A model is proposed to integrate the findings and explain how the nightmare problem might perpetuate itself.Īim of the current research was to newly conceptualize nightmare distress. Fourthly, nightmares are frequently perceived as a source of personal insight: half of the participants believe that their dreams can reveal information about themselves, searching for the signification of nightmares is one of the most common coping strategies, and many participants experienced a reflection or realization following a nightmare. Thirdly, nightmares can impact emotions upon awakening and during the day, directly and indirectly, through various mechanisms. In turn, the fatigue that results from a disturbed sleep can negatively affect concentration, daily functioning and mood. Secondly, nightmares tend to decrease sleep quality and to provoke sleep fragmentation, which may be aggravated by sleep avoidance and voluntary awakening from lucid nightmares. Firstly, the main perceived causes of nightmares, including one’s occupational and social life, support the hypothesis that dreams reflect waking concerns. Four major findings emerge from this study. Verbatim were analysed using a content analysis method. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Twenty university students with frequent nightmares took part in an individual semi‑structured interview constructed by the research team. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of nightmare sufferers regarding the functions, causes, and consequences of their nightmares, as well as their strategies for coping with nightmares. The administration of treatments for nightmares, and more broadly, clinical work with patients reporting dysphoric dreams as a concomitant psychological difficulty, could be improved based on a better understanding of the experience of nightmare sufferers. From a clinical viewpoint, it would be desirable to carry out similar surveys using diagnostic interviews in order to determine the presence of a nightmare disorder and study the variables that are related to that diagnosis. Moreover, the recurring nightmares that relate to a waking-life event were associated with higher nightmare distress. The findings indicate that in addition to nightmare frequency heightened emotional reactivity measured as neuroticism contribute to global nightmare distress and, thus, supporting the neurocognitive model of Levin and Nielsen (2007). Nightmare frequency, global nightmare distress, and personality traits were measured. Overall, 2492 persons (1437 woman, 1055 men) completed the online survey.

In order to understand nightmare etiology better empirical research should focus on studying factors that affect nightmare distress in addition to nightmare frequency. The diagnosis of a nightmare disorder is based on clinically significant distress caused by the nightmares, e.g., sleep or mood disturbances. The results indicate that although nightmare frequency is positively correlated to thin personal boundaries, only particular aspects of the concept of personal boundaries are correlated to emotional and cognitive consequences of the nightmares. In frequent nightmare sufferers, the emotional and cognitive consequences of a nightmare as well as its possible explanations were correlated to boundary thinness mainly the personal total score and the Boundary Questionnaire scales sleep/wake/dreams, thoughts/feelings/mood and sensitivity. Confirming previous results, frequent nightmare sufferers had significantly thinner personal boundaries than occasional nightmare sufferers, and nightmare frequency was positively correlated to boundary thinness. Occurence of nightmares and their respective consequences were recorded daily during a 4-week period by diaries and questionnaires. The present study investigated the relationship between boundary thinness and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral consequences of nightmares in frequent nightmare sufferers. According to the boundary concept of Hartmann (1991), the occurence of nightmares was repeatedly shown to be correlated to thin personal boundaries.

Personal nightmare elvira