Table of contents:
- What is that anxiety dreams?
- Why anxiety dreams could occur?
- How to handle it?
- Seek professional help immediately
Sleep provides an opportunity for the body and mind to really rest from all the burdens faced during the day. Unfortunately, sometimes dreams that arise actually cause panic and stress. If the dream makes you worry about bad things happening, you may have anxiety dreams.
What is that anxiety dreams?
Why anxiety dreams could occur?
Stress can be the main thing that plays a role in the quality of your sleep, as can the dreams you get. Usually, some events that make a big difference to your life can be stressful, such as losing someone, or when you are about to have an important event such as a job interview.
The stress you feel is what later makes it difficult to sleep and triggers more frequent dreams. In addition, the anxiety you experience can also increase your chances of having nightmares.
This occurs because there are several parts of the brain including the pons, a part that plays a role in controlling expression and body balance, which works by actively sending various signals during your sleep. These signals can be obtained from various memories in the brain as well as sensory experiences.
The brain picks up the signal and connects it into a story. The end result is a dream that appears in your sleep.
In other words, anxiety dreams what you experience is the fruit of constant worry and fear, so that the brain turns it into a story in a dream that makes you wake up restless.
Other possible causes also include trauma especially in people with PTSD (post-traumatic disorder), antidepressant drugs, as well as horror movies or books seen before bed.
How to handle it?
Anxiety dreams experience often stems from the stress that befell you. Therefore, you should know in advance what things have been bothering you in the past.
Try to associate it with the dream you get, maybe the situation in the dream is also a reflection of what is happening in the near future.
After knowing the center of the problem, think again about the ways you will do to solve it. Whether the stress that comes is the result of work or problems in your relationships with the people closest to you.
Being aware of the feelings and problems you are facing will help you find solutions so that you can escape from nightmares. To make the process easier, you can also write down your dreams in a journal.
The next step to prevent anxiety dreams is to set the atmosphere in the room if it can help you sleep soundly. Try putting on some quiet music or turning on aromatherapy. Both of these methods are believed to provide a relaxing effect that will make you sleepy faster.
Exercising during the day or stretching before bed can also help you fall asleep faster. When exercising, our brains will release a hormone called dopamine which acts to provide signals in the form of happiness.
Of course, this hormone can help the brain to think about pleasant things so that you can fall asleep in a good mood and avoid nightmares.
Other ways you can try are relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises in meditation or practicing yoga.
When anxiety dreams still happens, immediately do relaxation techniques by adjusting the breath. You can also get out of bed right away and do activities that will make you forget about anxiety, such as walking around the house or trying to soak in warm water.
Once you start to feel sleepy, go back to bed.
Seek professional help immediately
Most of the time, anxiety dreams only happens a few times and will disappear on its own. However, this problem cannot be ignored when the dreams you are experiencing arise by:
- Often appears and occurs for several days in a row
- Often disrupts sleep and makes you afraid to fall back asleep
- Cause difficulties when you go about your daily activities
Immediately consult a doctor or psychologist to find a solution together.
