Nightmares: Shouldn't I have outgrown these???

As some have stated, nightmares are normal, but that frequently isn't.

I have to go with the popular idea and say you should talk to a professional. Remember, just because you're seeking therapy doesn't mean something is wrong with you, it could be simple stress and a therapist can help you get past it faster.

I used to have those alot... from my early teens through my mid twenties. Extremely vivid dreams where I would be running around buildings that had been assembled from rooms of other buildings I was familiar with. Say, my bedroom would connect to my grandmother's kitchen which would have a hallway from my high school connected to it and maybe an old hotel lobby I have never actually been to. I will be searching this place, filled with the most extreme feeling of rage and fear, hunting for something that was trying to sneak past me to possess my sleeping body. Weird, no? I would be sure I was out of body, could feel it in my bed, and there was something out there trying to take control of it.

Sometimes I would find myself moving around awake without realizing I had transitioned from sleep to awake.

Not sure why we have those. I think they spawn the old legends of succubae coming for us while we sleep.

Find what ever is stressing you out in life and try to lessen it. Or try to "interpret" your dreams, you might find out why they are happening.

Talk to someone about it. Someone who will listen. Nightmares can wreck people. one day I had a nightmare previously that night. I said a total of 5 words that day. No joke. I felt like I had post-tramatic stress syndrome. I talked to my mom about it, I had to talk to someone about it because I feared sleeping and feared so many things when I was awake too. Just tell someone about it! Tell a best friend, or just someone really close to you know knows you well.

Everyone has nightmares I don't know about every night though, when I have one somehow in the dream I can tell myself this isn't real it's fake it's a dream some things are just extreme to where you know it can't be real but I've had some where I was like this is a dream can't be real but then it gets worse and I'm like oh shit maybe this is real, and then when I wake up I go ok ok it was a dream right had to be, I am in my bed not getting hacked up by the chainsaw massacre guy, then I say ok were good got all my limbs ok time to start the day.

Try and figure out if you've done anything different since a few months ago, whether it's school, places you've gone, things you've started eating, watching, etc. There is likely something that sparked it.

I'm on medication for them. For about the first 11-12 years of my life I'd have nightmares and night terrors at least 4 times a week.

Old saying about dream analysis: "Everyone and everything in the dream, is you."

Something inside your personality has been buried. It has gained strength from you fear, and is now calling to you. Try to remeber what in your dream you fear, and why you're fleeing from it.

I usta go thru that... it's wild... you ever try praying to get a grip on that? Just a suggestion... I usta have dreams of demons/devils, murderous versions of myself doing harm to others... This sounds like a real problem doe...

It's normal to happen but that frequently I'm not sure.
I've sometimes been woken up by nightmares which are forget instantly before falling asleep. I'm the type to think, "meh" and go back to sleep easily and always have been even in stressful situations and periods of my life.

If it continues, you should get some therapy of some sort. That will help you find your problem and go back to solve it. It could be down to bad past experiences coming back to you, in which case they do need to be resolved one way or another before you can regain stability again.

Yes, that's not normal and I wonder what has been going on in your life.

If you can't figure out the cause yourself, I would go to a professional counselor.

nightmares are usually a result of stress. I know that when I was a teenager and living with my mother, everything was rather hard because she wasn't the best person back then. I had lots of nightmares back then as well. when my life got better when I moved out of my moms place, though, the nightmares stopped.

Whoa that is scary! well I have never gone through this but there are a few things I know can give you nightmares.

1. going to sleep on a full stomach
2. certain types of sleep medication
3. sleeping with your arms crossed over your chest

if you're not doing any of those things then I'm not really sure what could be causing them.
you can try doing something differently before or while going to sleep.
try falling asleep with a long sleep timer on your tv or with low music on

or you can try a pill called melatonin...its a natural pill that puts you into a nice sleep and actually makes you have pleasant dreams.

hope I was of some help to you. good luck

I'm sorry this may come off as rude, but have you taken any drugs recently? Because that can def affect you.

Another thing is sugar...it can be really bad to eat sugar before going to bed and it will often cause nightmares... sucks huh?

Another factor would be stress...are you under a lot of stress lately? A recent break-up, intense pressure in school, anything that could stress you out...

Also, what are the dreams about...is about you dying, or someone close to you? This may sound weird, but sometimes it's like a premonition, (hey it has happened... :S)

If they persist, go see a therapist, nothing wrong with that and they will def help you out. I hope I haven't been too rude, it really wasn't my intention if I offended you... :S

I have gone thru cycles where I had trouble sleeping and if I did fall asleep I woke up having had a bad dream and couldn't get back to sleep but I don't think it's the same thing... What concerns me is that you used the word panic and that you wake up in tears. It almost sounds like night terrors. This is common for Veterans, EMTs, even doctors...

When I realized I had a problem I started with my primary care physician. She made me realize just how stressful my job really was. I was working in a lab at the time & had been dealing with a lot of death combined with being on call and going in at odd hours and needing to be constantly available wears on you and you don't even realize it. She suggested I take a look around my room and get rid of anything that could induce stress (this included my journal). I was then instructed not to spend time in my room unless I'm preparing for sleep and I needed to put myself on a sleep schedule and a sleep routine. She also suggested cutting milk out of my diet and taking melatonin (I saw someone else suggested this too). You can get melatonin in the vitamin isle, it's not a sedative. It's meant to recreate what the sun does for your body clock. A friend of mine uses it when he travels to combat jet lag. I did all these things and it really helped me.

Good luck...

i uses to experience sleep paralysis where id wake up but not be able to move. I was technically still in a dream state and would hallucinate and see creepy things. after I wake up its hard to go bak to sleep. I have had them since I was litle and so have other family members. sometimes adults can get nightmmares as well. did anything tragic happen to you lately or are you sexually frustrated. do you have suicidal thoughts or have a mental disorder. are you taking medication or doing drugs/alcohol. Also if you're really stressed, worried and have bad sleeping patterns nightmares can occur as a result. ask yourself these quiestions and you may figure out why you have them.

I don't think you ever outgrown nightmares. They're always there even when you get old. But yours don't sound too normally. I'd go see a doctor or try to think back to when they first started happening a lot and see if there's been a change that's occured in your lifestyle (like new medications you've been taking, even if its just aspirin, or if there's a new stress factor in your life) anything at all that could have led to your mind creating nightmares.

U probably under a lot of stress

Well when people have nightmares there is usually something really bothering them but they have been suppressing this problem so having nightmares is a way of your unconscious telling you that you need to pay attention to this problem. remember what the dream was about and what parts of it are significant to you. here is a great web that I use all the time
link it will tell you all the information you need and help you even decipher some of your dreams to.

sounds awful hun,i don't have them as frequently as you but I do get awful nightmares sometimes,i find stress can be a major trigger,sit down during the day and write down anything you are worried or concerned about,and what you can do to solve those problems,also make your bedroom a haven for yourself,i don't recommend watching t.v or reading in bed as this stimulates your mind which won't help with a good nights sleep,have time before bed to wind down,have a warm bath with some drops of lavender essential oil in the water,keep the lights in your room low,make sure you are not to hot or too cold,find a comfortable position,turn off your lights,and start counting to ten in your mind when you reach ten go back to one and start again,this is a good way to clear your mind of any thoughts and worries,if anything comes up in your mind while you are doing this,acknowledge it then put it aside and continue counting,its a form of meditation,i find the nights I do this I sleep much better,hope this helps a bit,all the best.