Welcome to the darker side of dreaming! While fantasies allow our imaginations to soar, nightmares often plunge us into pits of anxiety and terror. Most adults experience nightmares on occasion, while a smaller percentage suffer from chronic disturbing dreams and actual sleep disorders. Children also frequently have nightmares around developmental milestones as subconscious fears manifest.
Tonight we’ll explore the shadowy workings and meanings behind frightening dreams. Nightmares likely serve an evolutionary function related to survival by rehearsing threats. They also reveal aspects of ourselves we tend to suppress - destructive impulses, painful emotions, or threatening memories. Dreams dramatize our inner conflicts. Recurring monsters sometimes symbolize people or dynamics subjecting us to real distress, harm or control.
Of course, life experience shapes dream content as well. I distinctly remember nightmares of nuclear annihilation during childhood that echoed Cold War anxieties. Other common nightmare themes include demonic or ghostly attacks, bugs and snakes, even losing loved ones. Feel free to call in and share your own nightmare tales! Interpreting the personalized metaphors and triggers can prove insightful.
To shed more light on managing chronic nightmares, we welcome leading dream therapist Dr. Barry Krakow. He pioneered imagery rehearsal therapy, which trains nightmare sufferers how to rescript fearful plots into more empowering resolutions. This technique retrains the mind away from helplessness and panic responses stirred up while asleep. Plus, he’ll offer suggestions for transforming night demons into allies on journeys toward self-realization and healing. Overcoming inner turbulence ultimately fuels personal growth - a silver lining for even the most troubled sleepers. Sweet...dreams?