, no more extreme nightmares and no more racing heart at night. Might be worth considering?

Hot sweats during peri/menopause can cause this or any other time you have a fever during the night.

This wasn't the ideal advert at the end of this post! I've had phases of nightmares my whole life, lots of good advice already about how to tackle and not dwell on them. Hope it improves

Peri-menopause might be the reason.