Does anyone have spurts of excessively vivid and scary dreams?

Question

I have been having them again lately--so real, gross and terrifying. I sometimes have them for long periods of time and then I go through phases of not remembering anything. I usually--99% of the time will not remember a dream unless it is soooo scary and real. I am going through this phase again and having a normal dream totally shocks me. I don't know how to stop these nightmares. I can even feel myself being stabbed and shot sometimes. I recently had one about an friend falling from a rollercoaster and being eaten by an alligator in front of me and others. I see horrible things. I think I could write a horror film. Do you ever have this problem? And no--I don't drink or do drugs. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

I usually have nightmares about being chased, and those are the ones that stay with me, although I also have had dreams about being a human sacrifice, which are very bad. I have found that consciously intervening in my own dreams (reminding myself that they aren't real while I'm dreaming) helps, and that keeping a dream journal also helps. They tend to happen most when I'm really stressed out and anxious about things. If nothing else works, I have found that a shot or two of whiskey or a couple of Benadryl will usually do the trick, and I find that if I can break the cycle for one night, I usually get a rest from them for a while.