What Is Your Worst Nightmare

Wake Me Up

Do you get night terrors? Are the blankets twisted and half off the bed when you wake up in the morning? Do you startle yourself out of sleep with a scream? What is your worst nightmare?

I Hate Spiders

I always thought mine would be falling down a deep hole that is filled with spiders. Spiders are a nightmare for me. They have too many legs, and they walk rapidly. They like to hide in the dark and spring out at you when you least expect it. They are hairy and have way too many eyeballs. They are my nightmare even when I’m awake.

The Grand Canyon

If you are afraid of heights, standing by the edge of the Grand Canyon may be your worst nightmare. It’s in my top five. I’m also afraid of heights. Getting near the edge at the Grand Canyon is something I’d never even consider. Looking down, I’d have the urge to run right off the edge. There is always a death every year from someone getting too close to the edge and falling off. I cannot imagine the terror they feel as they fall to their death. Because that is what they are doing. There is no surviving that fall. Visiting the Grand Canyon is low on my to do list.

What Did You Say?

Maybe your worst nightmare is public speaking. I know it is a number one fear among people. Me, I don’t mind it. It is something I can do. Some people get so nervous they stammer and stutter and completely forget what they were going to say. I’ve heard people say pick out one person in the audience and imagine them naked. I’m not sure how that factors in to make you less nervous. But everything is worth trying at least once. I’ve known people who start to sweat, or just stand there, their mouths open but no words coming out. I do believe there are workshops you can attend to better yourself. If public speaking is not something you are comfortable with, don’t go into politics.

They say if you have a dream where you die if it continues you will wake before that happens. Perhaps this is a true statement because it happens to me. I always wake up before my actual death. 

Can You Fix This?

The nightmares you have may have an underlying cause. PTSD is the first one that comes to mind. Flashbacks of a traumatic event you experienced. Survivors of Vietnam often experience this. The nightmare may be a warning sign about your physical and mental health. If they are reoccurring you may need to see the doctor.

 Interrupted sleep is not a good sleep. It can lead to sleep deprivation which in turn can lead to heart disease, obesity, and depression. None of it has any positive attributes. They say stress and anxiety are two of the leading causes of nightmares but I have to question this because stress was a constant for me when we took in a rescue dog for at least two months. My dreams were not nightmares, but I do know sleep deprivation was part of my life. 

It’s best not to wake a person up who is having a nightmare. Oftentimes they will whisper in their sleep and have rapid eye movement. If you sleep beside someone who has nightmares, when it happens, and you are awake it can scare you. It is a surreal, weird phenomenon just watching. Been there and done that and do not want to repeat it. 

Sleep Apnea

Those who have sleep apnea have nightmares. They do not get enough oxygen to their brains thereby causing stress which turns into nightmares. Using a CPAP machine greatly reduces this problem. 

We All Have Them

Nightmares can pop up with no cause whatsoever. If they continue, then it turns into something that has to be dealt with. If it’s something that happens once in a while, talking it over with your partner can be therapeutic. It relieves the burden of it all on your shoulders. Your partner can console and comfort you making the nightmare seem less threatening.

A bedtime ritual helps also. Do not eat anything right before bedtime, especially anything with sugar in it. Leave a nightlight on if it eases your stress of falling asleep. 

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My husband Gary helps me as we normally talk for sometimes an hour before we go to sleep. 

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Night babe I love you is the last thing I hear before I close my eyes and go to sleep. 

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