User:AnabelleMR/Anxiety dream

What is anxiety dream?

An anxiety dream, in short, typically refers to any dream that causes stress or worries. Most people feel panicked or nervous during the dream, but these emotions might also linger after they wake up, and general unease might persist throughout the day. Although nightmares often inspire feelings of terror more intense than general anxiety, these equally count as anxiety dreams, since anxiety during the day can make nightmares more likely.

Causes

Fear

Fear is an emotional response to a recognized or specific threat. Although the focal point of the response is distinctive (real vs. imagined danger), fear and anxiety are interrelated. When confronted with fear, most people will trip the physical reactions that are described under anxiety. Fear can cause anxiety, and anxiety can cause fear. But the refined distinctions between the two provide you a better perception of the symptoms and can also be important for treatment strategies.

Stress

Stress is an emotional, physical, or mental tension that outcomes from something that’s outside of us. Some of the bigger stressors or stressful life occasions consist of transferring to a new place, changing roles at college or work, relationship issues, or losing a family member. Stress can cause sleep difficulties, along with insomnia, by making it hard to fall asleep and remain asleep. This affects the quality of rest. Stress can additionally cause hyperarousal, which can upset the stability between sleep and wakefulness. Being stressed is related to bad sleep in general and may also set off more frequent dreams. So, it’s not unusual to experience a distressing dream before a big event like a job interview, taking an exam, or an important appointment. And even though there’s limited research about controlling the content of dreams, anxiety dreams can usually be a result of elevated stress at some point in our daily lives. Daily stress can additionally increase the frequency of these dreams.

Late-life changes

Late-life changes like unexpected losses, events, or tough situations are part of people's lives and can purpose considerable stress and anxiety, which they cause anxiety dream. A single stressful event or a sequence of ongoing occasions can also make the person have depression or anxiety at any point in life, even many years later. Sometimes these events change how people see themselves.

Traumatic events

Traumatic events are terrible, unexpected events like accidents, natural disasters, sudden death, or get assaulted. When people experience this type of event, the body’s defenses creating a stress response, which ends up in a variety of physical symptoms, behave differently and experience greater extreme emotions. This response makes the body produce chemicals, that put the body in an emergency mode, that can lead to symptoms such as raised blood pressure, increased heart rate, increased sweating, and loss of appetite.

Since the body is responding to an emergency, it is less difficult to battle or run away from the problem. After the event, people experience shock and denial. This can provide way over various hours or days to a range of different emotions such as sadness, anger, and guilt. Many people feel better and recover gradually. However, if these emotions persist, they can lead to more serious mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Sleeping disorder or disturbed rest

Anxiety and sleeping disorders are two very well-known problems that can also impede your capacity to fall asleep. Sleep is a necessary feature that the body needs in order to recuperate, heal, and maintain energy. If people are struggling to get sleep due to anxiety, insomnia, or a mix of both, this can have some unfortunate side effects on the body if left untreated for a prolonged length of time.

Use of substances, including alcohol

The consume alcohol or substances is a technique that most habitually doesn't work with reducing anxiety dreams. People usually drink to loosen up and decrease anxiety, but the alcohol abuse can lead to more anxiety. The more alcohol consumed, the more dangerous the effects become. Heavy consumption can result in alcohol poisoning, coma, or even death, showing clearly how serious the excessive use of alcohol can be. Some people drink alcohol in an effort to deal with their anxiety issues because alcohol is a depressant and has a sedative effect. People may also use alcohol as a form of treatment for anxiety, the bad results of this type of self-medication quickly outweigh any of the temporary effective relief ones may also experience.

Effects

Positive

Anxiety dreams have an important function. When the ego has been overworked, often the only way it can reset is when one wakes up. Anxiety dreams will build until the dreamer is forced to wake and thus let the ego refocus. Shapiro also noted that anxiety dreams may serve in "alerting the dreamer to a psychologically dangerous situation".

Negative

General anxiety is a negative effect of anxiety dreams. Individuals dealing with distress in their dreams have been found to have general anxiety more often than those who were experiencing real life events that could be equally as stressful.

Methods to reduce anxiety dreams

Sleep well

Dr. Jennifer Martin, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Specialist, states that “since bad dreams have a greater effect when rest is divided, getting acceptable rest is a higher priority”. It is recommended to have good sleep hygiene and getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night.

Rewrite the dreams

Martin Reed, a certified clinical sleep health educator (CCSH) and the founder of Insomnia Coach, says they used to write down your dreams in detail. “At that point, rethink the fantasy so it is not, at this point a bad dream. This may include modifying enormous pieces of the dream or simply changing the closure. At the point when you have done this, require some investment during the day to envision and reproduce this new dream they have defined in however much detail as could be expected” he says. With training. The anxiety dream is less than often as possible.

Talk it out

Psychoanalyst Claudia Luiz says that sometimes just talking it out and bringing dreams to a conscious level can help stop them. She says that doing this “takes the upgrades from an oblivious level to a cognizant level. When the brain at this point do not necessities to deal with the oblivious boosts, it can proceed onward to different kinds of dreams.” Let friends and family be conscious of how they can help, and consider seeing a medical doctor or therapist.

Pinpoint the issue

Dreams are subconscious thoughts playing out, so to get to the lower part of what might be causing anxiety dreams, it's imperative to investigate the life and sort out what might be causing stress. “At the point when a negative or upsetting circumstance or conduct is settled or resolved, the fantasy associated with it stops”, says Loewenberg.

Sleep schedule

Reducing the general measure of pressure is critical to halting an anxiety dream. One extraordinary approach to do that is by making a thoughtful sleep time schedule. Many ways are turning off tech, rehearsing yoga before bed, or drinking something warm.

Think positive considerations

It is important to focus on positively before heading to bed. When doing the bedtime routine, make a positive environment. Maintain a strategic distance from the news, tune in to quieting music, and consider all things to be thankful for. Positive affirmations and have a good self esteem.

If more help is needed one might consider workshops that utilize psychodrama and psychotherapeutic techniques. As doctorandus Herma Reeskamp explains, workshops such as these aim to "help patients change the haunting themes of their nightmares and anxiety-filled dreams".

References

• Harris, I. (1948). Observations concerning typical anxiety dreams. Psychiatry, 11(3), 301-309.
• Harris, I. D. (1951). Characterological significance of the typical anxiety dreams. Psychiatry, 14(3), 279-294.
• Harris, I. D. (1960). Typical anxiety dreams and object relations. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 41, 604-611.
• Papadimitriou, G. N., & Linkowski, P. (2005). Sleep disturbance in anxiety disorders. International review of psychiatry, 17(4), 229-236.
• Alvord, PhD, M., & Halfond, PhD, R. (2019, October 18). What's the difference between stress and anxiety? Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/topics/stress-anxiety-difference
• Steimer, T. (2002, September). The biology of fear- and anxiety-related behaviors. Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181681/
• Depression.org.nz. (n.d.). Trauma. Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://depression.org.nz/the-causes/trauma/
• Sleep Disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/sleep-disorders
• Edited by Meredith Watkins, M. (n.d.). Anxiety and Alcohol: How They Are Linked. Retrieved November 05, 2020, from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/anxiety
• 15 Types of Anxiety Dreams:Causes + Meaning. (2020, August 10). Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://casper.com/blog/anxiety-dreams/
• Ross, F. (2018, June 05). Stress vs. Anxiety – Knowing the Difference Is Critical to Your Health. Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/external/2018/06/stress-vs-anxiety/
• How to overcome fear and anxiety. (2020, August 10). Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/overcome-fear-anxiety
• The impact of traumatic events on mental health. (2020, January 16). Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/impact-traumatic-events-mental-health
• J. (2020, October 12). Get rid of sleep anxiety and insomnia: Your guide to a better night's rest. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.stress.org/get-rid-of-sleep-anxiety-and-insomnia-your-guide-to-a-better-nights-rest