Alaska Sleep Education Center

October 31, 2022
8:04 am

PTSD vs. Nightmares

nightmare-250-1-1 - Alaska Sleep Clinic — Experiencing or witnessing upsetting events can lead to post traumatic stress disorder PTSD a mental health condition that affects 77 million American adults The disorder can cause people to feel anxious and afraid leading to flashbacks and nightmares In fact up to 96 percent of people with PTSD have these upsetting dreams Fortunately there are several approaches to treating PTSD related nightmares If you or someone you love is dealing with PTSD read on to understand how it impacts sleep and available treatment options

The Nightmare Connection
For people with PTSD nightmares arent just generic scary dreamsthey generally revolve around the persons traumatic experience forcing survivors to relive the pain on a regular basis Someone who witnessed a shooting for example may find that the event replays in his or her nightmares
For some people nightmares start soon after the traumatic event others may go years before having their first bad dream The nightmares typically occur earlier in the night and people may react physically to them thrashing around in their sleep or shouting

What You Can Do
PTSD treatment can help lower the frequency of trauma related nightmares There are several approaches to treatment and the optimal strategy varies from person to person It may involve types of cognitive therapy meditation medication and more
If the nightmares dont stop after PTSD treatment imagery rehearsal therapy may help This technique involves having people who are experiencing nightmares recall their bad dream and come up with a new ending while they are awake so that it no longer upsets them They then rehearse the new ending over and over in their mind with the goal of it carrying over the next time the nightmare occurs eventually reducing the frequency of the upsetting dream
Medication is rarely prescribed for PTSD related nightmares but if nothing else is workingor if the nightmares are severetalk to your doctor Research shows that certain drugs such as sympatholytic medication used to treat high blood pressure may help Remember while PTSD is serious many people are successfully treated and go on to live full happy lives
Alaska Sleep Clinic is the only sleep clinic in Alaska with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist specializing in sleep Dr Angie Randazzo

Dr Angela Randazzo bio

trust-bbb_torchaward_graphics_TorchAwards_header_finalist[1] — Experiencing or witnessing upsetting events can lead to post traumatic stress disorder PTSD a mental health condition that affects 77 million American adults The disorder can cause people to feel anxious and afraid leading to flashbacks and nightmares In fact up to 96 percent of people with PTSD have these upsetting dreams Fortunately there are several approaches to treating PTSD related nightmares If you or someone you love is dealing with PTSD read on to understand how it impacts sleep and available treatment options

The Nightmare Connection
For people with PTSD nightmares arent just generic scary dreamsthey generally revolve around the persons traumatic experience forcing survivors to relive the pain on a regular basis Someone who witnessed a shooting for example may find that the event replays in his or her nightmares
For some people nightmares start soon after the traumatic event others may go years before having their first bad dream The nightmares typically occur earlier in the night and people may react physically to them thrashing around in their sleep or shouting

What You Can Do
PTSD treatment can help lower the frequency of trauma related nightmares There are several approaches to treatment and the optimal strategy varies from person to person It may involve types of cognitive therapy meditation medication and more
If the nightmares dont stop after PTSD treatment imagery rehearsal therapy may help This technique involves having people who are experiencing nightmares recall their bad dream and come up with a new ending while they are awake so that it no longer upsets them They then rehearse the new ending over and over in their mind with the goal of it carrying over the next time the nightmare occurs eventually reducing the frequency of the upsetting dream
Medication is rarely prescribed for PTSD related nightmares but if nothing else is workingor if the nightmares are severetalk to your doctor Research shows that certain drugs such as sympatholytic medication used to treat high blood pressure may help Remember while PTSD is serious many people are successfully treated and go on to live full happy lives
Alaska Sleep Clinic is the only sleep clinic in Alaska with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist specializing in sleep Dr Angie Randazzo

Dr Angela Randazzo bio

Jennifer Hines

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