Dialogue with our Nightmares
I start thinking about writing this post when I got messages from my acquaintances in Ukraine 🇺🇦 that they have a lot of nightmares and need any advice to help work with them.
I did my little research, and I found out: it takes a special treatment in therapy for working with nightmares in more cases of post-traumatic stress as a direct consequence of war. However, there are some recommendations on how people can reduce the intensity of nightmares.
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Since ancient history, people have always been interested in the origins of nightmares. So, the Modern English word "nightmare" derives from the Old English mare, which was drawn from Proto-Germanic legends and folks tales about "Maron," a female goblin who tormented people in their sleep (Bulkeley, K., 2016, p.147). It immediately reminds me of the horror movie "Cat's Eye" in 1985, based on Stephen King's novel. It is a story where a cat looks for a girl and protects her from a goblin who tries to steal the girl's life through her dreams. In this imaginary analogy, you can ask yourself who or what can be your protector in nightmares.
The ancient Greeks believed that mighty Morpheus, the god of dreams, sent nightmares. He was often depicted wearing a black robe with silver stars scattered across it. He held a goblet of poppy juice in his hands, which had a relaxing, enveloping, hypnotic effect.
We can see, how dreams, especially nightmares, were considered the influence of some external mystical force on people. Moreover, both of these cultural interpretations have hidden symbols and archetypes that, like a long-lost treasure, can help us to work with dreams in the context of Depth Psychology.
In our time, we call nightmares those dreams that should contain intense negative emotions and lead to an awakening (Levin & Nielsen, 2007; Zadra et al., 2000, 2006).
Nightmares are more common. Approximately 5–8 percent of the general population report problems with nightmares. Among populations, there are several categories of people who have a greater chance to experience post-traumatic nightmares. For example, these kinds of populations include war participants, refugees, law enforcement, and rescue workers.
It is worth noticing that nightmares can be divided into two main types based on their origin: idiopathic nightmares and post-traumatic nightmares. Idiopathic nightmares are intensive dysphoric dreams about something that has not really happened to the dreamer, for example, being chased by a monster. Though, themes of idiopathic nightmares may have some relation to actual waking experiences. In contrast, post-traumatic nightmares contain specific elements of an actual traumatic experience or may even accurately replicate the event. Both idiopathic and post-traumatic nightmares may be recurring—the dreamer has nightmares with very similar content several times—but recurrence is more common with post-traumatic nightmares than idiopathic ones.(Hoss, Robert J.; Valli, Katja, Ph.D.; Gongloff, Robert P.).
What are the reasons why we have nightmares?
Contemporary neuropsychologists have found that nightmares can be a product of the limbic system of the brain that is particularly active in REM sleep. Mark Solm's findings suggested that if the electrical activity in this specific region of the brain were stimulated rather than damaged, it would further enhance the feelings of hyperrealism during an aggressive nightmare experience (Solms, M., 2021).
Antti Revonsuo and Katja Valli, evolutionary psychologists, consider nightmares as the survival needs of our species. For example, frequent nightmares of motives like an Invasion of intimate personal space, being trapped in an inescapable fight, a monstrous alien, the dreamer being the aggressor are likely threats and dangers in walking life, so people will better prepared to deal with such problems should they arise in walking life. However, this theory doesn't explain the presence of any mythological or fantasy characters in dreams (Bulkeley, K., 2016, p.158).
Also, we need to remember while idiopathic bad dreams may allow for emotional adaptation and memory integration, highly charged trauma-related nightmares that persist over time and continue to generate distress may reflect a failure of these sleep-based processes.
What could help us to reduce the frequency of nightmares?
Unfortunately, simple and widely available treatments for nightmares are scarce. And it is better to ask for help from a dream specialist if you often have recurring nightmares.
Below, are some suggested simple techniques that could you help to limit your nightmares before you find a Therapist or Dream Coach.
1. Establish a regular, relaxing routine before bedtime, a consistent bedtime routine is essential. Before bed, do quiet, calming activities — such as reading books, doing puzzles, or soaking in a warm bath. Meditation, deep breathing, or relaxation exercises may help, too. Also, make the bedroom comfortable and quiet for sleep.
2. Rewrite the ending. Imagine a happy end to the nightmare. Encourage yourself to draw a picture of the nightmare, "talk" to the characters in the nightmare, or write about the nightmare in a journal. Sometimes a little creativity can help.
3. Provide yourself with comfort measures. You might feel more secure if you sleep with a stuffed animal, blanket, or other comforting objects. Use a night light. If you wake up during the night, the light may be reassuring.
4. Talk about the dream. Ask yourself to describe the nightmare. What happened? Who was in the dream?
In this case, Strephon Kaplan-Williams, a Jungian analytic, recommends: trying to connect with your pursuer in the dream if you feel safe. By running from our adversaries, we give them double power, our own and theirs. By confronting adversaries, we balance our power with theirs and sometimes get their powers as well (Williams, S., 1992).
Another Depth psychologist, Professor Stephen Aizenstat, suggested considering nightmares as the most charged dream images. He developed such methods to work with dreams and nightmares as Dream Tending.
According to his clinical practice, when we work with nightmares through active imagination, we need to find supporting figures through concentration on a particular image from our memory. Remember a person you like or even just their smile; having received the support of a friend, you can calmly turn towards the image from your nightmare, and every time you feel fear of someone, contact your supportive figure.
When you feel support from your imaginary friend, you can look at the monster figure and pay attention to the details - what unique signs can you highlight? The more we know about the figure of a nightmare, the more we have additional information on how to work with this nightmare and its hidden meaning.
Next, you can write 3 columns:
1 - write all free associations with a nightmare (choose the 10 most important for you);
2 - note how these people or images, how they behave, and what effect they have on you;
3 - write down what each of these images steals from you, e.g., John's aggressiveness can steal your own power from you.
At the end of these excises, ask yourself what you know about his nightmare and how it scares you (Aizenstat, S., 2011).
Later you can try to build a connection with your nightmare through drawing, writing an open letter to this image, start a dialogue with your unconscious.
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The presented methods of working with nightmares are only a tiny part of the possibilities for working with dreams. Choose what is most consonant with your worldview. And if you have questions about Dreams Interpretation, please feel free to ask me through the initial consultation.
Warmly,
Your Dance of Polychrome
References:
Aizenstat, S. (2011). Dream tending: Awakening to the healing power of dreams. Spring Journal.
Bulkeley, K. (2016). Big dreams: The science of dreaming and the origins of religion. Oxford University Press.
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2021, June 5). Nightmare disorder. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353520
Levin, R., & Nielsen, T. (2009). Nightmares, Bad Dreams, and Emotion Dysregulation: A Review and New Neurocognitive Model of Dreaming. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(2), 84–88. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20696003
Solms, M. (2021). The hidden spring: A journey to the source of consciousness. W. W. Norton.
Valli, K., Hoss, R. J., & Gongloff, R. P. (2019). Dreams: Understanding biology, psychology, and culture. Greenwood, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Williams, S. K. (1992). Dreamworking: A comprehensive guide to working with dreams. Journey Press.