why do i keep having nightmares?

Question

for the past 4 nights i keep having nightmares.

i keep dreaming some hand is going behind my bed, and touching my head!

its scarying the living daylights out of me!

nothings happen lately in my life...
im not eatting cheese....
im not stressed...

any ideas?

I have been eatting chocolate right b4 i got to sleep.... just finishin what i had for christmas....

oh god thanks everyone... now i can have a good nights sleep.

Answer 1

I hesitated on commenting about this dream. Mainly because there is little said in regards to the dream itself. Thus, there isn't much to work with.

What interests me is some of the responses. Most particularily Joan's. It is interesting to know that she has written 6 book on the subject of dreams and yet she feels that "All" dreams are metaphoric in nature and that food bares no reflection on dreams except to maybe wake you up in the middle of one.

Before I go into your dream, I would like to point out that I don't agree with either of Joans statements. I haven't written any books, but I am a psychotherapist as well.

Think about these things for a moment...

Have you ever had a dream of being on TV only to find that the TV was playing the program that you dreamed you were in? Is that metaphoric? Naw, it is called REM dreaming... Often while you are in you lightest sleep, your dream will relate to the things that are going on around you, like your TV. This is in no way metaphoric. Ever dream that you had to pee only to wake up needing to? That doesn't sound too metaphoric to me... Sounds pretty literal. Gotta go... Gotta go... Gotta go... Thus, not "All" dreams are metaphoric in nature.

Although food may not directly cause you to dream, the biochemical nature of the food you ate can actually affect your dreams. Caffeine can often make a person a little more hyper, or stressed. This stress can be reflected onto the dream by making you anxious while you are dreaming.

Now, about your dream....

I strongly feel that if you look around the top of you bed, you are likely to find something that interfers with your sleep. Perhaps another pillow? A stuffed animal? Maybe even a head board that has bars that you are pressing against while you are sleeping. For that matter, if you are sleeping with someone else, that person may actually be carressing your head with their hand as you sleep not knowing that it may be causing the dream.

Let me know either way.

Answer 2

All dreams are in metaphor, and represent issues that are happening your current life, offering you an insight or solution to a problem. Recurrent dreams reflect an unresolved (unfinished) issue in your life. Notice when you have the dream and see what happened that day BEFORE you had the dream. Your emotional state and your interactions of the day are the keys to meaning(s).
We have nightmares because we are trying to work out some emotional issue in our waking life. Each dream offers a solution or a new perspective on a problem or troublesome relationship. The nightmare gets our attention. We're likely to have a recurrent nightmare when we don't address the issue and make a change. Nightmares stop when we understand what we need to do AND make that change.
Foods do NOT cause nightmares! If food upsets your stomach, you may just remember the dreams because you wake up.
Watching a scary movie might contribute to the content of a nightmare or the specific imagery, but that's not why you had it. If something in a movie turns up in your dream, it means it SPOKE to your feelings and concerns in a personal way and you used it to continue working on the problem.
The symbols in your dream are your own, often used idiosyncratically, and not something you can look up in dream dictionary.

Answer 3

Ok, this is going to sound way odd. But I dream constantly. Even with a sleep aid. I know when I have a vivid dream, one that is hard to wake up from, where I feel almost like I am not in my body, when I make myself wake up I have to go to the bathroom (#1). I really and truly wonder if there is some connection to that. When my daughter was about 5 she was wetting the bed. She would bolt up in the middle of the night like she was awake, but wasn't and then would wet the bed. That lasted for a short time. She wasn't traumatized, or abused in any way, her father and aunt were short term bed wetters. I really and truly wonder if there is some relationship to having to go, sleeping your holding it in, and since it is sort of a poison your body is releasing, if there is some connection to dreaming....I know this sounds odd!!!...but it is only when I really have to go, that I dream SO detailed, and an exhausting one.....I will get reamed I am sure for this answer, but do we "really" know "why" we dream, or are all of them just theories, so my idea isn't too far fetched.....I don't think....

Answer 4

Try reading a very good book, or watching a very funny film before you retire to bed. Often, lasting memories and impressions you have gained hours before sleep will manifest themselves in ways that can overcome stress and fear. Try 'sleep listening' when you can play gentle music or listen to pleasant sounds played on a loudspeaker under, or near your pillow. It's a good way of learning languages by the way.
Apart from a warm drink of milk with honey(clean your teeth afterwards!), there are herbs on the market that aid sleep.

Answer 5

Gemma,
nightmares are a result of our imaginations working overtime. Watching things on TV or reading things in books can provoke them.
I recommend turning off the TV at least an hour before bed. Listen to some soft music and think of the things you like, chocolate or kittens anything like that.
When it is time for bed keep thinking of these things and concentrate on them when you close your eyes. Nightmares shouldn't bother you then.
Sweet Dreams
Marcus.

Answer 6

You know what, everytime I woke up having nightmares there's certainly 1 thing that happended while im on sleep --- wrong sleeping position! Its having cramps on the legs, arms, hands even fingers. I dont know if it has something to do with nightmares but that's my tested observation.

SO everytime I woke up after a terrible and tiring nightmares... I feel where in the part of my body is aching and VIOLA! there is one --- legs, feet or back.

Try this (this wont hurt and thus might help) See to it that every part of your body falls in place. Is your head well relaxed on the pillow? Is your left foot levels the right? and so on... Consciously check your position before going to sleeop and see to it that EVERY part of body is relaxed.

Good night! :)

Answer 7

One reason for nightmares may be a way of our unconscious to get our attention about a situation or problem that you have been avoiding. It is time to take notice and confront a problem or situation. Nightmares serve an important purpose in showing you what is troubling you from within you deeper levels. Discussing, analyzing, and understanding your nightmares can lead to a solution for some problem, internal conflict or personal difficulty.

Answer 8

Sleep somewhere where you feel safe, other than your current home (maybe your parents). Rearrange your room - move your bed. Conduct a mental exorcism - get rid of the bitterness, or unresolved grudges you hold.

Take a vacation!!

Answer 9

your probably thinking about it all day which is making you dream about it at night, before you go to bed take a hot hot bubble bath and read a nice book or watch a comedy programme to take your mind of it.

Answer 10

Are you eating before you go to bed? apparently this will cause you to have bad dreams.