Typically my nightmares have always been at their worst during the most anxious times of my life.
It seems a bit obvious now but until recently I did not make the connection between anxiety and nightmares.
I always thought they were separate problems.
An unsettled night would usually involve me in a generally anxious state before bedtime.
This only made things worse, although I did not realise it at the time.
Anticipating what could lie ahead made me postpone sleep for as long as possible.
When I eventually fell asleep I can only describe it like entering another world.
Symptoms included: .
A lot of talking or moaning.
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Much tossing and turning.
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Walking in my sleep.
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Sleepwalking.
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Nightmares were always extremely frightening, violent and dark.
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I would normally wake suddenly with a profound sense of fear.
Immediately recalling the nightmare.
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My heart would be pounding out of my chest.
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Always followed by sweating and shaking.
I cannot stress enough how vivid and real these nightmares were.
It also made me very afraid of the dark.
Once fully awake, I would find it really difficult to get back to sleep.
There is no way you want to relive the nightmare and it has happened.
As a result of these symptoms I suffered from sleep deprivation, irritability, problems with attention span and for me also depression.
I now know trying to "keep the lid" on my problems during the day caused nightmares and eventually anxiety and panic attacks became more of a problem daytime.
What changed for me was when I sought help for my anxiety.
I realised at that point everything was linked.
Anxiety, Nightmares, Panic Attacks and Depression.
Anxiety plays terrible tricks on you and nightmares produced the worst symptoms by far.
It frightens me to think how long I had this for.
I still dream a bit, I can cope with that.
There is a huge difference between an average dream and a nightmare! Eventually I had the courage to face my deep rooted problems.
The result is the worst of my nightmares have gone now, hopefully for ever!