How to Stop PTSD Dreams → Strategies to Try Today
Introduction: PTSD Dreams
PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a disorder some people develop after experiencing a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster. Complex PSTD (cPTSD) is a reaction to repeated traumatic events. For example, instead of a one-time natural disaster, repeated bullying over the course of a school year.
Someone struggling with PTSD or cPTSD may suffer from many symptoms, such as anxiety and restlessness. One of the most common symptoms people experience is nightmares. There is a strong link between complex PTSD and nightmares. This makes sense because our brains use sleeping and dreaming to process the events of the day. If we experienced something traumatic that we are having trouble processing, the PTSD dreams may show up long after the event has passed.
What is the experience of a nightmare related to trauma? Sometimes dreams replay traumatic events like in a movie. Other times, nightmares may be more vague, for example a recurring dream where you feel like you’re being watched. Either way, nightmares are incredibly distressing. The good news is there are highly accessible treatments.
The Role of Sleep Hygiene in PTSD Dreams
Sleep hygiene refers to ways to take care of yourself to get the best sleep possible. Often people with nightmares have difficulty falling and staying asleep. Some may even try to avoid sleep to prevent nightmares. So, sleep hygiene is important to consider.
Sleep Hygiene for Before Bed
There are several substances which make it harder to fall asleep. First are stimulating substances, like caffeine and nicotine. Alcohol can also cause poor sleep. Although it might make you feel sleepy at first, as alcohol wears off during the night it can cause heightened heart rate and wakefulness.
Likewise, there are some behaviors that aren’t sleep-conducive. Eating a large meal before bed can stimulate your metabolism, making it more difficult to sleep. Looking at screens, such as laptops and phones, can also be disruptive. This is because the light emitted by these devices can be a signal to your brain to be alert, not fall asleep.
So what should you do to prepare for bed? It is a good idea to have a nighttime ritual. Engaging in these behaviors can be a signal to your brain that it is time to relax. Try to incorporate calming activities into your bedtime routine, such as taking a bath or reading.
Sleep Hygiene While in Bed
It’s important to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. This routine supports your body’s sleep-wake cycle, also known as circadian rhythm. If you are struggling with sleep, it’s also helpful to not take naps during the day. Naps can reduce your body’s natural drive for sleep, making it more difficult to fall asleep at night.
If you find yourself unable to sleep after 15 minutes of trying, it is best to get out of your bed. This is another good time to try a relaxing activity, such as meditating or completing a puzzle. Only try going back to bed when you feel calm and sleepy. The reason this is important is because we do not want to associate our beds with feelings of frustration due to not being able to fall asleep. We want to associate our beds with drowsiness and feeling peaceful. The same goes for if you wake up during the night- do not spend more than 15 minutes tossing and turning.
How to Stop PTSD Nightmares
Maybe you’ve implemented good sleep hygiene, but you’re still experiencing nightmares. Nightmares are often very disturbing, so it makes sense you are looking for relief. Although dreams can feel out of our control, there are ways to influence our nightmares. Some of these treatments involve professional support. The dream completion technique is something you can do on your own.
Professional Treatments
There are both medications and therapies which target nightmares. If you would like to take a psychiatric medication for PTSD or cPTSD nightmares, talk with your doctor or psychiatrist. These professionals can help identify a medication that will be a good fit for you.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment for trauma. This treatment can reduce nightmares. EMDR involves bilateral stimulation, or back-and-forth movement. Bilateral stimulation can include eye movements or tapping. Bilateral stimulation while thinking of the traumatic memory helps the brain process that memory. Processed memories will usually no longer cause PTSD dreams. To learn more about EMDR, contact a therapist near you.
The Dream Completion Technique
The Dream Completion Technique is something that you can begin using right away to target your nightmares. Remember, dreams are our brain’s way of processing what has happened to us. With trauma, that processing can become stalled, leading to repeated PTSD or cPTSD nightmares. We can help that processing along by giving our brains a cohesive story to work with. The developer of this idea is Dr. Justin Havens. Here are the steps:
1. Identify the recurring PTSD dream you would like to target. In particular, pay attention to how the dream ends.
2. Think of a new, positive ending to the nightmare. For example, in your nightmare you feel frozen and are unable to call 911 in an emergency. You might imagine a new ending of successfully calling 911 and getting help. It’s important to note that the new ending does not need to be realistic, and in fact you can get creative with this. What matters is that the new ending feels good to you.
3. Write the entire dream down as story, complete with your new and improved ending.
4. Review your new story every night before bed. Don’t get discouraged if change doesn’t happen right away. Sometimes, it takes a couple of tries.
If you would like to see a video with further information and examples, please visit Dr. Justin Havens’ website.
Conclusion
Trauma dreams are common after experiencing a challenging event. PTSD and cPTSD nightmares can feel mysterious and outside of your control. But they make more sense when we view them as our brain’s way of trying to process what happened to us. From there, we can support our brain in that processing by practicing good sleep hygiene and the dream completion technique.
Of course, professional support is also available. There are medications and therapies, such as EMDR, which are helpful for PTSD dreams. Blue Tansy Therapy offers EMDR in San Francisco and virtually throughout California. If you want to learn more, please book a consultation.