Documentary

Essay

Does the repetition of Chronic Nightmares Cause Psychological Instability?

Kelsey Lewis

English 2

           

            Sometimes the most comforting place you lay your head down at night may turn into the most fearful place in the world. Your dreams overwhelm you, and paranoia fills you up to the rim. Nightmares are unforgettable, mostly terrifying, and sometimes repeat themselves. Every single night for about two months last year I struggled with chronic nightmares and the effects of them. Chronic nightmares so realistic, so petrifying, so frightening you may not want to close your eyes for a split second. Why do we have nightmares? Do they symbolize something and are the effects crucial? In my opinion nightmares effect our well being and may cause psychological  instability.

            Nightmares may be the indicative of underlying psychopathology or current lack of emotional well being (blagrove et al 1). In my own personal research I found that people who currently have state anxiety, depression or any other mental instabilities may cause active nightmare frequency. In a survey I done myself of 25 people I found that well over half of them reported frequency in a scary dream. The ones who reported frequency in nightmares also often reported a mental instability. Frequency of nightmares has had relation to high scored on neurotic and psychotic scales of the Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (Blagrove et al 1). So my question Is does the low well being cause the dark dreams are does the dark dreams cause nightmares?

            When we have nightmares it seems to evoke our emotions in such a way that the dream is defiantly unforgettable. Our dreams may be of something in the past that may be bothering us, or may be about something that is going on in everyday life. It is known for individuals with PTSD to have common nightmares of the past as well as neurotic thinkers (rhudy et al 4). However in research I found nothing about paranoia in relation to nightmares, If you were to have a dream of a serial killer tracking you down every night for about a year, would you be paranoid of him finding you in real life? As someone who has experienced a repetition of nightmares for several months  at the time I found myself very paranoid and scared, So why are people not focused on the real effects of nightmares? It has been proved that poorer mental health and more severe nightmares correlate with greater reactivity to nightmare imagery (Rhudy et al 7) if this is true how come the people who have experienced it have no real diagnosis for the terror their  going through?

            A night terror is a partial waking from deep (REM) sleep with behaviors such as screaming, kicking, or thrashing. Individuals who experience dark dreams may not come to the realization that they may be having a night terror. When you experience a night terror you are completely unaware because you may be fighting off something in a dream. Younger children usually under the age of 8 experience night terrors frequently and is mostly common for them to kick in their sleep. However it is known in several cases that teenagers and adults who are under great amounts of stress may also experience them often. A night terror is usually sought out by others and others usually try to stop it in the act, however there is no actual way to stop a night terror while in the process. The only reasonable way to stop it is by creating a new sleeping routine. When you create a new sleep routine it may stop the night terror if it repeats itself frequently around the same time each night.

            There are several different types of sleep disorders that may be caused by different things, but there is no real answer to why they come frequently, why they repeat or if they cause low well being. As a person who has experienced the horrible effects of a night mare I believe that low well being comes from the nightmare. I believe that the only way to defeat the evils of a dark dream is to conquer the fear of the root. If you have dreams about a killer coming to get you maybe facing up to that man in your dream may put a stop to it, or maybe if you have nightmares about falling you should try sky diving in reality. There is only one way to find out if that will put a true end to your nightmares and if you are currently suffering from the lack of sleep caused by nightmares you are willing to try anything. Your bed may be your deepest fear but if has to get better than getting any worse……

Finding our way in the dark

John Beebe states that a nightmare is any form of upsetting, dreamlike cognition occurring in the midst of sleep. The author argues that a classification of a nightmare would be based not on physiological  findings, but on what the upsetting nocturnal occurrence turns out to be. He claims that  a true nightmare comes from deep REM sleep, out of which one awakens to a frightening dream that one cannot forget. John Beebe develops this claim by investigating a book called "vertigo", he looks at the different types of dreams mentioned in the book and bases his theories off of it. John Beebe's purpose is to inform you that there may be a possibility that dream classification may not be based upon physiological findings but on how upsetting the dream is.
          

Beebe, John. "Finding Our Way In The Dark." Journal Of Analytical Psychology 50.1 (2005): 91. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 7 Sept. 2012.

Physiological-Emotional Reactivity to Nightmare-Related Imagery in Trauma-Exposed Persons With Chronic Nightmares

The department of psychology university of Tulsa, states that chronic nightmares threaten psychological well-being and is more common among trauma-exposed persons. They claim that the presence of nightmares following trauma exposure is associated with greater sleep disturbance. The department of psychology develops this claim by researching disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and testing average people. The department of psychology found that nightmare imagery increased reports of displeasure, higher heart rate, and corrugator (frowning) muscle activity. The department of psychology's purpose is to educate you and make inform you that PTSD may be a cause of chronic nightmares.

   Rhudy, Jamie L.Davis, Joanne L.Williams, Amy E.McCabe, Klanci M.Byrd, Patricia M. "Physiological-Emotional Reactivity To Nightmare-Related Imagery In Trauma-Exposed Persons With Chronic Nightmares." Behavioral Sleep Medicine 6.3 (2008): 158. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 7 Sept.2012.

The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well-being

The department of psychology university of Wales Swansea UK, states that nightmares may be the cause of psychopathology or lack of emotional well-being. They claim frequency of nightmares have been related to high scores on the neurotic and psychotic scales of MMPI. The department of psychology develops this claim by first researching the high test scores on neurotisim, and actually surveying people themselves. The department of psychology found that subjects that have at least one nightmare a week had greater anxiety, and that nightmare frequency has been associated with state anxiety mood and anxiety disorders. They found that subjects having nightmares had significantly greater trait anxiety and schizotypy. The department of psychology's purpose is to educate you and make you question nightmares, and to realize whether or not nightmares do symbolize something.
        

Blagrove, MarkFarmer, LauraWilliams, Elvira. "The Relationship Of Nightmare Frequency And Nightmare Distress To Well-Being." Journal Of Sleep Research 13.2 (2004): 129. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 7 Sept. 2012.

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The story behind my topic: Does the repetition of dark dreams effect your mental health?

              Last year I was having deep nightmares, I woke up several hours of the night dreanched in sweat. My dreams involved one of my deepest fears of being alone, the dreams scared me and I didn't want to sleep. In my personal experience I found that I was paranoid all the time, scared that I'd lose the people I love that I'd be left alone and have nobody. The reason I choose this topic is because I have experienced one of  the most terrifying tortures of my nightmares. Although they do not come as often as they once had, I still wonder what is the point of a dark dream? Is it to scare you, or give you a sense of bravery so you can face these fears in reality? The problem is no one can actually prove that a nightmare is torturing you. Some say it's stress related and dark dreams are the effect of deep depression and anxiety, but what if the dark dreams is one of the causes of stress? What if they're the reasoning behind your depression, anxiety and paranoia? There has to be a reason behind dark dreams.