Nightmare Disorder and Lucid Dreaming

Nightmare disorder is generally uncommon, but it is found mostly in people with at least one of the following mental health disorders: anxiety, depression, or PTSD. It is often very disturbing, and most patients with nightmare disorder have PTSD (Stefani et al.). It is also present in patients that have schizophrenia (Stefani et al.). Nightmare disorder is the repetition of nightmares and like lucid dreaming, usually happens in the REM phase of sleep (Stefani et al.). Lucid dreaming can help people with nightmare disorders (Macêdo).

There are instances where lucid dreaming was used to help the patient understand that they are experiencing a nightmare and redirect the events of the nightmare, or at least lower their feelings of fear and panic throughout these repeating nightmares.

There has been a connection found between nightmares and suicide rates (Macêdo). Studies have shown that a nightmare that carries on to the day causes a heavy, blue feeling and a bad mood, which increases the chance that a person might commit suicide. Additionally 80% of people with PTSD have reported suicidal behavior in their nightmares, which increases the their suicide rates (Macêdo). Lucid dreaming can assist in lowering nightmare-related suicide rates as a result of helping individuals redirect or abolish such nightmares.

Picture by Kahfiara Krisna